Our home river. The Poudre starts in Rocky Mountain National Park and eventually descends right through Fort Collins on its way to join the South Platte. Much like the Big Thompson, this drainage is fairly steep in gradient, but the valley is much broader and longer, giving more variety to the character of this river from a fishing standpoint. Those anglers looking for diversity find the upper river a mecca of dry fly opportunities. Nearby Zimmerman Lake offers opportunities to fish to Colorado's only native trout, the greenback cuttthroat. While still parked in the same location, Joe Wright Reservoir holds a self-sustaining population of Arctic grayling in addition to rainbow trout in a high alpine environment. We usually look to these upper elevation options during the morning hours when weather patterns are more stable and spend our time after lunch fishing for browns and rainbows on the main stem of the Poudre. Access is excellent on this drainage with the majority of the land being public, however some options may require a short hike.

A year round fishery that is steep in gradient and made up largely of pocket water, it is a river with easy access. Highway 34 runs along most of the river from Loveland, up to Estes Park. With its headwaters starting in Rocky Mountain National Park, it meanders through the town of Estes Park and down the scenic canyon along Hwy 34. Although the Park has many fly fishing opportunities, the majority of local fly fishers concentrate their efforts below Lake Estes and in the canyon. Most of the upper canyon is managed as 'catch and release' providing good numbers of quality trout. The majority of this stretch is public water managing to reduce crowding even in the heart of the season.

Located just outside of Estes Park, The Rocky Mountain National Park is home to the headwaters of three readily recognizable trout rivers, the Colorado, the Cache La Poudre, and the Big Thompson. Rocky Mountain National Park holds 150 alpine lakes and a web of rivers and streams. All told there are perhaps 50 lakes and approximately 150 miles of fishable flowing water with the park boundary. This is not a trophy trout fishery, but if you want to get away from it all and experience the wildlife, scenery, sheer beauty of all the Rockies have to offer, this is the place. The prize in the park is of course the Greenback Cutthroat trout, a native species that was nearly extirpated by 1937. The greenback recovery plans in place today are all leveraging brood stock discovered in the high lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park in 1969. Brown, Brook, and Rainbow Trout are also available. In general, fish range from 8-12 inches with occasional 16-18 inch fish caught here and there. Fishing inside the park, with the exception of Lily Lake, is generally non technical and a variety of subsurface and dry attractor patterns will get the job done.

Solitude, beauty, and diversity best describe the two hundred and sixty or so miles of trout water on the North Platte. The snow fields of three wilderness areas give birth to this amazing fishery which begins in Colorado and flows north into Wyoming around the Snowy and Laramie mountain ranges before turning south east towards Nebraska. The upper North Platte river flows through the Medicine Bow National Forest and access is easy down to Big Creek (below which there are public and private sections) but this region is a long drive from anywhere. The river has a relatively steep gradient in this section with rapids, large boulders, and narrow canyons. There are few drift boat opportunities outside of the runoff season, but launching a personal watercraft or raft as runoff picks up can be a rewarding experience. Through summer and fall, the upper Platte is a wade fishing proposition for the most part. Expect to fish alongside deer, elk, coyotes, eagles, and other wildlife in this wild and remote stretch of river. The upper stretches from 6 mile gap to Bennet Peak campground are excellent salmonfly water while Treasure Island, Saratoga and the lower reaches of the upper river offer excellent Green Drake hatches if flows and weather cooperate.

For our purposes, the Miracle Mile and Grey Reef tailwaters make up the lower North Platte. While not as aesthetically pleasing as the upper reaches of the river, the lower reaches of the river on its way to Nebraska provide year round opportunities to catch some truly large trout. While some public sections provide wade opportunities, this is primarily drift boat water for us. Below "the Mile", the river disappears into a series of reservoirs and re-emerges below Grey Reef reservoir as one of the most productive stretches of water in Wyoming. The lower river does offer some dry fly opportunities, however these stretches are primarly indicator nymphing waters where SJWs, small midges, and other tailwater offerings are snatched up by large fish that will test your equipment on a regular basis. As the water warms in the spring, or during the brown trout spawn in the fall, a double streamer rig on a sinking line can be deadly. Fast action rods in the 5-7 weight range, along with heavy leaders and tippet, are the norm in these stretches.

Beginning just east of the Continental Divide in northern Colorado, the Encampment River flows north into Wyoming almost immediately on its brief journey to join the North Platte. Immediately after leaving Colorado, the river drops through an 18 mile protected wilderness canyon that can only be described as spectacular. For the best experience of this river, take two or three days and backpack with a 3-4 weight and a box of high floating dry flies in the canyon. Deer, moose, elk, mountain lion and other wildlife are here...so take a camera in your pack and enjoy one of the best wild places within driving distance of our shop. For the next 25 miles, the river takes a more meandering course before joining the North Platte just upstream of the Treasure Island access. Upstream of the towns of Encampment and Riverside, WY, access to this jewel of a trout stream is virtually unlimited as much of it flows through the Medicine Bow National Forest. The stream is not a test-your-skills type place...a variety of attractor dries, generic nymphs, and the good old wooly bugger will keep your rod bent.

A beautiful, intimate stream of modest gradient populated with brown trout. Rich in aquatic life, the hatch we focus on primarily is the western green drake which typically makes its appearance mid-June and lasts through mid-July. We have access to approximately 5 miles of private water on a working cattle ranch in addition to the public sections of the drainage. Wonderful glides and runs wind through miles of hay meadows that are also calving grounds for the resident moose. The river environment feels like a step back in time. Most anglers come away feeling nostalgic for a bygone era and lifestyle. This may be the perfect little trout stream!

Joe Wright Reservoir, Zimmerman Lake, Red Feather Lakes, and Delaney Buttes...these are just several of the phenomenal stillwater resources (and perhaps the best kept secret for flyfisherman) in the Front Range and North Park areas. Add to that the numerous publicly available ponds both within and beyond Fort Collins and you have a flyfisherman's sanity check when our streams are swollen with runoff. Whether your targeting bass and wipers or pursuing the cold water species that have made our great state famous, we can point to you a lake, pond, or reservoir within driving distance of our shop that will fit the bill. And don't overlook these stillwaters as great options throughout the summer. Wipers busting bait in one of our reservoirs or trout gulping callabaetis make our fingers twitch even outside the runoff season.