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When most people think après ski, they think warm lodges, sitting by the fire and possibly sipping something that keeps the insides nice and toasty. There is a growing number of people that are choosing to spend their après time on the river wetting a line, instead of hitting up the local tavern or lodge. I have recently met up with several anglers on the Blue River that spend their mornings hitting the slopes and then come down to fish the Blue River before heading back to the urban jungle that is Colorado’s front range.
The Blue River is a great choice for those wanting a little time on the river after a little schussing. With great public access, prolific aquatic life and the chance to catch a trophy trout how could any angler pass this stretch of river without at least stopping to look at the behemoth trout that inhabit her waters. During the chilly winter months the river tends to see less angler pressure, which means no elbow bumping when searching for these clever fish.
Fly selection for this section of river is amazingly simple due to the smaller number of aquatic bugs available for tout to eat. Lake Dillon holds large quantities of mysis as your lead fly and a midge for your point fly. This allows you to provide two different choices for the fish and allows an angler to cover more of the water column, thus increasing the chance of a hook up.
The flies I recommend for fishing this section of the Blue River in Colorado during the chilly winter months are as follows; #20-#24 jujubee midge, #20-#24 black beauties, #18-#20 epoxy mysis, #18-#20 Dorsey’s mysis, #22-#26 blood midges, #20-#24 rojo midge, #22-#24 Griffith’s gnat, #22-#24 Dorsey’s top secret midge, #20-#24 Barr’s emerger, #22-#28 Blue Wing Olives. Though this is what I tend to fish when on the Blue River, nothing is ever set in stone, if these patterns don’t work, visit one of the local shops for their top choice flies.
Parking and access are extremely easy to find and make access to the river easy. When I fish the Blue during these chilly winter months I usually park at either the public access near the base of Dillon Dam, or the one directly below I-70 and both spots make for a great base camp for fishing this superb river.
So the next time you anglers head up to the hills to do a little skiing or riding it is definitely worth checking out this gem of a river instead of hitting the local tavern or lodge. If you bring your family along they can always do some shopping at the outlet mall while you get into some serious fish.
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