Autumn in Colorado is probably our favourite time to fly fish!
The colors of fall are particularly spectacular in Steamboat Springs, with yellow, orange and red aspen groves covering entire hillsides. The mosquitoes and biting flies are all long gone, and fish are in feeding overdrive, preparing for the lean winter!
There is no place in Colorado more beautiful than Steamboat lake this time of year, and the fly fishing is spectacular too!
With most insect hatches done for the year, trout are focused on crayfish. Olive and rust-colored streamers that imitate a small crayfish will definitely get bit!
Our favorite fly to fish in steamboat Lake in the fall is a Thin Mint, a particularly effective variation of a woolly bugger, This streamer has a tungsten bead, that sinks the fly quickly, a peacock body, which has always been a favorite color of trout, and a seductive tail made of marabou that undulates when stripped.
Technique: We are often asked “how were you stripping the fly”? The answer is simple. Try different strips and the fish will let you know what they like!
For this trip, fish really liked 1 long pull (1 foot or so) of the line, followed by a 2 – 3 second pause, which allows the fly to sink. Most hits were during the sink. It’s fun watching the slack line go taught during the sink, then feeling that tug!
