January is upon us and that means there isn't much hope of escaping the cold when searching for a place to fish around Colorado. My best piece of advice is to own the cold. What I mean by that is be willing to brave the weather conditions. If you are up to the challenge, the rewards can make you forget the frigid January temps. This time of the year I find myself sticking with the classics more than usual. With that said, here is my take on 5 Flies that Will Get You Through the Month of January.

Pheasant Tail- Starting with a classic. The Original PT is the gift that keeps on giving. No flashback, No Bead. Keeping it original during the cold months seems to be one of my most successful patterns. This time of the year I like them in a size 20-22

Mayer’s Mysis- I find my fly boxes full of Mysis as the new year begins. It helps to motivate me to go freeze to death on the tailwaters with Mysis in their systems. A size 16-18 Mayer’s Mysis is the first pattern I chose when rigging up and usually remains on my rig the entire day. I’ll let you decide if that is because they work or because my fingers are too cold to change flies…

Pure Midge- Simple and Durable. A fly a lot of people look past when in the shop. It might not have all the bells and whistles that a bunch of other midge patterns have but, IT WORKS. The Red Pure Midge from a 20 to 24 is a go to for me this time of the year.

Olive RS2- If you are picking up on the pattern… I like to keep it fairly simple in January. By this time of the year, I have tied and tried a bunch of new patterns that I was positive would be the best midge/emerger patterns ever fished. In reality, the classics continue to be the most consistent patterns in my fly box. The Olive RS2 just so happens to be one of those consistent producers!

Sprout Midge- I like to throw Dry Flies any chance I get! Thankfully, the South Platte drainage offers a ton of winter dry fly opportunities. If it means anything, I only carry two dry fly midge patterns in my box. Those two patterns are Griffith's Gnats and Black/Gray Sprout Midges. Pairing a Sprout Midge up with an RS2 dropping behind it is my favorite way to fish Deckers/Cheesman and the Dream Stream until warmer spring days return.