# Rifle Conditions - Help



## TonyP (Jul 18, 2006)

I need some help / advice from those who are familiar with the Rifle. 
A friend and I were interested in fishing it tomorrow, but we are worried that shell be blown out... high, dirty, and pointless. 
I am more familiar with the PM and cant seem to make heads or tails out of what I see on the USGS website and the Rifles streamflows. 
I anticipate the river is on the way up currently at 478 cfs. Apparently the mean discharge for this time of year is about 250cfs.
Seems like a risk to me and I dont want to waste gas and hours of my weekend driving up. Any thoughts?


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## Shift7609 (Aug 9, 2011)

With weather forecast ill bet shell be blown out with meltoff wouldn't waste ur time imo

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## ridgewalker (Jun 24, 2008)

I live just off of the Rifle. It has rained since Thursday night and may still be misting now. The water is up, rising, with chunks of ice here and there. Noone has been around the river, in this area, for obvious reasons.


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## Jayvelaz1130 (Oct 11, 2012)

Not sure where you're from but IMHO, I would spend a little more on gas and hit the Au Sable

J.


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## TonyP (Jul 18, 2006)

Awoke this morning and saw that the discharge was over 800cfs. Obviously that helped me make my decision. 

Thank you to those who replied.

Tight lines!


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## Stream Weaver (Jan 21, 2012)

You didn't miss anything. I went for a walk along the lower river (south of Maple Ridge Rd) and there was 5-15 feet of shelf ice and heavy flow. No way anyone was getting a line in.


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## FISH_4_TROUT (Aug 18, 2010)

So did the ice get broken up and moved out by the recent high water, or has it formed again after this cold weather? I'd love to get out this weekend but don't want to waste my time if I don't have to. Thanks.


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## feedinggrounds (Jul 21, 2009)

She did open up but I wouldn't try fishing it, was very muddy due to ice jams pushing and scraping bottom. Lots of dry shelf ice that formed at the high water mark that is a pain. Still has intermittant big ice flows as they break loose. If you make it to the water keep an eye upstream for ice flows. It had some big ice dams plugging up flow in the Maple ridge Sterling area that have I heard blew out a day or so ago.


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