Rock Creek Fishing Report – April 2, 2026

Streamflow: 968 cubic feet per second 
Water Temp: 41-45°

         Up and down, up and down.  That describes both the weather and the water and fishing conditions this past week.  A warm trend brought the streamflow up over 1000 cfs, which is very rare for March.  Just before that big rise, the fishing was absolutely stellar.  San Juan worms were (and likely still are) the ticket, and the streamer game picked up nicely.  There was even dry fly action; a classic Gypsy King pattern caught a 22-inch brown trout a few days ago (see picture below).  When I went out, I saw a lot of bug activity over the water and even some stoneflies.

          But, as Mother Nature likes to remind us, winter isn’t necessarily done for the year.  It’s snowing as I type this report, and though there’s none accumulated on the ground, I can see the snowline in the nearby mountains slowly creeping down.  I can’t say that I hate it; the more moisture we get the better this year.  Still, it makes the fishing a little slow until things warm up again.  That is runoff season in a nutshell.  Aim for the windows between cold fronts and water spikes for the best fishing until we get some more consistent weather.  

          It’s a big fish type of spring so far; check out some of the past week’s best catches!  If you have a good Rock Creek trout pic that you catch this year, send me a pic and we’ll add it to our report!  Thanks to Cameron and Mike for the pics. 

Until next time friends, stay safe out there!