I smell Spring!

I figured that I should post something for the month of January.  It's been a busy month for me with some shows and a lot of time at the vise.  I've been looking forward to February for a while now.  Things will start to warm up a bit around here and the days are already getting longer!  Soon, the golden stoneflies will start moving around on the upper Arkansas River and that will get the trout looking around for them more.  There is nothing like seeing bigger bites available to the fish to get them looking for Big Macs rather than french fries.

Stoneflies, along with the usual midges and Baetis, will kick start the late winter/early spring feeding on the Ark.  The usual early spring set-up for me is a stonefly/caddis larva or a caddis larva/baetis nymph.  Some days even start with a stonefly/caddis/baetis nymph set-up.  The fish will let me know what they are eating and I can remove one fly.  If they continue to eat all three patterns, I keep fishing all three patterns.  Make sure to use weight and get the flies down!  

If you would like to make a trip down there with me, please contact Royal Gorge Anglers to set up a guide trip to show you how to fish this river in the early spring.  I am really looking forward to fishing this river very soon as I think it is the most overlooked season.  I'll post pictures!

Rogue Foam Golden Stone Fly

Rogue Foam Golden Stone Fly from Juan Ramirez-Hopper Juan on Vimeo.

When summer rolls around, make sure you have a few of these tucked away in your box.  These are great for imitating the golden stones as well as the hoppers.  They work well as a hopper pattern too.  If you are smart, you will have a few markers in your vest or pack to color these up as needed to match the stones or hoppers.  

-HJ