The Frying Pan River could be one of the more well-known tailwaters in the state of Colorado. Legendary for it’s Mysis fed Rainbow trout, the river is actually fishable where the water comes out of the dam. This famed “Toilet Bowl” hole was something we had always looked forward to fishing. We were headed there for the weekend and knew some big fish were going to come to hand.
We spent the first day fishing some of the water further down the canyon away from the crowds. We were hooking up in just about every spot that could hold a fish and they were pretty healthy too. 14-16″ Ranbow and Brown trout were abundantand eating stoneflies like you wouldn’t believe. After dinner, we took turns casting in the private water included in our cabin fees. After some long casts towards a spot a friend had seen, my indicator went down. I set the hook and the headshakes began as the trout took me down the river. She ended up measuring a healthy 24″ and was taken on a size 24 midge. I was content and we still had three more days.
The second day and third day, we hit the water before the sun came up and set our eyes on the infamous “Toilet Bowl”. We spent the days casting to, drifting at, mending towards, some 5-10 pound Rainbows and
Browns. The trout were all piled up in the current coming out of Reudi reservoir (the water literally coming out of the concrete wall). We landed quite a few fish on Mysis and midge patterns, and none of the trout were lacking in a any way, shape or form. My nicest fish turned out to be a 23″ Brown trout with a fight that one could only compare to steel. At night, with hopes high, my friend Chad landed the fish of the trip with a fight that was well overdue. This fish measured out at 26″ inches and could be one fo the biggest true Rainbows i have seen in my life.
Browns. The trout were all piled up in the current coming out of Reudi reservoir (the water literally coming out of the concrete wall). We landed quite a few fish on Mysis and midge patterns, and none of the trout were lacking in a any way, shape or form. My nicest fish turned out to be a 23″ Brown trout with a fight that one could only compare to steel. At night, with hopes high, my friend Chad landed the fish of the trip with a fight that was well overdue. This fish measured out at 26″ inches and could be one fo the biggest true Rainbows i have seen in my life.
Our last day was roaming the lower river in search of seclusion and some nice fish on light rods. We found both and had some memorable times that will never be forgotten. The fish seemed to be extra fat that day, and I know of no fisherman that would complain about that.
