September Fishing in The Roaring Fork Valley

Fall is starting to swing into the Valley, with the nicest weather of the year in full effect.  The Aspen trees in the high country are already starting to turn, and hunting season is approaching.  Our first frost is just around the corner, and snow won't be far behind.

The coming of fall brings a few changes to the valley's rivers.   On the Roaring Fork the streamer bite goes crazy, as hungry pre-spawn browns look to fatten up before the party.  The Frying Pan hatches shift to Flavellenias, Baetis, and Psuedocleons.  Translated, these bugs represent the smaller sized 14 Green Drake, and a 16 and 22 Blue Winged Olive.  Odd rigs that include 3x down to a big drake, and droppers of 6x to a tiny olive dominate in the afternoons.  Caddis come into play as well as Baetis on the bigger rivers.  The Colorado should be clear more often than not, and will remain at very fishy levels through the fall.   Things will get rocking in a hurry, as pre-spawn browns become uber active, and the rainbows start to focus on their cousins' eggs.  

Crowd-wise, things should start to mellow around the valley, as off season approaches.  Some attention from the leaf chasers put our guides back to work, but the real push will come from actual anglers.  This is the time that many of us have been waiting for, as Fall represents some of our favorite fishing of the year.  Come and get with it...