Colorado

[Paola Cat]

I'm headed to Dillon in a couple of weeks not too familiar with the area. Looking for some guidance on where to fish. I've fished the Big Thompson when staying Estes and have fished the S. Platte when in Colorado Springs. PC

[flyfishmaster]

Ozarkgunner,

If you want update info for the western side of CO, contact the DragonFly Anglers at Click Here.

JonBoy,

If you are headed to Estes Park, you might want to get a Day Use pass and fish in Rocky Mnt Nat Park. They have the head water of the Coloraro River and there are multiple high water lakes.

Later,

FFM

[flyfishmaster]

I'm headed to Dillon in a couple of weeks not too familiar with the area. Looking for some guidance on where to fish. I've fished the Big Thompson when staying Estes and have fished the S. Platte when in Colorado Springs. PC

Paola Cat,

You have chosen the best place to stay if you heading out for site seeing and fishing. For 6 years in a row we stayed at Silverthorn for our 5 day fishing trip. We would hit 6 - 7 rivers/streams each year. Dillion is with in one hour of the following rivers/stream:

South Platte - Deckers/Trumbull

South Platte - Cheeseman Canyon

South Platte - 11 Mile Canyon

South Platte - Spinney Mtn (aka: "The Dream Stream)

BLue River - Breckenridge

Blue River - Silverthorn

Blue River - Green Mtn

Colorado - Parshall

Williams Fork - Parshall (My personal favorite)

Eagle River

Then about 1 ½ hours you can be on the:

Roaring River - Glen Wood Springs

Roaring River - Basalt

Frying Pan - Basalt

If you need a guide you can contact the Pat Dorsey at Blue Quill Anglers (he is one the top three guides in all of the Western states) Here is his website: Click Here

If you want fly patterns, send me PM along with with stream you are interested in and I will inform you of the top 4 patterns to use.

I was not able to make it out there this year due to finance issue so I'm very jealous.

Later,

FFM

[tippet7]

I have trip planned for CO in the middle of Sept. and I am staying in the Estes park area. I have been looking up different place to go fishing that is not too far away from there. Are any of these palces listed above around Estes Park? Thanks.

you can fish the Big Thompson. also fish the tailwaters just below the dam in Estes park. St Varian(sp) creek holds some nice pockets. if you go into RMNP you can fish all sorts of creeks and ponds.

check out Front Range Anglers fishing report

[JONBOY]

Thanks for thr info Tippet.

FFM, Do you have to get a special pass to fish inside of the park? From what I have found thus far on the internet, I just need a fishing license for CO. Is this correct? Thanks.

[ness]

As already mentioned, there's Big Thompson outside the park. There are dozens of opportunities inside the park, and I haven't found those waters to be too crowded -- even the ones close to the roads and entrances. Of course, if there's a parking lot and a well-worn path heading to the stream, you're probably not the first. As a general rule, the farther away from Estes you go, the lighter the traffic; and the west side of the divide will be less active than the east.

There are a lot of different types of opportunities too. Meadow fishing for large, wary trout (See avatar - that's the Thompson inside the Park), pocket water and/or high gradient fishing for opportunistic smaller ones -- all fairly close to the road. There's also an opportunity (though slight) of being mauled by a bear, attacked by a mountain lion or 'gored' by a moose. But seriously, it's cool just to see any or all of them. On the west side, there's the opportunity to fish the headwaters of the Colorado, and with a moderate hike, get to a place where you can jump across.

If you're into numbers, there are places where it's relatively easy to hook a brook trout on every cast. If you'd like to add one or two species of native cutthroats to your life list, there are Greenbacks on the east side and Colorado River cutts on the west side of the divide. You'd have to do a little homework to find them, especially the latter. Most streams have either rainbows or browns. Grant at Estes Angler or Scott's Fly Shop will help you narrow things down a bit.

[ozarkgunner]

As already mentioned, there's Big Thompson outside the Park. There are dozens of opportunities in the Park. I haven't found the Park waters to be too crowded -- even the ones close to the roads and entrances. Of course, if there's a parking lot and a well-worn path heading to the stream, you're probably not the first. As a general rule, the farther away from Estes you go, the lighter the traffic and the west side of the divide will be less active than the east.

There are a lot of different opportunities too. Meadow fishing for large, wary trout (See avatar - that's the Thompson inside the Park) or pocket water and/or high gradient fishing for opportunistic smaller ones -- all fairly close to the road. There's also an opportunity (though slight) of being mauled by a bear, attacked by a mountain lion or 'gored' by a moose. There's also the opportunity to see the headwaters of the Colorado, and with a moderate hike, get to a place where you can jump across.

If you're into numbers, there are places where it's relatively easy to hook a brook trout on every cast. If you'd like to add one or two species of native cutthroats to your life list, there are Greenbacks on the east side and Colorado River cutts on the west side of the divide. You'd have to do a little homework to find them, especially the latter. Grant at Estes Angler or Scott's Fly Shop will help you narrow things down a bit.

Don't forget the Black Canyon of the Gunnision or the East River or ...............xxxxxx river. I try to stay away from the crowds as much as possible. I would rather fish Tanney than some places out there like Deckers or the dream stream.

[KCRIVERRAT]

One of my favorite places out there is the East Fork of the Gunnison above lake San Cristobal. What a beautiful area!

[Paola Cat]

JONBOY ..... send me a PM. No special pass required to fish RMNP other than the normal CO fishing license ... I'd be glad to give you some info. on patterns I've used successfully on the Big T.

Ozarkgunner .... I hear ya on the South Platte.

PC

[catman]

Riverside, WY it's not to far north of Estes Park. You won't be disapointed..