Western Outdoor Times - Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!

Recent Fish Ratings

• Upriver: 6 to 7.5

• Walk-In: 7

• Spin-Fishing: 7.5

Key: 1 = Go fish somewhere else 10 = Rent a helicopter and get here now!

Recent People Ratings

• Crowd Rating: Upriver: 2 weekdays to 3 on weekends

• Walk In: 2 during the week and 3 on the weekends

Key: 1 = Sleep late and fish where you want. 10 = Very crowded, get up early

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Fly Fishing Up-River

Summer weather and the corresponding higher water flows have arrived right on schedule. It took a few days - really maybe 72 hours - for fish to settle into their high-ater mode, but once they did, it was business as usual.

How's "business?" Glad you asked! Fishing has been really great. The fish population is larger than any time in the last couple of decades; fish condition is optimal and the overall average size of the fish is larger than in the past few years.

This past spring, we caught more fish over 20-inches than in many years with guides reporting fish of this size most days. I see nothing on the horizon that will change any of this so we expect fishing to be good through the summer and into the fall.

Book Now For Next Season

I want to apologize to everyone who tried to book a guide for this spring and could not get one; demand far exceed our guide capacity and we were essentially booked for the entire spring season before it even began.

I've already began staffing up for next year and hopefully we'll be able to accommodate everyone. However, it's not too early to be planning your trip for next season. Book now and you'll be guaranteed the days that you want.

Higher Flows Begin

LEES FERRY REPORT -- According to Terry Gunn, "The fish population is larger than any time in the last couple of decades; fish condition is optimal and the overall average size of the fish is larger than in the past few years."

The higher flows that began June 1 are moving more food around. Midges are still working well, but as the weather warms and the flows increase, it will be more and more about the scuds, worms, big dry flies and streamers.

In July, the water flows will increase again and this is the time of year that the fish really begin feeding. This is a result of the higher velocity water moving the larger food items (scuds and worms) around.

For more information, visit http://www.leesferry.com.

The mighty Colorado River and its tributaries carved an extraordinary landscape, with intricate mazes of canyons, delicate arches and massive rock monoliths. And nowhere is the landscape more extraordinary than around Lees Ferry. As you wade the incredibly clear waters casting to football-thick rainbow trout, tilt your head back, look up at the 1,000-plus-foot tall sandstone cliffs, and view it as Col. John Wesley Powell, Lee and the other American pioneers found it. The word you seek to describe the scene is "breathtaking."