Fryingpan River Report October 29, 2025
UPPER FRYINGPAN (Mile Marker 8 upstream to Ruedi Reservoir)
FLOW: 43 CFS
WATER CLARITY: Clear
OVERALL RATING: 7 out of 10
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Blue Winged Olives, Green Drakes, Pale Morning Duns, Midges, Mysis Shrimp, Sculpins
THE LOW-DOWN: Annual Ruedi dam maintenance will begin on Monday, November 3rd. The outflow will be re-directed out of the back bay, and it is strongly advised to NOT FISH THE TOILET BOWL during the planned maintenance. There are minimal oxygen and food flowing through the bowl, and we want to give the fish a break while they are vulnerable. This only affects the concrete structure at the bottom release, not the rest of the river, and the maintenance usually lasts a week or two.
Flows have been further reduced this week. This has put most of the big bugs off and brought us back to the heavy Blue Wing hatches we'd expect heading into Winter. This isn't to say they won't come up for the occasional Drake or PMD, but they're not the main entree on offer.
Fish seem to be keying in on emergers just below the surface most afternoons, something to be expected after a long stretch of being fooled by juicy Drake patterns.
As always, keep your nymphs up here slim and subtle, even for your larger mayflies.
Streamer fishing can be productive early or late in the day, or any time the sky is clouded up or the wind is blowing.
Mysis shrimp are a year-round food factor.
HATCHES: Blue Winged Olives 20-22, Sporadic Pale morning Duns 16-18, Sporadic Green Drakes 10-14, Midges 18-26
APPROPRIATE PATTERNS:
DRIES: TC Custom Collette's BWO 20-22, Mike Lawson's No Hackle BWO 20-22, Parachute Adams 20-22, HOH Hanging Midge Grey/Black 20-22, Mole Midge 20-22, Roy Palm's Special Frying Pan Emerger 20-22, Bill's Midge Emerger 20-22, Hatching Midge 20-22, Taylor Creek Custom Sparkledun Green Drake 12-14, Umpqua Custom Improved Sparkledun Green Drake 10, Fryingpan Green Drake Cripple 12, CDC Comparadun PMD Yellow 16-18, Hackle Dun PMD Cream 16-18, Last Chance PMD Cripple Pink 16-18,
NYMPHS: Tungsten Redemption 16-18, Stalcup's BTS Nymph Rust 16-18, Epoxyback PMD Emerger 16, Barr's Emerger and Barr's Black Back Emerger 20-22, Stott's Good Carl 20, Stott's Juggernaut 20, Dorsey's Mercury RS2 Gray 20-22, Skinny-tied Pheasant Tail 20-24, Killer Mayfly Olive/Brown 22, Jigged JJ Nymph BWO 18-20, TC Candy Cane Midge 18-22, Tim's Mysis 16-18, Will's Epoxy Mysis 18-20, Craven's Mysis 16-18
STREAMERS: Barr's Slumpbuster, Borski's Bonefish Slider, Tim Heng's Autumn Splendor, Tungsten Thin Mint, Craven's Swim Coach
HINTS: Be stealthy and present your offering with minimal line on the water whether dry fly or nymph fishing. Fryingpan fish will not tolerate hero casting or laying line and indicators over them; they'll shut down and stop feeding.
MIDDLE FRYINGPAN (Mile Marker 4 upstream to Mile Marker 8)
WATER CONDITIONS: Clear
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Pale Morning Duns, Green Drakes, Blue Winged Olives, Midges, Sculpins
OVERALL RATING: 7 out of 10
THE LOW DOWN: A lot like the upper river, tides have turned towards smaller bugs with the occasional hatch of larger PMDs and Drakes. Even when the big bugs are on top, our picky Pan fish are giving small flies and sneaky presentations preferential treatment.
HATCHES: Blue Winged Olives 20-22, Midges 20-26, Caddis 14-18, Green Drakes 12-14, Pale Morning Duns 16-18
APPROPRIATE PATTERNS:
DRIES: CDC Biot BWO, No-Hackle BWO 20-22, 20-22, Mole Fly Baetis 20-22, HOH Hanging Midge 20-22, Roy's Special Fryingpan Emerger 20-22, Massacre Midge 20-22, CDC Comparadun PMD Yellow 16-18, Hackle Dun PMD Cream 16-18, TC Custom Sparkledun PMD 16-18, Last Chance PMD Cripple Pink 16-18, Fryingpan Green Drake Cripple 12, Colorado Green Drake 12, HOH CDC Thorax Green Drake 12, Missing Link Caddis 14-18, Lawson's EZ Caddis 16-18, Elk Hair Caddis 14-18
NYMPHS: Pat Dorsey's Top Secret Midge 22-24, Pat Dorsey's Black Beauty 20-22, Mercury Pheasant Tail 16-20, Tim Heng's BLM 16-18, Flashwing Black (or Gray) RS2 20-22, Zebra Midge Red 18-20, Prince Nymph 14-18, Tungsten Redemption 16-18, Stalcup's BTS Nymph Rust 16-18, Epoxyback PMD Emerger 16, Tungsten Frenchie 16, Murder, She Wrote 20-22
STREAMERS: Tungsten Double Thin Mint, Dali-Lama, Skully Bugger, Tim Heng's Autumn Splendor
HINTS: Keep moving if you're mid-river, there's going to be quiet zones and others with more activity the more you explore. The middle river can hold more fish than you'd think!
LOWER FRYINGPAN (Basalt upstream to Mile Marker 4)
WATER CONDITIONS: Often cloudy due to instream work
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Blue Winged Olives, Midges, Sculpins
OVERALL RATING: 5 out of 10
THE LOWDOWN: Even with the cloudy days, hatches are slow, but streamers and terrestrials are still a really fun way to explore down here.
The fish down lower see significantly less pressure and tend to be easier to fool. A dry-dropper setup is an ideal approach for the lower river as well as euro-nymphing the faster section.
HATCHES: Blue Winged Olives 20-22, Midges 20-26, Terrestrials
APPROPRIATE PATTERNS:
DRIES: Missing Link Caddis 16-18, TC Custom Collette's BWO Adult 18-20, Parachute Purple Haze Adams 16-20, CDC Comparadun PMD Yellow 16-18, Hackle Dun PMD Cream 16-18, Crane Fly Adult 10, Traditional Adams 18-22, Morgans Midge 18-22, Hatching Midge 20-22, Sprout Midge 22-24, HOH CDC Spent Midge 22-24, Mole Fly Baetis 20-22, Harrop's CDC Biot Dun BWO 20-22, CDC Comparadun BWO 20-22
NYMPHS: Prince Nymph 16-18, Twenty Incher Nymph 16, Buckskin Caddis 16-18, Crane Fly Larva 10, Tungsten Redemption 16-18, Stalcup's BTS Nymph Rust 16-18, Epoxyback PMD Emerger 16, Tungsten Frenchie 16, Jerome Baetis 20-22, Ultra Bling RS2 Gray 18-20, Stott's Good Carl 20, Murder She Wrote Rust 20-22, Bling Midge 20-24
STREAMERS: Home Invader, Carlton Banks, Skully Bugger, Dali-Lama
HINTS: Fish in the lower river tend to ramble and migrate around, so keep searching if you're not feeling the love.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/uv/?site_no=09080400
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