I'm sure many of you are anxious to wader-up on CO's front range freestone rivers this spring, and this winter seems to be dragging it's feet. We seem to be getting close to a fully accessible South Boulder Creek with no 5 foot snow storms in sight, like we had last year, not yet anyways. The good news about the hundreds of inches we have seen in snowfall this winter in the Indian Peaks is that we should have plenty of water to produce steady flows through the summer and early fall.
I heard rumor that there are water needs on the upper Colorado River this year which could potentially limit what SBC will see coming through the Moffat tunnel. South Boulder Creek typically relies heavily on the water that is pumped from the Winter Park area through the tunnel to maintain flows that support a growing trout population. This is news that I have heard through word of mouth so if you have heard any news of the sort I would greatly appreciate any updates. The good news is that the SBC drainage has received enough snow to help sustain adequate flows.
By the end of this week South Boulder Creek should be free of almost all ice shelves and in excellent ice-off fishing conditions. As the ice melts Denver Water should be releasing water through the tunnel improving the flows to an estimated 25-50 cfs. Lately I have been estimating the flows above Gross Reservoir to 8-12 cfs in the morning and as the ice melts 15-20 cfs in the afternoon.
I will follow up shortly with fly patterns that are producing on the SBC, so get ready, summer is here!
Cody
