[fishhunter]

Fly fishing on the lower river, below Pueblo dam is great all winter! Look for midge hatches in the mid morning - sized 22-26. The area just below the dam receives heavy pressure, but the further downstream you go, the better. A 50 fish day is common.

I used a CDC midge and a peacock midge nymph yesterday and pulled some quality fish. Most were about 12-14 inches, but also pulled one 16 inch rainbow that was full of spawn. Twenty fish in a couple of hours, and home before the Carolina/Bears game!

 

[fishhunter]

There's good access at the Osprey picnic area, located east of the waterslide. You can also get access at the Nature Center on 11th St. and Pueblo Blvd.

Yes, there are some big browns in the river still, but they're hard to catch. I caught and released one about 3 lbs last fall near Valco.

There are also some big large mouth in the river, but I've never caught one. I've never caught any smallies in there either, but have heard of bait fishermen catching a few.

 

[fishhunter]

From Valco, City Park is about 3 river miles. The falls are going to be just east of Pueblo Blvd and you can portage around them, but I think the better fishing will be upstream of the falls.

 

[fishhunter]

For today, Jan 20 - I hit the river this afternoon. We had a big snow storm last night and once it moved out, bluebird skies prevailed. By noon, the temps had risen into the upper 30s with no wind, so I had to give it a try!

I fished the area around Valco ponds. There was a good midge hatch going and I caught several fish in the 13-15 inch range (all 'bows) on a shuckin' midge fished below an adult CDC midge. Both flies were sized 20.

The bigger fish are harder to catch and they will get put down as soon as one is hooked. I fished one place for about 3 hours and caught 4 nice trout, but had to wait about 10 minutes between fish to start seeing rises again.

If you hit the river on a clear day, you'll definitely want to throw midges, midge cripples, and midge nymphs. Most naturals are in the size 22-26 range. Disco midges or shuckin midges in olive or black should work well on a dropper.