Caddis are abundant on most of the South Platte and Front Range watersheds, be sure to have some good imitators in your fly box.

What you want to know: High mountain lakes are, inevitably, starting to ice over and your time to fish them might be past. 

However, if you get up there quick, and find the water to be open, stillwater streamer patterns dropped from a slip/strike indicator and allowed to bob using the action of the water are proving to be very effective everywhere but especially on Antero and Spinney Resevoirs (this works best with feather streamers and some amount of swell on the water).

A Chironomid with a callibaetis dropper is a great go-to rig for any lake right above the weed line.

Flies you will need:
• O.P.'s Delaney Monster
• Stillwater Nymph
• Chironomids Black, Red or Zebra 8-14
• Parachute Adams 20
• Scuds (Gray or Olive)
• Woolly Buggers Black and Olive
• Pheasant Tails 10-16
• Callibaetis Nymphs 10-17
• Gold Ribbed Hare's Ears 10-16
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Low 40° - Mid 50°
Water Clarity: Still somewhat off color but nice and clear to a few feet.

What you should know: Nymph the deeper runs using a Copper John or Hotwire Prince Nymph followed by Barr's Micro Midge, a Black Beauty, or a Craven's Jujubee Midge.

Flies you will need:
•Hotwire Prince Nymph
• Copper John
• Buckskins
• Barr's Micro Midge
• Caddis Poopah
• Caddis Larva BT
• Black Beauty
•Craven's Jujubee Midge
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Mid 40° to Low 50°
Water Clarity: Great

What you should know: Be nice to the Locals, they're the only reason this stays a great fishery. Watch for and fish the BWO hatches, don't underestimate the value of underwater caddis immitators. 

• Tungsten Rubber Leg Copper John (Olive and Black) 12
• Dorsey's Mercury Black Beauty
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Low 40° Low 50°
Water clarity is great.

What you should know: The hot fishing is in town (Silverthorne).  The fly sizes are of the small winter variety, meaning the biggest thing you throw will be a 20 or smaller.  Jujubee Midges & Black Beauties.  The water is very low and clear with traditional holes fishing very well.

In town: Flows are down. Fish the tail-out riffles of the seams behind boulders where fish feel well covered. BWO's Mysis, Midges. Fish two-fly rigs with a large attractor nymph up top with a BWO Nymph below. You'll need a lot of lead or tungsten to get the flies down.

Flies you will need:
• Mysis Shrimp
• Scuds (green, orange or gray) 16-18
• Flashback Pheasant Tail 18-20
• LaFontaine's Deep Sparkle Pupa 14-16
• BH Purple Prince 14-16
• Jujubee Midge 22
• Black & Brown Conehead Streamers
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Mid 40 to Low 50°
Clarity is Excellent

What you should know: Expect to see a few PMD's, BWO's and Caddis and be able to imitate them with drys flies as well as emergers.  Watch out in the shallows for the Redds of spawning Browns.

Flies you will need:
• Cranefly Larva
• Rim Chung RSII-Black 20-24
• San Juan Worms-Tan
• Pheasant Tail 16-22
• Rainbow Warrior 16-22
• LaFontaine's Deep Sparkle Caddis
• Barr's PMD or BWO Emergers
• Mercury Black Beauty 20-22
• Mercury Pheasant Tail 18
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Low 40°
Water Clarity: Great

What you should know:  Don't change a working system:  Fish the knee deep water with something fairly large as an attractor (I know you're laughing at the thought of that but it will work) and something tiny and dark for a natural. You'll get the tug-drug all day long!

Lately, I've been catching them on a very unexpected fly. To save time and reduce my overall effort for the day (what a laugh) I tied on a Tungsten Rubber Leg Copper John, olive and black in size 12 to get my second fly down. The second fly was any of a variety of bugs from Barr's Micro Emerger, Craven's JuJubee Midge or the notoriously successful Black Beauty (plain or Dorsey-style with a mercury bead and a touch of flash). Of course with this set up I expected to rack up my score with the little black bug. Man was I wrong. On both of the past days of fishing up in the canyon, I caught the majority of fish on that big ol' nasty Copper John.

I caught the rest on the little black thing, of course, so don't rule out the expected either.

Most fish were caught in deeper runs of at least 18" or more. I used one of those strike indicators made from strips of closed-cell foam and "O" rings (it was white). If you rig those indicators just right you can slide them up and down all day without curling your leader - the better to stay in the feeding lanes. I also used a 9' Fluoro Leader (5X is what I had so I added 15" 6X Fluoro Tippet to get the perfect presentation). I was throwing all this around with a 3Wt 8'9" fly rod. Great times ...

Flies you will need:
• Tungsten Rubber Leg Copper John Olive and Black
• Bead Head Pheasant Tail 16
• Mercury Black Beauties
• Barr's Micro Midge
• Dorsey's Mercury Black Beauty
• Craven's Jujubee Midge
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Low 50°
Water clarity is great.

What you should know: Good steady fishing can be found here. Some good sized Rainbows gulping eggs can be found in most areas so be sure stock up on those Egg Patterns.  Watch your step in the shallows and be mindful of the Redds. Try streameres dead drifted in the deep holes for some renegade and low-holding Browns.

