Yampa River, CO Fishing Report

Starting to freeze in town but the stagecoach tailwater is fishing great!! The park closes the gates at the end of the month. Give us a call if your interested in a guided trip to the famous tailwaters.

Still no fishing!!

Still No fishng in town please!!!... Tailwaters is open.. or go to flat tops...

Now is the time to hit a hog of a fish on the Yampa River top or bottom. Floated lower section of the Yampa and throw streamers all day. Catching fish on the Black and Taqueely. Also nymphed big stones and san juan worm.  Come and fish the Yampa River before the water is gone for the season!! Call Ryan at 970-819-4376 www.yampavalleyanglers.  

The Yampa is on its way down.  Water clairity is great.  Streamer fishing has been great through town.  The yellow sallies and pmd's are going to start soon.

Nymphing deeper runs and holes. Dries may work during hatches, which are usually pretty sporadic

Stagecoach: Midges, scuds, worms.
Steamboat area: Midges

The warm weather predicted this week should make for some great dry fly fishing. Overall the water is clear, Midges hatching up top, with midge nymphs and scuds still very effective.

Location: YR Ranch Flows (cfs) and Clarity: 57 CFS, very clear

Weather/Temperature: Low of 47F High of 75F. Bright sun.

Flies (Pattern, size, color): Olive Skulpzilla (4), Black Conehead Wooly Bugger (6), Egg Patterns (Orange, Tan), Rainbow Warrior (18), Parachute Adams (20).

Fishing Report: With discharge practically a trickle out of Green Mountain Reservoir, the YR Ranch is very low and clear, though still fishing good. Fish were relatively spooky and holding in the deepest water they could find in the morning. It was worth our time spot fishing and targeting specific fish when nymphing or dry fly fishing. Streamers were far and away the most productive technique today, working slow deep runs with a slow retrieve and allowing heavy cone headed streamers to sink to the fish’s level. In the afternoon, fish were sipping in the slow back eddies. These “scum sippers”were tricky to catch, though we did get one nice rainbow to eat a size 20 parachute adams. In the afternoon, fish moved into the faster shallow riffles and light nymph rigs were effective at that time. Both anglers said they caught the biggest trout of their lives.

Location: YR Ranch Flows (cfs) and Clarity: 190 cfs, slightly green.

Weather/Temperature: Partly cloudy, breezy, low of 38F, high of 70.

Fishing Report: Fishing continues to be great on the YR Ranch, with more and more fish entering to stage for the spawn. Fish are continuing to move out of their winter lies and hold in the shallower “buckets”and riffles. Most of our fish were caught on small, flashy Baetis and midge patterns, with a few keying into egg patterns as well. Around 11:30 there was a decent Blue Winged Olive hatch and fish were rising regularly in the slow flats and along eddy lines. A number of fish were caught on small Parachute Adams with a greased-line RS-2 droppers below the surface film. As in days past, streamers also proved a productive tactic, with several larger fish responding to heavy streamers on fast retrieves. Fishing was best between 11am and 4pm.

The Yampa River is fishing great!!  Fishing  before the pre season run-off. Water is clear and running around 200cfs. Nymphing with big worms and eggs!! Who's ready to fish call me 970-819-4376. The inlet at stagecoach is opening up and fish are moving up a little early this year. The Yampa through town is also fishing well, copper john's worms, eggs. leeches all are working well. Have not started throwing streamer!! If you want to catch a trophy trout fish the yampa right now!!!

Location: YR Ranch Flows (cfs) and Clarity: 260 cfs, 5 ft visibility

Weather/Temperature: Mostly cloudy, low of 34 high of 53. Windy.

Flies (Pattern, size, color): Black Skulpzilla (4) (best fly), Rainbow Warrior (18), Sparkle Wing RS-2 (18), Bead Head Gold Wire Micro Stonefly (14), Yarn egg pattern (Pink and Orange).

Fishing Report: Fishing today was good. More fish are in the river and they are behaving more and more active. Black Skulpzilla was the best fly, with both browns and our largest rainbow being caught in a variety of water on this large heavy streamer. Nymph wise, BWO emergers and eggs were effective in the morning, and emergers and small stonefly patterns were productive in the afternoon. Fishing was best between 9:30am and 2pm. Fish are starting to pair up and hold over redds and today was the first day we saw fish actively spawning. Obviously, we never fished to these fish and everyone should remember to avoid fishing to active spawners and giving the nests a wide berth when walking. It was good seeing them beginning to move out of the deep holding water and feed in the smaller buckets and shallower runs as they are getting more and more active. The largest fish we saw today was a rainbow holding in a fast riffle about 16” deep. Two brook trout were also caught in the early afternoon on egg patterns.

Location: YR Ranch Flows (cfs) and Clarity: 230 cfs, 5 ft visibility, slightly green

Weather/Temperature: low of 30 degrees, high of 56 degrees. Gusty wind and bright sun.

