Rifle River Help

[sandman]

Just asking for some adivce. i am fairly new to the area and have tried fishing the norhtern part of the river near sage lake rd access with little sucess. I know we cant discuss holes but can someone maybe point me toward a decent area? Not looking for a trophy trout just a reason or two to get out on the water and have some fun on a beautiful river :)

thanks for any advice you can give

Ken

[WEEZER]

I spend many hours on the Rifle each year. I consider the Rifle to be my home river.
What strain of trout do you wish to pursue and when do you want to fish it? I could write a book on this river so I want to narrow my post down a little. Leave your email address also.

[sandman]

Weezer thanks for taking the time
I will be heading up starting late April.
Browns or Rainbows would be great. Are cabin is just right by sage lake rd if your familiar.

columbia@greatlakes.net

thanks

Ken

[WEEZER]

I am familiar with that area,and that stretch of river has the best hatch activity on the Rifle.(Well from Rec Area to Selkirk!). The problem with the Rifle as you probably already know is that the water warms up too quickly and It will push most of the larger trout into the feeder creeks. Here are some important times to fish the Rifle :
Early May (Hendrickson hatch)
Early June (Sulphers)
Late June (Brown Drakes)
Late June-July (Isonychia)
These are the only hatches that I ever notice while on the river. My favorite is the Sulphers and the Isonychia!
When I started fishing flies I always used a cahill light and I caught fish most of the time no matter what was hatching. The later it gets into the summer the more you'll want to use grasshoppers and ants.
The hatches are going to be screwed up this year due to weather so you'll want to call Bachelder's Spool and fly (On State Rd. in Selkirk) 517-345-8678 He'll give you a good update plus he is a guide on the Ausable river as well so he'll be able to answer any question on the area around Mio as well...
Hope this helps a little and if you have more questions just email me.

[Roger]

WEEZER,

I fish the Rifle as well. Have you had much luck downstream of Maple Ridge Rd.? Do you fish primarly above Sage Lake Rd. If you don't want to discuss details on the forum, could you drop me an e-mail?

Tight Lines!
Roger

[WEEZER]

Roger, I am familiar with most of the river, but If you want to catch trout in the summer you will have to concentrate on them in the upper!(The lower will be WAY TO WARM!!!)
You forgot to leave your email address.
~Rick

[Roger]

Rick, The water temperatures on the Rifle has been my observation as well. I have relatives who own property on the Rifle, just below Melita Rd. (Old-70), but it happens to be in the "warmer" section of the river...just my luck. My email is roger.dastick@dowcorning.com.

I saw the picture you posted a while back. Nice fish! How long did it take to land it?

Talk with you soon.
- Roger