Table Of ContentFly Fishing Guide to the
Colorado River and Tributaries
Hatches, Fly Patterns, and Guide’s Advice
Bob Dye
STACKPOLE
BOOKS
Guilford, Connecticut
Published by Stackpole Books
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefeld Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
Distributed by
NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
800-462-6420
Copyright © 2018 by Bob Dye
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic
or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written
permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dye, Bob (Fly fshing guide), author.
Title: Fly fshing guide to the Colorado River and tributaries hatches, fy
patterns, and guide’s advice / Bob Dye.
Description: Guilford, Connecticut : Stackpole Books, [2018] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2018003019 (print) | LCCN 2018004094 (ebook) | ISBN
9780811766869 | ISBN 9780811737241 (paperback) | ISBN 9780811766869
(ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Fly fshing—Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)—Guidebooks.
Classifcation: LCC SH456 (ebook) | LCC SH456 .D94 2018 (print) | DDC
799.12/4097925—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018003019
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
INTRODUCTION vii
Fish Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x Mountain Whitefsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv
Rainbow Trout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Colorado River Cutthroat Trout . . . . . xv
Brown Trout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Kokanee Salmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
SEASONS OF THE COLORADO 1
Spring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 September. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 October. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 November . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
June . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Summer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 December through February . . . . . . . 21
July . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
August . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
PART I: THE UPPER COLORADO: ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
TO HOT SULPHUR SPRINGS 25
Rocky Mountain National Park . . . . . . . 26 Granby Reservoir Tailwater . . . . . . . . 31
Shadow Mountain, Granby, and Windy Gap Reservoir. . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Windy Gap Tailwaters . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Fraser River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Shadow Mountain Reservoir Pioneer Park/Hot Sulphur Springs. . . . . 35
Tailwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
PART II: MIDDLE COLORADO: BYERS CANYON TO KREMMLING 37
Byers Canyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Powers Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Paul Gilbert and Lone Buck. . . . . . . . . . 40 Reeder Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Kemp-Breeze Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Williams Fork River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Sunset Lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Troublesome Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
iii
iv Fly Fishing Guide to the Colorado River and Tributaries
PART III: MIDDLE COLORADO: KREMMLING TO STATE BRIDGE 53
Blue River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Two Bridges to Catamount. . . . . . . . . 80
Muddy Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Catamount to Pinball . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Gore Canyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Pinball to Horse Creek River Access 86
Pumphouse to State Bridge . . . . . . . . . . 61 Horse Creek River Access to
State Bridge to Dotsero . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Cottonwood Island. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
State Bridge to Two Bridges . . . . . . . 76 Cottonwood Island to Dotsero . . . . . . 91
PART IV: LOWER COLORADO: DOTSERO TO SILT 95
Glenwood Canyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Roaring Fork River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Grizzly Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Roaring Fork Access . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Two Rivers Park to Dino Hole . . . . . . 108 Eagle River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
New Castle to Silt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
HATCHES, RIGS, AND FLY PATTERNS 133
Hatch Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Caddisfies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Mayfies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Stonefies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Green Drakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Salmonfies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Tricos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Yellow Sallies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Blue-Winged Olives . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Eggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Pale Morning Duns . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Aquatic Worms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Red Quills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Mysis Shrimp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Pseudos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Terrestrials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Midges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Streamers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
FLY PATTERNS 165
APPENDIX: MAPS 194
REGULATIONS AND RESOURCES 204
Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Sharing the River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Acknowledgments
was fortunate enough to fsh the Colorado River as a young kid and have now spent
most of my guiding career learning its hidden secrets. Shortly after I started this
I project, I realized I was going to need a ton of help. Thankfully, quite a few guys
and gals make the Colorado River what it is today, from the angler who visits the
river on a regular basis to all the hardworking people at Colorado Parks & Wildlife
and the Bureau of Land Management. Fortunately for me, a bunch of other guides,
fy fshers, and outdoor enthusiasts know the Colorado River intimately, and thanks
to their input, this project was possible.
