{"id":1317443,"date":"2019-12-29T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=992097"},"modified":"2019-12-29T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T02:00:00","slug":"fish-on-winter-angling-on-the-roaring-fork-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/fish-on-winter-angling-on-the-roaring-fork-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Fish on: Winter angling on the Roaring Fork River"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Roaring Fork Anglers\u2019 Tom Trowbridge watches his line Saturday in the Roaring Fork River near Three Mile Creek. Trowbridge said fish feed considerably less in the colder months but can still be caught. PETER BAUMANN \/ POST INDEPENDENT<\/strong>
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

From the Oconto River in Wisconsin to the Colorado and Roaring Fork rivers locally, Tom Trowbridge has fished waterways across the country. <\/p>\n

For the better part of 15 years, the avid fisherman has assisted locals and tourists alike on their own fly fishing endeavors as manager of Roaring Fork Anglers in Glenwood Springs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not really so much which specific area is going to be the best in the Roaring Fork Valley,\u201d Trowbridge said. \u201cBut more so, what you do when you get to the river on the areas that you choose to fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fly fishing during the winter season can present the occasional safety hazard anglers should stay mindful of Trowbridge said.<\/p>\n

Edge ice \u2013 aptly named because it forms along the banks of a river \u2013 should generally be avoided whenever possible. Another hazard that\u2019s far less common is if an ice dam breaks.<\/p>\n

Although a rare occurrence, such a breakage can push rushing water carrying sheets of ice and debris through narrow river channels.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not common but it happens,\u201d Trowbridge said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen any significant effects from an ice dam in the Glenwood Springs area in quite some time\u2026the river channel is just too wide.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Roaring Fork Anglers Owner Jeff Dysart, waterways more susceptible to ice dams include those between Snowmass Canyon and Carbondale.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt only happens after, usually, a pretty extended cold snap with consistent snow and then a really quick warmup,\u201d Dysart said.<\/p>\n

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A strike indicator rests on the ice of the Roaring Fork River on Saturday. It\u2019s part of Tom Trowbridge\u2019s typical line setup for wintertime fishing in the Roaring Fork Valley. PETER BAUMANN \/ POST INDEPENDENT<\/strong>
fly04<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

During the winter, brown trout, cutbow, rainbow trout as well as Rocky Mountain whitefish all remain active.<\/p>\n

However, a fish\u2019s length means more to anglers like Trowbridge than its species.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny fish over 20 inches is what we love,\u201d Trowbridge said.<\/p>\n

Regulations along the Roaring Fork River\u2019s Gold Medal stretch between Basalt and Glenwood Springs caps the number of trout anglers can keep to two, and institutes a minimum length requirement of 16 inches.<\/p>\n

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A selection of flies are kept in Tom Trowbridge\u2019s fly box. Although a variety of flies are necessary in warmer months when there are more insects out, Trowbridge said wintertime fishing is consistent enough that he can typically put flies on his line before leaving his house. PETER BAUMANN \/ POST INDEPENDENT<\/strong>
fly03<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

That stretch of Gold Medal water permits flies and lures, only.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the section of the Roaring Fork River between McFarlane Creek \u2013 located a few miles above Aspen \u2013 and the Upper Woody Creek Bridge near Snowmass only allows fly fishing, and anglers must catch and release.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll fish there need to be returned to the water immediately,\u201d Trowbridge said.<\/p>\n

During the winter months, anglers like Trowbridge generally fish deeper and slower sections of the river.<\/p>\n

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Tom Trowbridge puts a copper John fly on his line Saturday. While most fish go for the smaller nymph fly (not pictured) he typically has on his line in winter, bigger fish are more interested in the copper John. PETER BAUMANN \/ POST INDEPENDENT<\/strong>
fly02<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cOften in the winter, if your flies aren\u2019t touching the bottom you\u2019re not deep enough,\u201d Trowbridge said. \u201cWe are often going to use some split-shot or additional weight to get the flies down to the level where the fish are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trowbridge, who has been fly fishing since the age of 12, said he sees more locals during the winter months visiting Roaring Fork Anglers whereas the summer season ushers in plenty of tourists, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fish 12 months a year,\u201d Trowbridge said. \u201cThis is a valley where people come all over the world to fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

mabennett@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roaring Fork Anglers\u2019 Tom Trowbridge watches his line Saturday in the Roaring Fork River near Three Mile Creek. Trowbridge said fish feed considerably less in the colder months but can still be caught. PETER BAUMANN \/ POST INDEPENDENT From the Oconto River in Wisconsin to the Colorado and Roaring Fork rivers locally, Tom Trowbridge has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-06 07:14:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}