Eagle River Fishing Report

The Eagle River is one of the last true large freestone rivers in Colorado. The Eagle runs right through the heart of the Vail Valley. Starting it’s 77-mile journey high above the valley floor near Tennessee pass and dropping 2,400 vertical feet in its first 30 miles the river slows and widens as it flows through the towns of Avon and Edwards.

The upper Eagle is famous for its great Brown Trout habitat and faster water/ pocket fishing, this area is overlooked by many anglers but offers some great wade fishing using big dry flies and streamers.

As the Eagle cuts, it’s way west towards the Colorado River from Edwards, float and wade fishing for a mix of larger Browns and Rainbows is some of the best fishing in Colorado in early to late July. The lower Eagle is more heavily fished but offers good public access. Wild Rainbows and Browns up to 20 plus inches are not uncommon in the Eagle Rive

October 1 Fishing: Very Good

Conditions: Low & Clear | Best Fishing: Late Morning through Afternoon

Great news for anglers in the Vail Valley: the voluntary fishing closure on the Eagle River has been lifted!

The voluntary closure from Lake Creek in Edwards downstream to the Colorado River confluence officially ended September 23, opening the entire lower Eagle back up to fishing.After a challenging summer of low water and warm temperatures, cooler fall nights have improved conditions and October should provide some excellent opportunities for both dry-fly and streamer fishing.

Blue-Winged Olives

October means Blue-Winged Olives on the Eagle River.

BWOs should be one of the most important hatches this month, particularly during cloudy or overcast weather. Look for rising trout in slower seams, riffle edges, tailouts and softer water from late morning through the afternoon.

Keep your dry-fly rod ready. When the fish start looking up, small BWO dries and emergers can produce some fantastic fall dry-fly fishing.

Flies to Try:

• BWO dries #18–22
• Parachute Adams #18–22
• Sparkle Duns #18–22
• RS2s #18–22
• Barr’s Emergers #18–22
• JuJu Baetis #18–22
• Pheasant Tails #16–20
• Zebra Midges #18–22

October Caddis

Keep an eye out for October caddis as well. These large fall caddis provide a much bigger meal than the tiny BWOs and midges that dominate much of the fall menu.

A larger caddis or attractor pattern can also make a great searching dry, particularly around banks and structure.

Streamer Season Is Here!

October is one of our favorite months to throw streamers on the Eagle.

Brown trout are preparing for their fall spawn, and larger fish can become increasingly aggressive. This is a great time to cover water with streamers and search for some of the Eagle River’s bigger browns.

Concentrate on undercut banks, deeper pools, structure, riffle transitions and deeper runs.

Try:

• Sculpzillas
• Sparkle Minnows
• Woolly Buggers
• Sex Dungeons
• Barely Legals
• Olive, black and brown articulated streamers

Change your retrieve throughout the day. Sometimes an aggressive strip triggers a chase, while other fish respond better to a slower swing or retrieve.

Low-Water Tactics

Flows remain very low, making stealth particularly important.

Fish are likely to concentrate in deeper runs, pockets and areas with good cover. Approach the river carefully, use longer leaders when necessary and avoid unnecessary wading through productive water.

With clear water, trout can be spooky. A good presentation is often more important than constantly changing flies.

Protect Spawning Brown Trout

As we move further into October, brown trout will begin spawning.

Watch for redds—areas of clean, freshly disturbed gravel. Please avoid walking through redds or deliberately targeting actively spawning trout.

There are plenty of aggressive, feeding trout away from spawning areas.

October Outlook

October should be a great month to get back on the Eagle River.

With the voluntary closure now lifted, cooler fall temperatures, Blue-Winged Olive dry-fly fishing, October caddis and aggressive pre-spawn brown trout, anglers have plenty of reasons to get out and enjoy one of the Vail Valley’s signature trout streams.

The combination of beautiful fall colors, fewer crowds and excellent fishing makes October one of our favorite times of year on the Eagle.

 If you are a DIY kind of angler, then our knowledgeable and friendly guide staff can steer you in the right direction with the right flies… The Avanza Map App is a great resource as well.

 Our veteran guide staff is the most experienced when it comes to guiding the Eagle river drainage. (970) 845-8090

GOT MAP APP?

 

This GPS digital map will change your life.

Get the App, Get the Map.

Avenza Maps® uses your device’s built-in GPS to locate you even when you are out of range of a network or internet connection. BLUE GPS DOT follows you wherever you go so you always know where you are on the map.  Get the free Avenza PDF Map App.

Maps are highly detailed including all Federal, State, County and City public fishing access lands along with boat put-ins, take-outs, river miles, insect hatch charts and more.  Drop pins/placemarks to mark your favorite locations or fishing holes. Add notes to your pins like insect hatches, water clarity, water temperature and more. Snap photos with your camera and geo-tag to one of your pins/placemarks.

Click here to download the free Avenza PDF Map App for Iphones
Click here to download the free Avenza PDF Map App for Androids

Discounted Bundles available.

After downloading and installing the free Avenza Map App, open the app, store tab, in the Location, Keywords, Activity grey search bar type FFO and enter.  You will now see all of the mobile fishing maps available for purchase and download.

• Follow the blue GPS dot to the access points!
• Drop pins on your favorite spots
• Public access are highlighted GREN.Private in RED
• Detailed locations and descriptions of all public access points
• Boat luanch locations,rapid names and float mileages.

GPS means no cell signal needed! Get the Free Map App the river maps are only $1.99 each. Blue River Map coming very soon.