Photo: Tim Romano
Who is ready for one last road trip this fall? So far we've highlighted the Snake, the North Platte, and the San Juan. Our last installment: the Green River - 365 miles west of the Mile High city.
The Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam is one of the most renowned fisheries in the United States. Located in northeast Utah, this section of the river has 30 miles of solid floating water as well as sections to wade fish. The Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam is a tail water with consistent water temperatures and prime trout habitat.
To make sure we captured the visual experience of the Green River, we talked to Tim Romano who provided these photos and who posted this killer slide show on Fly Talk. He had this to say about his recent trip.
Photo: Tim Romano
“Dude... we have to fish the Green soon. I'm blown away every time I go there,” said Tim. “We were catching big, big fish on streamers and rolled fish on mouse patterns in the middle of gin clear runs. We even fished streamers at night and caught fish."
In addition, we checked in with Greg Pearson with Green Drake Outdoors who has fished this river extensively to give us the skinny.
“The fall can be great with with big streamers... try tan or gold stuff or things that look like small brown trout or medium sized rainbows,” said Pearson. “Sculpzilla's are great, try a few colors till you see a lot of follows then figure out if they want it slow or fast, deep or on the banks. Once you find the right combo it is common to see wolf packs of angry brown trout chasing on every cast. Whether you get a ton of eats or just a few you will dig the visual of seeing a zillion fish chase and act coo-coo-for-cocoa-puffs darting around your streamer!”
Photo: Tim Romano
The Green river below Flaming Gorge Dam can be divided into three sections:
A Section: This 7-mile stretch from the dam to Little Hole is the most popular with excellent water clarity and abundance of fish.
“For the A section in August and into the fall... launch very early or very late to avoid crowds in rafts/canoes unless you like a lot of noise, water fights and rafts full of screaming idiots bouncing off your boat,” said Greg. “If on foot... go to little hole and walk up stream in the morning. The float crowd will not show up till afternoon. At that time walk below Little hole ramps as the morning floats will be long gone. It is a gorgeous canyon and pretty water, just have to be smart about avoiding the crowds.”
B Section: This is an 8-mile section from Little Hole to Indian Crossing in Brown's Park.
“This section requires an expensive shuttle if you only have one rig, but it is worth it... not as many fun-type fun floaters and crowds,” said Greg. Watch out for Red Creek rapids (it's a boat sinker) otherwise no whitewater and an easy float. Red Creek blows out the whole river below it if it rains hard.”
Photo: Tim Romano
C Section: This final 10-mile+ zone holds perhaps the largest fish, but the quality of fishing is not as consistent.
“The C section is cool because there are a ton of different floats to choose from,” said Pearson. “Anything from one hour to 10 hour floats. Just look for dirt two tracks heading toward river and you have most likely found another place to launch or take out. If Red Creek is blown it will take a day or two to clear up. The C section can be tough fishing but the rewards can be great... 30" Brown Trout... on a dry fly.”
If you're interested in a guided trip, Pearson recommends Western Rivers Flyfisher, Trout Bum or Spinner Fall for great guides.
Photo: Tim Romano
