Fly Fishing & Fishing

Why Fly Fishing

Spin fishing sends a heavy lure out on a light line. Fly fishing does the opposite: the line itself is heavy and carries a nearly weightless fly. That one change is why the cast looks the way it does, and why a good drift on moving water is such a satisfying skill to learn. You read the river, match what the fish are eating, and make small adjustments until something eats. Most of the time nothing does, and you will still enjoy yourself.

Colorado · Gold Medal Waters

The Rivers

Colorado Parks & Wildlife gives its Gold Medal designation to the state's very best trout water — rivers that reliably produce large numbers of trout over 14 inches. A few of the best-known names for fly anglers:

Gold Medal

South Platte

Colorado's famous tailwater stretches — Cheesman Canyon, Deckers and the “Dream Stream” below Spinney Mountain — are technical, crowded on good days and home to big, selective rainbows and browns. Think tiny midges, light tippet and patience. The headwaters up in South Park are quieter, smaller water.

Gold Medal

Fryingpan River

A cold tailwater below Ruedi Reservoir, running down to Basalt and the Roaring Fork. Clear, steady flows make for some of the most reliable dry-fly fishing in the state — midges and blue-winged olives most of the year, with seasonal hatches that bring fish up to the surface.

Colorado Trout Water

Arkansas River

Big, freestone water with a long season. The stretch through Salida is known for brown trout and for the spring caddis hatch in late April and May; below Pueblo Reservoir (pictured) the tailwater also fishes year-round. Mind the high spring runoff, when the river is often too high to fish.

Gold Medal

Gunnison River

The Gunnison Gorge is the classic hike-in or raft-in day: steep canyon walls, deep pools and big stoneflies. The famous salmonfly hatch arrives in late spring or early summer. Getting there takes effort, so the fishing pressure is lighter than on the roadside rivers.

Gear & Flies

What You Need

You do not need a thousand dollars of gear to start. A balanced outfit, a handful of proven flies and a good pair of waders will carry you through your first seasons.

Flies

A Fly Box That Works

Start small and cover the basics: a few dry flies (Elk Hair Caddis, Parachute Adams), nymphs (Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, Zebra Midge), and a couple of streamers (Woolly Bugger). Buy a dozen patterns in several sizes rather than a hundred patterns in one.

Rod & Reel

The All-Round Outfit

A 9-foot, 5-weight rod with a matching reel and a weight-forward floating line handles most trout water in Colorado. Go lighter (3–4 weight) for small creeks and heavier (6–7) for big rivers and streamers or wind.

Leader & Tippet

The Last Few Feet

A tapered leader of 9 feet to 4X or 5X, plus spools of tippet from 3X to 6X, is the real connection to the fish. Fluorocarbon sinks and hides well for nymphing; nylon floats better for dry flies.

Wading

Waders, Boots & Net

Breathable waders, felt-free or studded boots, a wading belt, polarized glasses and a rubber-mesh net. Cold water is the biggest risk on the river: dress in layers and wade deliberately.

Trips

Planning a Day on the Water

Also at the water

Conventional Fishing

Not every day needs a fly rod. Spinning and baitcasting gear is the easiest way to get started, and it is still how most fish are caught.

Conventional

Spinning & Lake Fishing

A 6½-to-7-foot medium spinning rod with 6–10 pound line covers trout, bass, walleye and pike in most reservoirs. Spinners, spoons, jigs and soft plastics do the work. It is simple, forgiving, and great for the whole family.

Conventional

Baitcasting & Heavier Gear

For bigger lakes and bigger fish — pike, muskie, saltwater — a baitcasting or heavier spinning outfit with braided line gives distance and power. It takes more practice to cast without backlash.

Conventional

Fish to the Table

Keeping a few legal trout? Gut them right away, keep them cold, and cook them simply: salt, butter, lemon, a hot grill. See the Grill section for fire and technique.

Photo Credits

• A fly fisherman in waders and a vest mid-cast on the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park — Photo: Neal Herbert / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• A fly fisher in waders standing in a stream with a bent rod and a fish on — Photo: bugeaters / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
• An aerial view of the South Platte River winding across the Colorado plains — Photo: Thomas Elliott / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
• The Fryingpan River at Norrie, Colorado, running clear past evergreens and willows — Photo: Jeffrey Beall / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
• A fly fisherman wading and casting in the Arkansas River below Pueblo Reservoir, Colorado — Photo: PEO ACWA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
• The Gunnison River flowing between steep canyon walls in the Gunnison Gorge, Colorado — Photo: mypubliclands / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• An angler in waders releasing a rainbow trout back into a river — Photo: USFWS Mountain Prairie / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• A hand holding a small brown trout above a fly rod and reel — Photo: Bill Blevins / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
• An open set of fly boxes full of trout, warmwater and saltwater flies — Photo: Mike Cline / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• A General Practitioner salmon fly dressed with orange and black feathers — Photo: DeliciousDunder / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
• A spinning reel mounted on a fishing rod, held in one hand — Photo: JaredMcKenzie / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

All photos are self-hosted, resized and compressed to WebP. See the full list on the photo credits page.