Fly Fishing on the Colorado River
A day fly fishing on the Colorado River normally starts with a wake up call around 7am to get the boat and lunch packed for a full of floating. You can’t start the day right without a hearty breakfast to give you energy for all your casting and rowing. Mapping your float or walk for the day is highly recommended, as there is so much river and land to cover with some rapids in there.
Making the drive from the Summit area is about 1 hour and offers amazing views of the Gore Range along the way. When you arrive to the put in location, first thing we have to do is rig up our rods. The best float for fly fishing on the Colorado River would be from Pumphouse to Rancho Del Rio, which is a full day float of around 5 hours plus taking your time to fish those nice yetis along the river side!
Knowing the bug hatch patterns is very helpful when fly fishing on the Colorado River, and on any other river in the state. The most popular hatch of bugs along the Colorado River would have to be the Salmon Fly hatch. Since we have had an abundant amount of run off this year, the hatch won’t be as popular but still good acting for eating. These bugs are also known as Salmonflies, Giant Stoneflies, and Willowflies. People all over the world come to fish this amazing hatch on the Upper Colorado. While this hatch only last for a few weeks, fishing on the Colorado is ways fun and exciting. Whether you are using nymphs or dry flies you are sure to catch a chromed out Brown Trout, a spectacular Rainbow or even some Brookies.
As a full day trip can be a lot, why not camp? Along the river there are plenty of fantastic camp spots. My favorite are near the natural hot spring, known as Radium, with a jump rock as well! This natural hot spring, also known as “hippie hot tub”, is a great spot to set up camp for the night and to grab a drink with friends. As the elevation is still around 7,000ft, the nights are still a little chilly even during mid July.
What better way to start your morning than with waking up on top of a canyon and looking down onto the Colorado River? The views of the red rocks and the snowy mountain tops are amazing. When packing up your camp site from the night before, be sure that everything you brought with you, you pack out. We love this beautiful state and want to keep the beauty of it.
Twenty miles of the Colorado River between the US 40 bridge to the confluence with the Williams Fork River east of Kremmling is designated as a Gold Medal river. This is some of the most poplar fishing in Colorado.
If you are interested in fly fishing on the Colorado River, I would highly recommend booking a guided fly fishing trip for the best spots to fish. Please visit us at Fly Fishing Colorado to book that trip and have the time of your life on the river.