It's late summer in the Rockies and fall can't get here soon enough. With recent rain and a cool down on the horizon, it's been refreshing to breathe in a little clean mountain air, as of late. We're in the so-called dog days of summer - on some stretches of water more than others. The key to finding quality fishing is finding ample, cold water. Three fisheries stand out in that accord are: (1) South Platte below Cheesman Reservoir (2) The Middle Colorado (3) The High Country.

Fortunately, there is a bit of rain and some cooler temperatures in the forecast over the next week and we're happy to see it. With the low flows on select freestones & tailwaters, getting on the water early and off early will be the key to finding healthy and happy fish when the water is holding below 67F. When it comes to bug choices, it's late summer. On freestones, hopper-droppers & streamers will do the trick. Don't be afraid to downsize your droppers and use a bigger midge or blue-winged olive (think size 16 & 18), as the summer bugs fade away. Downsize your tippet, as well - 4x fluorocarbon will help bring more fish to hand...5x if you have to.

On the low-flowing tailwaters, use your typical attractors, blue-winged olives, and midges. Below Cheesman Reservoir, think bigger. Stoneflies, worms, scuds, craneflies and the like combined with the typical small midges and blue-winged olive nymphs will put fish in the net.

Prefer your River Reports in writing? No problem, be sure to check out our Fishing Information page for up-to-date fishing reports!