Best Summer Fly Fishing in Colorado

Colorado is home to thousands of miles of rivers and streams and plenty of high alpine lakes to test even the most seasoned fly-fisherman. With all of the choices, it can be hard to narrow down where the best spots are to give yourself the greatest chance to catch those hungry trout. Below are just a few of the places to find the best summer fly fishing in Colorado.

The first river that you need to check out is the South Platte. This river has so many amazing sections that offer Gold Medal fishing, it is hard to narrow down the best spots. With over 15 public access points you definitely have a lot of water that can be covered. Starting in South Park and flowing into downtown Denver, this river varies from small technical stretches that offer great pocket fishing behind large boulders to large slow flowing sections that you can throw a variety of flies for eager Brown Trout. One section that every angler should visit is the “Dream Stream”, located between Spinney Reservoir and 11 Mile Reservoir.

Another great area to fish is the Tail Water of the Blue River. Starting in Hoosier Pass and flowing through Breckenridge to the Colorado River, the Tail Water section lies below Lake Dillon offers some amazing spots to fish.  Trout growing to lengths of over 24 inches are often seen in this section but are rarely landed. It takes a fair amount of skill to catch these clever fish.  This is also one of the few sections in the state that holds Mysis shrimp and you’ll definitely want to have a few imitations of these on hand when fishing the area.

Courtesy Liam Doran

The last river that you don’t want to miss this summer is Gore Creek. This stream is fairly smaller compared to the two rivers mentioned above but tends to offer great fishing year-round. For a smaller stream, Gore Creek holds surprisingly large fish including Brook, Cutthroat, Brown, and Rainbow Trout! The stream starts high in the mountains at Gore Lake and flows to the confluence with the Eagle River near Vail. The two main fisheries lie just North and South of Vail and are the best sections to throw some flies.

Now that you know of a few of the best spots for summer fly fishing in Colorado, be sure to get on the water and tell us about any big catches!  If you’re ever looking for more fly fishing advice be sure to give us a call.