CFS: 245
Water Temp: 60-69°F
Dries: Hoppers/Ants, Small Parachute Adams and Purple Hazes, CDC Cripples
Nymphs: Copper Johns, Prince Nymphs, Hare’s Ears, Perdigons
FISHING REPORT
Although we’ve had a few spells of rain the past couple weeks, the temperature unfortunately keeps rising into the low-to-mid 90s shortly thereafter, which is keeping the water temps too warm to fish in the afternoons and evenings. I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but keep the bulk of your fishing in the mornings when the temps are at their coolest. The fish will also be more active, the earlier the better.
Unless you are fishing hopper or ant patterns in the late mornings or early afternoons, I’d recommend sticking to small dry flies, size 16 or 18 (or smaller if you can see well enough to thread the eye). Parachute Adams and Purple Haze patterns are great options for these smaller dries. At this point in the summer, the fish will often either short-strike or come up to look at a high-riding dry but refuse it overall. If you find this is happening, try attaching either a Quigley or CDC cripple about a foot behind your lead dry, and this will help remedy the problem. n
The nymph fishing has been very solid recently, since most of these trout are laying low and picking up most of their food on the riverbed. Stonefly and prince nymphs are a good choice, as are San Juan worms or a smaller Copper John or Hare’s Ear pattern. However, the most effective nymph BY FAR recently has been a little pattern called the Perdigon.
As you can see in this image, it is not the flashiest of bugs; it’s tied on a jig hook with a tungsten bead and doesn’t consist of much material. However, its narrow profile and heavy head help it sink quickly, and the inverted hook goes a long way into not snagging bottom as with a traditional nymph fly. Add the resin coating and the combination of orange and black right behind the bead, and you have a pattern that may look simple, but is incredibly effective! This is a great pattern to trail either behind a big hopper, ant or stimulator pattern, or as a trailer in a double nymph rig. The past few weeks, this has been the top producing nymph, and has helped catch fish for anglers getting frustrated when other flies aren’t working so well.
The nights are getting longer and the mornings are getting cooler. It’s only a matter of time before the big summer heatwave breaks and we reach temperatures more reminiscent of fall weather. At that point, Rock Creek (and the other streams) will all improve significantly, so stay tuned for more reports as we move into cooler temps!