Flies you will need:
• Egg Patterns
• Black Beauties
• CDC Loop Wing BWO Emergers
• Buckskin 18-20
• Barr's PMD Emerger 16
• Bead Head Caddis Pupae 16
• Black & Brown Conehead Streamers
• Rubber Buggers
• San Juan Worms
• RSII's
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Nymph the deep holes especially in the AM
In the PM just before dark, try these:
• PMD Drys 14-16
• Black Wooley Buggers
• Black and Brown Buggers
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Mid 40° to Low 50°
Water clarity below Horse Creek is still bad but above it's really good.

What you should know: The Browns are spawning here so watch out for Redds in the shallows. Fish deeper water for the bigger fish to stay off the tiny Hofers from recent stocking efforts.

The baetis patterns are still great to have but the deep running caddis are absolutely what's working. The fishing is very good in the deeper holes and softer water. Drop a BWO or PMD emerger (or 2) behind your BWO dries if you insist on fishing the surface and you'll have a better chance to hook up with the bigger, spookier fish.

Flies you will need:
• Barr's PMD or BWO Emergers
• San Juan Worms
• Nuclear Eggs, Flashtail Eggs
• Rim Chung RSII-Gray 20-22
• Rainbow Warrior Red
• Pheasant Tails
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Low 50°
Water clarity is great

What you should know: Stick to the successful combination of tiny black Midge patterns and tried-and-true Callibaetis patterns fished on the edges of fast/slow water or the edges of shadows and light. BWO hatches occur occasionally, typical Fall/Winter midge patterns work great.  Try WD40's, Miracle Midges and Black Beauties.

Flies you will need:
• San Juan Worm 14-16
• Rim Chung RS-II 20
• Jujubee Midge, Sparkle Dun 20-22
• Miracle Midge
• BWO's 20-26
• Snowshoe Dun
• WD-40
• Black Beauties
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Upper 50° - Low 60°
Water clarity is great.

What you should know: If the fishing gets any better here, they're going to make a movie out about it and they just may do it anyway!  Dry Fly Action is STILL smokin' hot from lunch to pre-dusk. Fish the foam lines and softer water with a PMD and or a BWO. When it comes to nymphing, mysis or shrimp are starting to taper but are still effective in the Toilet Bowl but you might be better off sticking to PMD or BWO emergers. Barr's varieties of this bug are absolutely unbeatable.

Flies you will need:
• PMD 16-20
• BWO 16-22
• Barr's PMD Emerger 16-18
• Barr's BWO Emerger 16-18
• Eggs
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Low 40° - Mid 50°
Water clarity is great

What you should know:  Nymphs and some streamers are yeilding the fish here.  Midges and BWO emergers in the afternoons work well.  Work the deeper, slow water as opposed to the skinnies.

Flies you will need:
• Pheasant Tails
• RS II's
• Barr's BWO Emerger
• Jujubees
• Princes
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Low 40°-Mid 50°
Clarity is great when the wind doesn't chop the surface to bits (although fish get braver with some chop ...)

What you should know: Spawning trout are populating the upper reaches and shallows so give them some room.  Instead, fish the deeper holes for the big ones and walk away with a grin and a photo of a nice Spinney Mountain Ranch trophy. They can be caught on Jujubees, Egg Paterns, Rojo Midges, Medallion Midges & RSII's.  Browns are in the deep holes (5-8') and can be taken with lots of weight or even streamers.  The Rainbows are coming in behind the Kokes eating eggs of a pinkish/orange (not just orange) color.  Avoid the lure of the shallows and fish the deeper holes.  Dredge the bottom with scuds, and typical tailwater patterns such as Miracle Nymphs, Dorsey's Blood Midges, Black Beauties and Craven's Jujubee Midges.  Also try green copper johns, rainbow warriors. Also producing fish is the Slumpbuster in natural, trailed with a Green and Black Bead Head Copper John. This should work all evening 'til dark.

Flies you will need:
• Copper Johns 16
• Craven's Jujubaetis
• Dorsey's Medallion Midge
• Dorsey's Blood Midge
• Garcia's Rojo Midge
• Barr's Slumpbuster Natural
• Tungsten Rubber Leg Copper Johns Olive and Black
• Tucker Scuds
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Low 40° to Low 50°
Clarity: Great

What you need to know: Blue Wing Olives and some Pale Morning Duns fished as emergers or Black Beauties and Jujubee Midges down deep/

Flies you will need:
• BWO and PMD Emergers
• Black Beauties
• Jujubee Midges
• Dorsey's Medallion Midge Pupa 18-20
• Psycho Prince Nymph Dirty Pink 14-18
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Mid 40°
Water clarity is great.

What you should know: Nice little browns and bows are hanging out in the deeper seams.  Work the sun/shade edges and fast/slow edges especially on the deeper sides of the runs. 

Fish a caddis pupa in the deep slow waters. Streamers are always effective here and now is not the exception.

Flies you will need:
• Buckskin 18-20
• Red San Juan Worm 18
• Caddis Larva 18-20
• AK's Blue Quill 18-20
• Dorsey's Top Secret 18-20
• Wine Hotwire Prince Nymph 18-20
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