Taylor River, Colorado

[WayneB]

Grew up in Colorado better part of my life on a ranch and farm until I went into the military. The rivers I fished were The Big Thompson and a river up by Craig I think it was The St. Verrain. Also there is a great trout lake above Estes Park call Mary's Lake. All of these ares are wild native trout.

Pretty far from Gunnison and Taylor.

[motroutbum]

I fish the Frying pan about every other weekend. there is Plenty of fishable water there and it is all wadable. If you want to avoid people on the pan, AVOID the upper 2 miles (from the dam down) that is where most everyone concentrates. There are multiple pullouts along the way as well. There is private water mixed in with public so watch out, but it is VERY well marked. Dont listen to the reports of having to use 6x &7x I never use anything less than 5x there and average 50-100 fish days. The most I have caught was in a Team USA tournament last year and set the record for most caught in 3 hours at 55 fish landed and measured. There are some BIG fish in there but most of the browns (which are all wild) average about 12-14 inches. PM me if you want more details. I would be glad to help you out.

[Jason R.]

I fished the Taylor, Pan, Gunnison, and various others in western CO quite a bit during my short stint as a guide. The river I miss the most is the Gunnison, but you have to do alot of hiking in there. The Taylor is frustrating but pretty fun. The Pan is pretty awesome. At either place youre going to want some small midges and nymphs as well as some Mysis shrimp patterns. I had success with something like this:

[Mark]

thanks I am not well versed on flies.

[Jason R.]

thanks I am not well versed on flies.

That is a mysis shrimp pattern. In the Taylor and the Pan, a bunch of really big fish are right under the dam eating these little clear/white shrimp- kinda look like brine shrimp. All the fly shops in the area stock mysis shrimp patterns- this is just my own version. I tied about a dozen for the last time I went to the Pan and I broke them all off during the first half of the day- those fish are fighters.

[Mark]

What are our chances of finding a good campsite within walking distance of wade fishing without reservations on the Frying Pan? The camping experience is equally as important to us as the fishing. Is there awesome scenery at the campgrounds? Is there some degree of solitude and a wilderness experience? I'm guessing that the area is in the national forest. I like the idea of having a bathroom and shower available, but don't want that feeling of being in a trout park like in Missouri.

[Jason R.]

That I don't know- the one time I camped I just 4 wheeled it up a trail I found and slept in my truck- it was probably illegal. A mule deer scared the crap out of me that night. Good times.

[Jamestandy]

I fished the Taylor in Sept.Below the dam is combat fishing at it's best. We went to Lake City about 60 miles from the dam and found much better fishing ,Henson creek has camping and you can get a guide at fly shop that will put you on fish. The fish on the little red are larger and it has more public fishing. You will encounter a lot of posted water in colo.

[RSBreth]

When I get a chance to go to Colorado I usually go to the South Park plateau - South Platte river there between Eleven Mile Canyon and Spinney Mtn. is epic but can be crowded on weekends - the upper South Platte above Spinney is beautiful, and miles of public water with a good run of Browns in the Fall - usually you have miles of stream to yourself. http://www.coloradodirectory.com/fishing/fishing_southpark.html

If you get there don't skip the Eleven Mile Canyon stretch below the lake - lot's of jumbly pocket water with boulders everywhere - and where I caught my biggest Colorado Brown. 2 miles of public catch and release water down there.

I usually camp at Eleven Mile Canyon campground - http://www.parks.state.co.us/Parks/ElevenMile/Camping/Pages/ElevenMileCamping.aspx

[podum]

Listen to Jamestandy. Lake City is where it is at. Great water on the Lake Fork (above and below the lake). Cebolla creek is fantastic. Lots of camping (electric at Henson Creek), primitive along Lake San Cristobal. Fantastic fishing and miles of it.