Rivers too swollen to fish? Do not fret. Check out Rocky Mountain National Park

Even if you’re a local fly fisherman or you’re coming from out of town there are more fly fishing opportunities in Rocky Mountain National Park than one person could attempt in a lifetime.  The running “joke” as it were is that when looking at a map, if it’s blue there’s trout in Rocky Mountain National Park.  If you are trying to narrow down places to go for a day or a weekend there is an abundance of fly shops in Estes Park that are more than willing to provide info and that days selection of flies that are native to the area.  Kirk’s Fly Shop comes to mind.  Just get there early enough to beat the throngs of people who will be sucking up all the parking spots and clogging the sidewalks.

Summertime fly fishing in this area of Colorado means terrestrials like ant patterns, beetles, and hoppers.  But know too that the largest Mayfly in this region is the mighty Green Drake.  But never count out flies such as the ubiquitous caddis, and the larger Stone Fly, or Yellow Sally.  Most of the streams and rivers in this area are gorged with snow melt and runnoff, but don’t let the high flows scare you away.  This “pools” the trout together is the slow moving stretches close to the bank and the eddies behind rocks.  They will rise in this fast moving water.  But I always advise when stalking trout to move gingerly and move upstream, not downstream.  The trout are still spooky in these regions and they hear footsteps from quite a distance.  Stealth is always best when fishing these smaller waters.  Great places to check out are the Big Thompson in the Moraine park area.  There will be lots of people, but very few of them will be fishing.

If you want to get away from the revelers in this area there are more trailheads with parking then someone can shake a rod at.  Please click on the map link below.  You can see the maze of trails in this area and an equal amount of high mountain lakes stocked with hungry Brookies and the elusive Colorado Native Greenback Cutthroat trout.  One of the few places in the state where you can catch the Grand Slam of trout in one day (Brook, Brown, Rainbow, Greenback Cutthroat).

Feel free to scan around the map to scan for locations to fish, hike, fish and hike, animal watch, people watch, or whatever your passions are for the day it can be done right here.  Keep in mind, without a National Park Pass it will cost you $20/car to get into the park.  But also don’t forget we have two more weekends of Free National Park days…July 18-19 and August 15-16.

So, you have no excuse for not visiting one of Americas most beautiful National Parks.  Pack a cooler with some food and beverages, a couple fishing rods, your favorite hiking boots, and enjoy one of our country’s true treasures.

Link to map of Rocky Mountain National Park