Fryingpan River (Lite Report)

Background

The Fryingpan, often referred to as the “Pan”, originates east of Aspen in the Hunter Fryingpan Wilderness and flows northwest to Ruedi Reservoir. Below Reudi, which was dammed in the late 60’s, the river flows west another 14 miles before converging with the Roaring Fork in Basalt. This tailwater section was given Gold Medal status and is arguably the most heavily fished as it holds some of the state’s biggest trout. For the sake of this FlyCast report, the tailwater section below Ruedi will be the focus of this report. Here you’ll find a plethora of beefy browns and rainbows as well as some cutthroats and brookies.

Angling

This incredible tailwater offers year round fishing and is particularly productive during the summer and fall as it experiences a variety of prolific hatches and amazing dry fly fishing. The green drake hatch, which occurs in the late summer/early fall, is highly sought after, but does attract a fair amount of anglers. As such, be prepared for crowded water. Otherwise, you’ll find midges year round as well as Caddis and BWOs in the summer and fall. Unlike many tailwaters in Colorado, Reudi Reservoir releases a plethora of mysis shrimp into the Frying Pan. As a result, mysis shrimp are a major part of the trout’s diet. While it is friendly to anglers of all skill sets, tailwaters in general can be fickle, requiring you to be at the top of your game. Trout here see countless imitation flies on a daily basis and will look the other way if your presentation and flies aren’t just right. Traditional nymphing produces the most consistent results. However, unlike many tailwaters in Colorado, Ruedi releases a plethora of mysis shrimp from the dam.