Fly fishing Cache la Poudre River This includes a Cache la Poudre fishing report
Type of Stream
Freestone
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Cutthroat Trout
Brook Trout
(Wild)
Size
Medium width, 54 miles long
Location
North Central Colorado
Nearest Towns
Fort Collins
Season
Year-round
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of Colorado
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Cache la Poudre River Fishing Report – May 01, 2024
Okay conditions exist. Good midge, Little Black Caddis, March Browns, BWOs and Skwala stonefly hatches continue to take place. Keep in touch as we update the Cache la Poudre River fishing report often.
Stream Conditions: Rate: 118 cfs
Level: 3.07 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 53
Clarity: mostly clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data Below Halligan Reservoir
Rate: 75.1 Level: 7.90 ft.
Afternoon Water Temperature: 48
Clarity: mostly clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data at Livermore CO
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the link below for more detailed information)
Recommended Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Light Green and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Skwala stoneflies, size 10, nymphs and adults
Little Black Caddis, size 18, pupa and adults
Fly Fishing Guide to the Cache la Poudre River: If you can fish fast moving pocket water, you should do very well fishing the Cache la Poudre. There are two designated “Wild Trout Waters” or Trophy Trout areas where you must use a fly or lure only. The Wild Trout area on the lower end of the stream starts at Pingree Park Bridge. That is about twenty miles upstream from the head of the canyon. It ends near the town of Rustic. In this area, the river heads away from the road. The area is called Indian Meadows. The uppermost Wild Trout section starts at the Black Hollow Creek confluence and runs upstream to the Big Bend Campground. There is a state fish hatchery in this area. These two Wild Trout sections are among the easiest places to get around in because they have less decline.I’m not certain that fishing in the special regulation areas offers any advantage. They are probably fished heavier than the many miles of other available water. The other water is faster moving pocket water. The trout don’t seem to be as picky in the non-regulated sections. I’m not certain the special regulated areas have larger trout although they may well have. You want to fish the pocket water of the stream in an upstream direction. Usually, several short cast are better than a few long ones because the fly line stand less change of being caught in conflicting currents. It is best to hold as much fly line out of the water as possible. This will help you get a drag free drift. Short leaders of about seven and a half feet work good.Fish the current seams between the fast and slow water and at the ends of the long runs and riffles. A good tip is to put your fly where you see the bubbles. That is most likely where the insects are also drifting. You will find that the “high-stickin” method of nymph fishing also works good in this stream.
Cache la Poudre River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Cache la Poudre River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726.The Cache la Poudre Rivers first mayfly hatches are the Blue-winged Olives. They hatch starting in April and last through the month of May. These are bi-brooded insects that hatch again in September and October.The other major mayflies consist mostly of Green Drakes and Red Quills. Both of these mayflies start hatching around the first or second week of June and last on into the middle of the month of August. Some of both hatches are practically eliminated because of the spring runoff. There are also a few PMDs, or Pale Morning Duns. These mayflies are found in the moderate sections of the river. They start hatching in July and last on into the first of August. Stoneflies are a major part of the aquatic insects that live in the river. Golden Stoneflies hatch starting about the middle of June and last through August, depending on the area of the river you are fishing. Yellow Sallies, or Little Yellow Stonefies, start hatching in late May and can last on into August. There are several species of caddisflies. One of the most abundant are species of the Branchycentrus genus. These Grannom caddisflies start hatching from late April to the first week of May. It usually last about a month. This hatch starts in the lower elevations and works upstream. During June, July, August and September, you will find a few different species of Spotted Sedges and a few of their Little Sister Caddis. The Little Sisters hatch during the month of July. There are some Little Short-horned Sedges that hatch in late May and June. There are also a few species of Green Caddisflies, or Green Sedges, as they are often called. The larvae of these caddisflies are called Green Rock Worms. Imitations of them are very effective during the Spring and Summer. There are a few other species of caddisflies present in the river, but they don’t hatch in large quantities.Terrestrial insects become important during the months of June, July, August and September. Imitations of grasshopper, ants and beetles are effective during these months. Don’t forget to have a good selection of streamers. There are a lot of sculpins in the river and some species of minnows and baitfish. The streamers are very effective when the brown trout start to spawn in the fall. They also work anytime the river is a little off color from rain as well as early in the morning and late in the afternoons. If you haven’t tried our “Perfect Fly” trout flies, you have missed out on fishing the most effective trout flies you can purchase. We have specific imitations of everything that hatches on the Cache La Poudre River. We hope you give them a chance to work for you. Thanks for viewing our Cache la Poudre river fishing report.