The West side of Rocky Mountain National Park includes the headwaters of the Colorado River. At this high elevation, the river is more creek-like and flows through some of the most scenic lands in Colorado.
The East Troublesome fire ripped through the park in October 2020. The fire appeared to destroy this beautiful place, but 2 years later, lush grass, wildflowers, and trout are back!
Accessing RMNP from Highway 34, there are a number of places to pull off, and hike to the river, but don’t park where there is not an official pull-out. Park Police are pretty zealous about where you park!
We have found that the further we hike from the road, the better the fishing is, both in the quantity of fish and size of fish. Probably the easiest place to start is the trail that enters the park near Winding River Resort.
The fish do tend to be small but are rarely selective about what they will eat. Even during a pale morning dun or green drake hatch, they will still mindlessly attack a Dave’s Hopper! That being said, these fish are VERY wary! Stay low, move slow, and use the tall brush to cover as much as possible.
The dry fly action on this river is pretty spectacular, the fish are not selective, and there is a good chance that you will see moose and/or elk while fishing this river.
My favorite dry fly on this stretch of river is a #16 or #14 Peacock Chubby Chernobyl. Not only does this fly float like a cork, but it is very easy to see. This fly is traditionally tied with more white antron wing than the fish like in this river, so I generally give the fly a little “hair cut” before fishing it!
