Iron Canyon Reservoir is another fishery that receives very little pressure, and features both stillwater options and areas with current, more akin to stream fishing.

Current Lake Conditions:
Lake level has come up about 1900 acre-feet (AF). So what? Well, Iron Canyon fishes best for us fly anglers at lower levels. Currently the lake level is 6788 AF, which isn't high, but the closer we get to say 10,000 AF the less likely we can go catch rainbows and browns on Damsel Fly Nymphs and stuff.

Fishing reports have been sparse out of this lake lately. Expect to find rainbows, browns and maybe a brook trout. The Pit River is nearby and a perfectly good companion fishery.

Click Here For Lake Level

The Fly Shop's ? Tips:
You can fish this lake either one of two ways, indicator and nymphs or sinking lines and streamers. The midge hatches are usually strong in the AM hours, fishing a Blood Midge with a Black Midge Pupa dropper is deadly. For those who want to cast and retrieve flies, Leeches and Bugger style flies work great. Clouser Minnows are a fantastic fly on Iron Canyon, fished on a RIO Deep 7 sinking line, plan on finding the aggressive fish that hang in the depths! Use an intermediate sinking line along the shallower edges of the lake when fishing streamers. Fishing a #16 BH PT Nymph on the end of a tapered leader attached to a floating line is an all time best way to find fish here or any still water. Once flies are cast, use a very slow retrieve, just move the line enough to stay tight to the fly and feel the thuds of the take!

Reservoir Fact:
The nearby town of Big Bend has many geothermal hot springs nearby. Some of the hot wells are used to heat the local School, public swimming pool and a green house. Hmmm. Don't hesitate to stop by the local grocery store, gas station called the Pit Stop.

Suggested Fly Patterns:

Dry Flies:
• Scum Duns - Callibaetis #14
• D&D Cripples - Callibaetis #16

Nymphs/Wet Flies:
• Burk's Sierra Damsel
• Hula Damsel
• San Juan Worm - Fire #8-14
• CB Frostbite - #16-18
• Chromies - #16-18
• Zebra Midge - #16-20
• Micro Mayfly - #14-18
• Tungsten Beaded JuJu #16
• Blood Geyser Midge - Red #10-16
• GB Half-Flashback PT - #16-20

Streamers/Leeches:
• Freshwater Clouser - Olive/White
• Lite Brite Buggers - #6
• Zonkers - #4
• Zack's Zuggers - Yellow/Brown #8

Fly Fishing Gear:
• Outcast ? Super Fat Cat-LCS Float Tube
• Rio ? Deep 7™ Full Sink Fly Line
• Simms ? WaderWick™
• The Fly Shop's ? X-Country Jacket
• Nautilus FWX Fly Reels
• R.L. Winston Boron IIIx Fly Rod 4-5wt
• The Fly Shop's ? Fresh H2O Fly Rod 4-6wt
• Simms ? Solar Sombrero
• Simms ? ExStream™ Socks
• Angling Evolution's™ Foam Indicators