Fishing Reports News

With North America’s largest ski area looming overhead, a couple of guys stood on a bridge over Gore Creek near Cascade Village in Vail last week, transfixed by the water.

“There’s tons of fish down here,” one of them said to me as I walked by with poles in hand and skis over my shoulder. “How do you feel about fishing?” he asked me after pointing out the grayish torpedoes pooling around a rock.
They had their waders on. They didn’t care about skiing. They cared about fishing. And in February, Gore Creek is the place to do it, as many like-minded anglers, seen almost daily in some location between Vail and West Vail in the Gore’s Gold Medal waters, know all too well.

Both the Gore and the Eagle River boast a solid winter population of trout - brown, brook, rainbow, cutthroat and a hybrid called cutbow. Jim Kanda, general manager of Gore Creek Fly Fisherman in Vail, advises fishing in the early afternoon, which still allows time for a few ski turns in the morning.
“What’s cool about winter fishing, even it’s a powder day, you get your turns and can fish in the early afternoon, whenever the air temperature is the warmest,” Kanda said. He also said fish don’t go out of their way to feed in the winter and tend to group up in pools. A short cast, dropping the fly directly overhead is the way to go. As far as clothing, Kanda recommends ski clothes, non-cotton socks, sturdy waders, hand warmers and boots with rubber soles. Day licenses are required and are $9 at any local flyfishing shop or Sports Authority. Local fishing outfits practice catch and release.

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