The Top 5 Wintertime Flies for Fort Collins
A Guide To Help Get You Through The Cold Months
The days have grown shorter, and the weather app on your phone often reads below 40°F for a daytime high now, but that doesn’t mean you have to put away your rod for the season. Wintertime fly fishing can be some of the most serene, beautiful, and fun fishing all year.
Around Fort Collins the opportunities for wintertime fly fishing abound with several miles of public access along the Cache la Poudre River. So don’t be afraid to put on a few extra layers underneath your waders and head for the nearest open water.
Much like fly fishing during any other season, the proper flies and presentation are the two keys to a fishful trip. Here’s the top five wintertime flies to use when fishing around the city of Fort Collins.
Black Beauty Midge — Sometimes size is might, and in this case it never hurt to stay on the small side. This small midge pattern can be a top producer when fished like a conventional midge pattern, and it does well as either a dropper off a larger nymph such as a weighted Pheasant Tail, or even a tandem rig with two Beauties tied on.
Keep it small, between a #18-#24, and don’t be afraid to string it up with some 6x or 7x. With a small midge like this one, slow pocket water with just enough current to move your fly is gonna be your friend.
Christmas Midge — Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean this fly has to go back in the attic too. Very similar in size and appearance to a Black Beauty, this midge can be your wintertime go to. With a more eye-catching body than it’s previously mentioned cousin, this fly can be highly effective as a dropper off another midge.
In this case, smaller patterns will work in your favor, but a larger one can hold surprises as well. Keep it between a #16-#22, and let the Christmas magic do it’s thing.
Copper John Nymph — Don’t let the size or seasonal preference of this fly fool you. Although the Copper John is a popular summertime pattern, it can hold its own during the wintertime too.
Fished slow and steady is best for this one, and be mindful of shallow sections of a river, as its weighted body can be liable to find rocks or debris in the riffles. Red is tried and true, but forest green or copper can have their benefits.
An uncommon tactic that can prove deadly with this fly is a lone dead drift without an indicator through both riffles and slackwater or pools. Stick with a smaller sized fly and you’ll be in the clear, size #18-#24.
Parachute Adams — Break out this old favorite on a warmer day, or if subsurface midges aren’t doing the trick and you know there’s some fish activity in the area. A good dry fly drift can get almost any trout to bite, even the pickiest of fish.
Slower pools and slackwater is the key with this dry fly pattern, but fish it like a summertime dry to maximize its potential. Similar to the Copper John, unconventional tactics with a very popular fly can also produce. Drifting just below the surface, or using a water logged fly through riffles and past boulders in slow currents has proven to trick some fish.
Even though it may be tempting to go larger with a dry fly, stick with the theme of smaller flies and run a #16-#24.
Brassie — Much like a Black Beauty and Christmas, this midge is a good all around pattern for running wintertime waters. Small in size, and simple in appearance, it has a lot to offer and can be a hot producer when fished similarly to the Black Beauty. A size #18-#24 should do the trick with this one.
Winter Means Time To Play
These five flies are great all around flies for wintertime fishing in Fort Collins. Be sure to use a variety of techniques when fishing them, and try thinking outside the box when it comes to techniques.
Remember the most effective pattern in the one that is presented the best, even if it may not be the “perfect” fly. Presentation and choice of fly are equally important, but the presentation must work for the fly to work.
These are some great flies, but don’t limit your options to just these flies or their families. Dredge a Thin Mint or Wooly Bugger through a pool and slip it through some currents on the river.
Fish a single dry fly on a warmer day, or go with a double dropper rig. Ditch the strike indicator for more excitement, or lengthen your tippet beyond what you might traditionally have.
Most importantly when you head to the river with your rod in hand, remember why you are going fishing. Wintertime fly fishing almost always offers unmatched solitude on the river. The season feels slower, and opens up your senses to another face of the river.
Take in the scenery, and explore the landscape with a different perspective. When you pick the ice from your guides on a cold day, feel the gratitude for being able to fish during all the seasons, or when the snowflakes collect on your frozen cheeks, appreciate the beauty of the season.
Enjoy the river and respect it. Pursuing a leopard-spotted brown or olive-backed rainbow during the colder months of the year is a treasure, so get out there and enjoy it while you can.
