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| Colorado River Brown |
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| The Colorado River begins it's journey in Rocky Mountain National Park where it is a small freestone. As it moves down the valley and joins the Fraser River the Colorado picks up size and strength. This section is know as "Middle Park" and is where the best fishing opportunities are found.
The river in "Middle Park" flows through ranch land is teeming with abundant insect life. Dry fly fishing can be spectacular as trout are eager to rise and not as picky as some of the other major tailwaters. Flows can be high during spring as the snow melts and fills the river. As the river begins to swell, stoneflies begin to migrate and become the trouts main source of food. Often times, during runoff the Colorado produces one of the best Salmon Fly hatches in the state. By early summer, bugs are hatching, fish are rising and this is one of the best places on the planet to spend a day. At the town of Parshall the Williams Fork River enters the Colorado adding more cold water and keeping the fish happy all summer long.
During late summer and fall, the Colorado sees awesome BWO and trico hatches that again offer incredible dry fly fishing. Streamer fishing is also excellent giving anglers the ability to find some big fish. Brown trout dominate this stretch of river but there are still big, fat Colorado River rainbows to be had.
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| Fall Fishing |
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The Williams Fork River is one of Colorado's best kept secrets. The river is not accessible from the road and because of this it is often over looked. It is a medium sized tailwater that is just under 2 miles in length. With fast riffles, deep runs and tons of pockets, the Williams Fork provides trout with great places to hide and easy access to food. During the spring, the river starts with midges, baetis and a few caddis. This continues into runoff when the flows can sometimes exceed 1,000cfs.
After flows subside and the river become manageable, fish return to their normal feeding lanes giving anglers the ability to really turn some big numbers of fish. Yellow Sallies, caddis, midges, tricos, and red quills are more than abundant and the fish feed like crazy.
The river fishes great in the summer, excellent in the fall and remains open during the winter giving anglers a year 'round fishery. This river might just be the best wade fishing trip in the state. Our guides enjoying guiding "The Fork" so much, the spend a lot of their days of fishing it personally.
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| Heading Fishing! |
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| Guide Luke Bever with huge brown! |
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| The Blue River is one of the most scenic rivers in the state. Below Lake Dillon and Green Mountain Reservoir is where most anglers concentrate their fishing efforts. The river is known to be finicky, providing anglers with great success one day and then being stubbornly tough the next. There are several great public access points along Hwy. 9 below the town of Silverthorne.
For anglers traveling with non-fishing partners, there are factory outlet stores in the town of Silverthorne and plenty of restaurants to choose from. The blue is a year 'round fishery because it is dam released. Bug hatches pick up in the spring and continue all season long. During runoff, flows may be too high to wade fish but will usually settle down my mid July.
The river is full of rainbows, browns, snake river cutthroat, and even has a few brookies. Fall is definitely the prettiest time of year as the cottonwood and aspen trees light up along the river.
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| Fall Colors |
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| Tomahawk |
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The Middle Fork
Tomahawk State Wildlife and Buffalo Peaks State Wildlife Areas encompass almost 6 miles of river. This is a small meandering stream that flows through a series of beaver dams, tons of willows and has many braids giving anglers plenty of water and structure to fish. Fish on average are 6-12 inches but most are suckers for dries. During the fall month, huge browns enter the river from Spinney Reservoir and test anglers abilities at landing large trout. If you don't mind a lot of walking, the middle fork is an awesome trip.
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| Fly Fishing The Dream Stream |
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The Dream Stream
The South Platte River begins it's long journey to the Mississippi on the top of the Continental Divide. The first major section of this river that is well known for it's great fishing is on the South Fork and has been named the "Dream Stream". This section of the South Platte is 3 1/2 miles in length and flows through lush meandering meadows. It holds a variety of fish including browns, rainbows, cutthroat, cut-bows, and even fall-run kokanee salmon. The water is gin clear making it a challenge for anglers to sneak up on fish. This section of the Platte is known to be home to large trout often exceeding 10lbs. and incredible dry fly fishing during the summer trico hatch. The Dream Stream is a year 'round fishery.
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| Cheesman Canyon |
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Cheesman Canyon
Cheesman Canyon is perhaps the most well know section of the South Platte River. It tumbles it's way down from Cheesman Reservoir through a picturesque granite lined canyon with boulders the size of school busses and V.W. Bugs. Not only is it know for it's beauty but it's selective feeding trout as well. It has been said "if you can catch trout in "the canyon", you can catch trout anywhere". Cheesman canyon is one of the most difficult fisheries in the west. Primarily a nymphing river, it is one of the best places to "sight fish" in the world. You haven't fished Colorado until you fish Cheesman. Being a tailwater makes the canyon a great year 'round fishery.
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| Guide Pat Dorsey With Cut-Bow |
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Deckers
The Deckers area is very similar to the canyon with exception of easier access and fewer boulders. The river here is much more heavily pressured because of the easy access and the camping that is allowed on the river. Make no mistake, the Deckers area is still a quality fishery and lends itself to a great half day trip. There is a local fly shop in the town of Deckers for those looking for fishing licenses and last minute grabs before hitting the river.
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