First, I want to extend a sincere thanks to Pat Dorsey and Landon Mayer for all
their help in guiding me through this venture. Second, I have fshed or guided with
a number of ladies and gentleman whose contributions, whether photography, fy
patterns, or techniques, have certainly added to my knowledge of the vast sport of
fy fshing. These extraordinary people include Jim Cannon, Pat Dorsey, Landon
Mayer, Mark Adams, Jonathon Keisling, Jim Neiberger, Deborah Dye, John Barr,
Dean Billington, Jay Nichols, Scott Willoughby, Trent Tatum, Eric Aune, Stuart
Birdsong, J. J. Randolph, Seth Kapust, Brett Van Rensselaer, Art Van Rensselaer,
Adrian Keeler, Bob Dye Senior, Dave Pinkerton, John Perizzolo, Mathew Thom-
as, Billy Berger, Teri Parvin, Joe Shafer, Jerry Vigil, Steve Parrott, Jeremy Hyatt,
Terry and Lori Nicholson, Dick Mill, J Core, Richard Pilatzke, Ryan Hempkins,
Sara Barclay, Scott Harkins, Steve Schweitzer, Greg Garcia, Chris Steinbeck, Cody
Scott, Dave Dickensheets, Eric Atha, Mike Kruise, Kelli Blue, Casey Blue, and John
Gonzales. I also include several fy shops: The Blue Quill Angler, Angler’s All,
Cutthroat Anglers, Breckenridge Outftters, and Roaring Fork Anglers.
Lastly, I think most anglers that have made a career of guiding or just enjoy
the art of fy fshing had one or two people who infuenced them in the sport that
they grew to love. I was fortunate enough to have two. My dad, who was a school
principal, had the summertime free, which enabled us to spend countless hours on
the river. I can remember using worms and Pautzke’s Balls O’ Fire as a young kid,
but always keeping an eye on fy fshers we encountered on the stream. While these
encounters defnitely sparked my interest, it was not till my dad bought me the frst
edition of Jack Dennis’s fy-tying book that I completely immersed myself in the
sport. From there, I experienced a great number of accomplishments and failures
as I soon realized how instinctively intelligent trout are.
It was not until my late teen years that I met a fy fsherman who seemed to have
all the answers when it came to fooling fsh on a regular basis. Jim Neiberger was
that guy, and the times he took me fshing, it was always the same scenario: Jim
would land 25, and I would land 4 or 5. Nowadays, when I look back, I realize that
Jim taught me more about the sport of fy fshing than anybody, and not only was
he extremely infuential in my fshing career, but he contributed countless hours
of photography, fies, and advice to this book project. So for all his hard work and
keeping me on life’s right path, I am truly thankful.
v
The Colorado River is one of the West’s most formidable trout streams. It encompasses just
about every style of trout water there is, from long rifes to deep plunge pools. Anglers could
fsh it for a year and never cover it all. MARK ADAMS
Introduction
hen I was a boy, my father took my brother and me on several outdoor
adventures, including numerous elk hunting trips and what seemed like
Wnonstop fshing trips. We felt fortunate to have a father who not only enjoyed
fshing and hunting, but who had, as a school principal, most of the summer free.
This allowed me to submerse myself for days in Colorado’s rivers and small creeks.
I didn’t start fy fshing until I was about 10 years old; however, the tools needed
were being honed by countless hours of drowning worms and salmon eggs and
learning over time that dead-drifting live bait was more effective than dragging
those presentations through the water. I vividly remember fshing the Crystal River
just outside of Marble, Colorado, on a hot July afternoon. It seemed like every trout
in the river was taking insects off the top of the surface, when an old gentleman
startled me: “Catching any?” “A few on worms,” I replied. As I made my way
towards him, he asked if I had ever casted a fy rod. I told him I had a few times in
beaver ponds, but never really casted a fy rod in a river. For the next couple hours, he
spent time showing me the true nature of
the sport, and from that point forward, it
was the only thing I could think about.
