I thought it would be fun to share my personal top 10 favorite rivers and creeks in Colorado.
Of course this is my own opinion so I do not mean to offend you if I don’t mention your favorite fishing spot…
I have compiled what I believe to be the most dynamic and interesting streams, and of course there is a lot of stuff I have yet to fish and places I have yet to be, so if you think you might know of a better stream feel free to chime in…
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The Yampa - The Yampa is undoubtedly and unquestionably my favorite river in the beautiful state of Colorado! I know this because one afternoon I was fishing the Yampa through the town of Steamboat and the fishing was going quite slow…then out of nowhere it started to rain and a
blanket hatch of Green Drakes fluttered over the river and from the riffle infront of me multiple brown and rainbow trout over 20 inches began slurping the bugs from the water! Enough Said.
The Boulder Creek Watershed – OK so this one may come to a shock to many but the entire
Boulder Creek watershed is one of my very favorite places to fish in Colorado and I’ll be happy to tell you why. Middle Boulder Canyon is just plain fun to fish with aggressive little brown trout seemingly hiding behind every rock! The North Fork of the Creek running through Dream Canyon makes me feel like I am in the Black Canyon, with colorful Brook trout rising to my hopper creations! And South Boulder Creek fishes awesome for the occasional 16” plus brown in the meandering meadow sections around Boulder. Then the bug life on the creek both below and above Gross makes for some awesome dry fly fishing!
The Roaring Fork – I love float fishing the Roaring Fork. This river is a streamer junkie’s best
friend. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day than floating the Fork with good friends and a cooler full of ice cold drinks…
Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge – Does it get any better than hiking down into the steepest, deepest and most narrow canyon in North America to find Salmon Flies crawling all over the river? I don’t think so.
Taylor River – No I’m not talking about fishing the “Hog Trough” but I simply love the lower sections of the Taylor. This river gets one hell of a Green Drake hatch in the summer and wade fishing the Taylor with its fast current and slippery rocks always makes for an
adventure. Camping along this river and its main tributary Spring Creek is a great way to experience the wilds of Gunnison.
Tributaries of the North Platte in Walden – The various feeder streams of the North
Platte are some of my favorite excursions for Brown Trout. Fish of all sizes live in these streams and the fishing can be challenging, technical and overall difficult but the rewards
can be amazing.
Frying Pan – You can learn a lot about trout and fly fishing for them on this infamous stream. Sight Fishing is almost always possible and a plethora of insect hatches will keep even the most
seasoned of anglers guessing.
Cheesman Canyon – Ok so Cheesman is definitely not my very favorite stream but anytime I land a trout in the Canyon I feel grateful…for it certainly never happens too often! The canyon is a technical fishery and it simply takes hard work and persistence and thorough understanding
of Nymph fishing to fool these trout.
Eagle –I haven’t explored this river as much as I would like but my limited experience on the Eagle has been good. Lots of fish, bugs and interesting water makes for a dynamic and year round fishery.
Rocky Mountain National Park – A lifetime of fishing is available within the lines of the park and most of it remains untouched. Native Greenback Cutt Throat call these streams their home and they are easily fooled with small fly rods and dry flies. Fishing in the park is just plain fun and after all isn’t that what it’s all about?
So there is my Top 10.
What’s yours?
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
