Dry Fly Time!!!

Got Caddis?

It’s my favorite time of the year. Well, it’s tied with Fall, which is also my favorite time of the year. Spring has a slight edge because it leads into Summer. We know what Fall leads to. 

It’s the time of the year when days are longer and warmer, hummingbirds are humming, and songbirds are singing love songs trying to impress the ladies. Trees and flowers are beginning to bloom and fresh cut grass sweetens the air.

On a more practical note, it’s the time of the year when we turn off the furnace and put those saved dollars in the gas tank and get out and fish.

Ah yes…the fishing. Dry fly time!!! Longer days warm the air and water and the BIG bugs start to hatch. (big defined as anything bigger than #22)

First out of the chute in the big bug rodeo is the caddis. Here in Colorado the famous (infamous?) Mothers Day hatch on the Arkansas gets the big bug ball rolling. The hatch starts around Canon City and makes its way up river to Salida and on up toward Leadville. Caddis are now beginning to pop on the lower stretches of the South Platte around Deckers and will soon be going off in Cheesman Canyon, 11 Mile Canyon, and the Dream Stream in that order.

Another, often over looked, benefit of this time of the year is being able to forgo the pre-dawn fish call and sleep in, do some yard work or whatever, and fish later in the day. Many people still get to the river early and leave early too. The best fishing is often later in the day, even toward sunset, when the air and water are warmest and the fish are most active and looking up for an easy meal. Sometimes this time of year I won’t leave the house until 3pm, just about the time many early birds are leaving the river.

So, get out, go fish and enjoy the Spring!