As the years rolled by, my dad got so
tired of me asking “Can we go fshing
again?” that he began taking me and a
friend from the neighborhood on week-
end trips. The funny thing about this was
that he would drop us off on a Friday
afternoon and come pick us back up on
Sunday. Nowadays, if you did that with
your kids, you would be arrested. But
those trips were defnitely the beginning
of my fguring out fy fshing and real-
izing this was something that I wasn’t
going to forget about as time went on.
As I started fishing different riv-
ers, one always topped my list when it
came to fy-fshing opportunities, and
that was the Colorado River. Whether
it was the scenery or the scent of the
sagebrush after a rain, this waterway
quickly became stuck in my head for
years to come.
The author scoops up a nice brown.
MARK ADAMS
vii
viii Fly Fishing Guide to the Colorado River and Tributaries
The Colorado River below Windy Gap Reservoir, west of the town of Granby, ofers public
fshing as well as scenic views. JIM NEIBERGER
From high atop the western side of the Continental Divide, the Colorado River
descends through some of the West’s most scenic landscapes. While the river extends
1,490 miles to the Gulf of California, it is in the state of Colorado that it is most
important to fy fshers. Anglers can take advantage of this extraordinary resource,
from fshing a small creek in the high country to foating one of the West’s most
formidable rivers. Like most rivers, the Colorado is in a state of constant change,
but through it all, from years of heavy snowpack to periods of severe drought, it
remains one of the state’s top fshing destinations.
The Colorado River is without a doubt the lifeblood of the state. From its humble
beginnings in Rocky Mountain National Park to the drift-boat-driven sections of
the lower river, there is an amazing diversity of water. Some of the West’s fnest
trout streams feed its fow on its journey through the state, including the Fraser
River, Troublesome Creek, Williams Fork River, Blue River, Muddy Creek, Piney
River, Eagle River, and Roaring Fork River. In addition to the Colorado River,
anglers have a lifetime of opportunities to fsh these major tributaries, and for the
angler that enjoys a more intimate experience, there are important creeks such as
Beaver Creek, Reeder Creek, Derby Creek, Deep Creek, Grizzly Creek, No Name
Creek, Canyon Creek, and Elk Creek—all of which would take years to cover
with a fy rod.
The Colorado River and its tributaries also have some of the fnest insect hatches
of any river in the country. From its famed Salmonfy hatch from the Two Bridges
boat launch all the way to Hot Sulphur Springs to its consistent midge, Blue-Winged
Introduction ix
Olive, Pale Morning Dun, Yellow Sally, Red Quill, Trico, and caddis hatches, there
is always something hatching along the river system.
To top it off, the Colorado is a year-round fshery. The upper river has six dams
along its path, and besides providing year-round fshing in their tailwaters, these
reservoirs add much-needed cold water to the river system down below. The lower
Colorado, including the Roaring Fork River all the way down to Silt, fshes well
throughout the season, but it is an overlooked winter fshery. Even when the water
is high or off-color, especially due to runoff in June, you can often fnd fshable
conditions in one of the six tailwaters: Shadow Mountain Reservoir, Granby Res-
ervoir, Willow Creek Reservoir (part of the Big Thompson Water Project and has
limited access) Williams Fork Reservoir, Wolford Mountain Reservoir, and Green
Mountain Reservoir.
Many people make a living from this great river, and many are responsible for
keeping the river healthy. I happen to fall in both of those categories. I have spent
over 35 years fshing the entire system, learning its tendencies, weather patterns,
insect life, and most importantly, the behavior of its fsh. With so many anglers and
other outdoor enthusiasts using the river on a daily basis, I decided to write this
book and share my knowledge with all the people who enjoy this tremendous river
system. Those who use the river are like the tributaries of the river itself: If one part
of the system fails, the whole system crashes.
The Colorado River perched above Little Gore Canyon. The Colorado ofers a multitude of
outdoor recreational activities. BOB DYE
