Pictures and tips on Fly Fishing Colorado Rivers And Lakes

Big Thompson - Below Lake Estes

These pictures are of the Big Thompson River in Colorado. This particular folder focuses on the river below Lake Estes. Click on the picture for additional information on where the picture was taken.

South Platte River - Cheesman Canyon

Just a few pictures of Cheesman Canyon. While the interior canyon is still quite green the surrounding area burned during the Hayman fire.

Lily Lake Rocky Mountain National Park

Lily Lake contains greenback cutthroat trout. These are the only trout native to the eastern slope of Colorado. The water is catch and release fishery with barbless hooks. Hatches on this lake are Callibaetis, Damsel Flies etc...

Other Waters near RMNP

These are just a few pictures of other streams and lakes near Rocky Mountain National Park.

North Fork St. Vrain below Button Rock

The north fork of the St. Vrain below Button Rock (Ralph Price Reservoir) is mostly a brown trout fishery. Access is just upstream of Lyons.

Upper Colorado River - Hot Sulpher Springs to Parshall

The Upper Colorado River below Windy Gap is rated as Gold Medal water. Since the advent of whirling disease the river has become mostly a brown trout fishery, with occasion large rainbows caught as you move downstream.

While this is Gold Medal Water larger fish will usually be found on the Frying Pan, Roaring Fork, South Platte, or Taylor Rivers. In the last couple of years however it appears to me that the average size of the fish has been increasing.

Most of the surrounding area is ranch land with the exception of Byers Canyon.

Cache La Poudre

The Cache La Poudre is a free stone river near Fort Collins, CO. It has a fairly steep gradient, so one will have to pick and choose where to fish. The upper part of the river has two sections which are restricted to Catch and Release.

Best Fishing Reports

There are a number of fishing reports on the net for Colorado. They tend to vary wildly in quality. Here's the sites we check.

North Platte River - Near Walden

The pictures here are of the North Fork of the North Platte River and the North Platte River in Northgate Canyon. While it may not always be true in general this is an area that is not crowded with fisherman, even over Labor Day weekend. In Sept. try throwing Red San Juan Worms and black wooly buggers.