Flies (Pattern, size, color): San Juan Worm (red and pink), Red Headed Step Child (18), Sparkle Wing RS-2 (18), WD-40 (20), Egg Patterns (Orange and Pink), Mercury Pheasant Tail (18), Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail (18-20), Rojo Midge (20), White Skulpzilla (4).

Fishing Report: In the morning fish were still holding in their typical spots. Slower and deeper runs and trenches along eddy lines with well defined seams were effective as temperatures were warming. As the heat of the day arrived, some fish were found in heads of riffles behaving more active than previous days at the YR Ranch. As these spring-like conditions continue, fish should begin moving into more shallow gravel and cobble riffles as they stage for their spawn. Similar to 3/10, biggest fish were caught on attractor nymphs such as Nuclear Eggs and San Juan Worms. In the afternoon as fish were most active, streamers were productive as well. Sporadic rises in foam eddies tempted us to put on dry flies, but rises never became consistent enough to completely warrant dries. The largest fish was caught using a long leader with heavy weight in about 4-5 feet of slow water on a bead egg.

Location: YR Ranch Flows (cfs) and Clarity: 220 cfs, visibility around 4 ft. Slightly green.

Weather/Temperature: High 30s to Mid 40s, mostly sunny. Breezy.

Flies (Pattern, size, color): Thread midges in white, cream, black and red (18-22), Rojo Midge (18), Trina's Bubble-Back Emerger (18), Sparkle Wing RS-2 (20), San Juan Worm, Egg patterns.

Fishing Report: The weather today was fantastic for March fishing. With the warmer weather and snow melt the last few days colored up the water a bit compared to days prior. The water was still plenty clear though, just slightly green. For the first hour there was cloud cover and around 10 O’Clock there was a small Blue Winged Olive hatch, though few fish responded. Fishing was fantastic between 10 O’Clock and 3:30. Bigger rainbows between 16-25 inches were caught and hooked on BWO emerger patterns and San Juan Worms. Brown trout in the 12-18 inch range were caught more in the afternoon. Most fish were caught in slower, deeper water, though the biggest fish of the day was hooked in the head of a riffle. There seem to be more fish in the river and they are becoming increasingly more active.

The YR Ranch is on!

On Saturday, February 25, Freestone Outfitters ran their first trip of the YR Season. And the fishing is really heating up!

Location: The YR Ranch Flows (cfs) and Clarity: 210 cfs.- Clear

 Weather/Temperature: Cool and breezy. Air temps in the high 30s and bright sun all day. Water temperature 38 degrees

Flies (Pattern, size, color):Miracle Midge (size 20), Black Beauties (size 20), Red Headed Step Child (size 18), Barr’s Emerger (size 20), Egg Patterns (Apricot and Peach color)

Fishing Report: The day started off for us on the slower side, due to the colder temperatures in the morning. When we got there, the river still had some thin ice shelves along the banks and the fishing was slower to start. Water temperature was measured at 38 degrees. As the sun rose and temperatures warmed around 10 O’clock, the fishing really began picking up. Ice shelves completely melted away by 1 p.m. Between the hours of 10am-2:30pm the fishing was fantastic. Several browns in the 10-15”range broke the slow streak, and eventually the big rainbows began being caught shortly after. Rainbows hooked ranged from 18”-22” and they were bulldogs! At one point, a large rainbow was hooked and began barreling towards a small ice shelf in an eddy. When he got underneath, he completely leapt through the ice and beached himself on the shelf! After a brief period of struggle atop the ice, the weight of the fish broke through and the fish was returned to the water. Amazingly enough, the fish was landed, thanks to some superior angling and a bit of luck by the angler. All and all, a fantastic day for late February angling! At one point, we spotted a fish that was nearly 30″. As temperatures rise, these enormous wild fish that are currently holding in the Colorado River in the Class V whitewater of Gore Canyon will continue to push into the YR Property as they stage for their spawn. It’s only going to get better and better through March and early April!

Town is open from the Rabbit Ears hotel down through town.  Fishing should get good in town in the next couple of weeks.  The fishing has been fair through the open water section. 

62 cfs below Stagecoach. Road closed as of Jan 1.

Stagecoach: Midges, scuds, worms.

Steamboat area: Midges Nymphing deeper runs and holes. Dries may work during hatches, which are usually pretty sporadic.

N/A cfs below Stagecoach. This station has not been reporting for months. River is about 150 cfs. Road will close Jan 1.

143 cfs at Steamboat Spgs. Stagecoach: Midges, scuds, worms.

Steamboat area: Midges Nymphing deeper runs and holes. Dries may work during hatches, which are usually pretty sporadic.

Good luck from 11 til 2:30  Midges, and bwo's

144 cfs at Steamboat Spgs.

Stagecoach: Midges, scuds, worms, PMDs, caddis.

Steamboat area: Caddis, Yellow Sallies, Tricos, BWOs Nymphing deeper runs and holes. Dries may work during hatches, which are usually pretty sporadic.