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Park Streams
The lower reaches of all the major river systems flowing out of Rocky Mountain national Park (RMNP)--the Cache la Poudre, Colorado River, the North Fork of the St. Vrain, the Big Thompson, and the Fall River--are well-known trout streams and receive most of the angling pressure. They hold brook, brown, and/or rainbow trout in the most easily accessed reaches near roads or trailheads. Farther upstream, sometimes above waterfalls or other natural barriers, there are restored populations of native cutthroat trout.

The Big Thompson (above) in Moraine Park is loaded with small born and brook trout and has good evening caddis hatches through the summer. The river flows from valley to the left in the background, and has miles of backcountry fishing as well as trails to lakes such as Fern Lake.

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Smaller creeks coming from alpine trout lakes almost always hold trout as well, and it you are an aficionado of tiny creeks, then places like Glacier Creek, Ouzel Creek, Fern Creek, Roaring River, the North Fork of the Big Thompson, Columbine Creek, Timber Creek, Paradise Creek, and others can hold small surprises. One of my most memorable small-stream experiences in RMNP was watching a friend take a 8-inch greenback from a 12-inch long "pool" that was really just a gallon of holding water in a 50-yard-long cascade that was more akin to a waterfall than a trout stream. We put the trout back into this foamy bucket since it had obviously learned--or was genetically engineered--to survive in just such a precipitous location.

The Big Thompson. In 1859 Joel Estes followed "Thompson Creek" from the plains northwest of Denver to a hidden valley that would become his homestead and later the town of Estes Park. The Thompson drains all the water from the high peaks that surround this mountain valley and is often too fast and high for good fishing through May and June. Flows are usually stable by the 4th of July weekend, but the best fishing is in the low flows of August, September, and October. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS, usgs.gov) has a stream gauge on the Big Thompson inside RMNP boundaries showing daily stream flows.

The most accessible place to fish the Big T is in the Moraine Park area. Turn left on Bear Lake Road after entering the Beaver Meadows entrance and a 1-mile drive to the south brings you to a broad glacial valley marked by the serpentine path of the river. This is an excellent place to watch elk and catch small brook trout (4 to 8 inches) and some slightly larger browns. The evenings in this valley are spectacular and a dependable caddis hatch in the evenings provides fishing to match.

The Roaring River (above) is a tributary to the Fall River, and provides a constant distraction for anglers hiking to Lawn Lake. Michael Smith photo

A large campground is nearby and the easy roadside access makes this one of the most popular fishing areas in the park but the winding nature of the creek means there is plenty of room for everyone. Most people use the parking area just past the Moraine Park Museum because the creek is easily seen from the road. However, if you take the first right off Bear Lake Road, the road to the Fern Lake Trailhead parallels the Thompson along the west end of Moraine Park, and there are several parking areas and trails leading to less-fished areas. The Cub Lake trailhead has good parking and is a good place to access the river at the west end of the valley.

While the Thompson in Moraine Park is enjoyable for its large vistas, elk and other wildlife, and easy casting, there is also good fishing in tighter quarters upstream. The Fern Lake Trail follows the Big Thompson where it runs between Beaver Mountain and Mount Wuh, and the area between Arch Rocks and a spot on the Big T called "The Pool" would not look out of place in a Lord of the Rings movie. Since the river is more constricted here, there are more riffles, more deep pools, and fewer shallow flats than in Moraine Park. Upstream of The Pool, the Thompson runs through more than 6 miles of Forest Canyon. This is the roadless, trailess, and seldom-visited wilderness area seen by thousands of tourists looking southwest as they ascend Trail Ridge Road.

Cache la Poudre. Often called the South Fork or Big South by local anglers, the Cache la Poudre inside RMNP is not a fork of the river at all but the main stem. Most anglers fish and hike their way south from Route 14 through the Comanche Wilderness, eventually ending up inside RMNP, but you can do it the other way by parking at the Poudre Lake trailhead and hiking downstream a mile or more. The Poudre has everything--browns, rainbows, brook trout, rainbows, and greenbacks. In the fast tumbling water the same high-floating dry-fly patterns used in other park waters are all you need. The Poudre fishes best after July 4 through September. By October, night temperatures in the high country drop below freezing and the trout become too sluggish to slash at dry flies in the riffles. Fall River. Like the Thompson, the Fall River drops through a canyon in a series of chutes, pools, and riffles, and ends up winding back and forth through a grassy valley-Horseshoe Park--frequented by elk. The fishing in Horseshoe Park is excellent but the elk can be a hazard. I have never fished the inside of "the horseshoe" (the south side of Route 34) because whenever I am there--usually in the fall--there are hundreds of elk in the lower valley. The signs say it is illegal to approach wildlife within 100 yards, making navigation of the river course impossible. In the upper valley, near the Lawn Lake Trailhead, the Alluvial Fan Trail, and Endovalley picnic area, elk less frequently swarm the riverbanks and there are more gravel riffles here and fewer soggy marshes.

The North Fork St. Vrain (above) in Wild Basin is off the beaten track. there are no campgrounds nearby, and the area cannot be acccessed from the normal park thoroughfares. Access Wild Basin from High 7 near Allenspark.

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The Fall River in Horseshoe Park has brook, brown, rainbow, cuttbow, and greenback cutthroat trout in the area of the Alluvial Fan. The Roaring River (which created the 42-acre fan in the massive flood of 1982) is one of the better greenback streams in the park and provides a constant influx of native species. Nonnatives cannot pass upstream past Horsehoe Falls.

You can also fish the Fall River upstream from Horseshoe Park by following the Old Fall River Road but the single-lane road is a one-way drive to the Alpine Visitor Center at the top of Fall River Pass (11,796). Be aware that you cannot turn around once you are on this road. There are many places to pull off, enjoy the views, and try fishing the Fall River, but you cannot drive east (down) on this road. If you just have an hour or two and are eager to try the upper river, park at Endovalley and fish your way up to Chasm Falls.

Colorado River. The best fishing on the Colorado River in RMNP is in the Kawuneeche Valley just inside the west Grand Lake Entrance. From the east side of the park closest to Denver, this requires a drive over the Continental Divide via Trail Ridge Road, a switchback ascent that takes you to overviews of up to 12,000 feet above sea level with views in all directions. Along the drive you'll see Long's Peak (14,255) and many of RMNP's backcountry lakes. If you don't have the legs for backcountry hiking, this drive can give you a taste of it.

As you descend the west side of the Continental Divide you enter the historic range of Colorado River Cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki pleuriticus). These native cutthroat trout were extirpated from much of their native range but are making a comeback both inside RMNP and other areas. You occasionally find them in the upper Colorado River but the best fishing for them is in tributaries such as Timber Creek, Tonahutu Creek, and Paradise Creek; and especially in the high lakes that form these headwaters. Adams Lake, Fifth Lake, and Timber Lake are catch-and-release fisheries known to exclusively contain restored native trout. Other west-side lakes such as Lake Verna and Haynach, Fourth, and Spirit lakes, are not strictly catch-and-release since they may contain other species in addition to Colorado River cutthroat. The park encourages removal of exotic species with a daily limit of 18 brook trout and 2 rainbow or brown trout.

North Fork St. Vrain. Wild Basin is an out-of-the-way watershed in the southeast corner of RMNP. It has its own separate entrance--off Highway 7 north of Allenspark--and serves as the jump-off point for some of RMNP's best backcountry lake fishing, and both road and trail access to the North Fork of the St. Vrain River. Unlike the Fall and Big Thompson rivers, which have extensive meadow sections, the North Fork of the St. Vrain is all pocketwater fishing, tightly constrained by spruce and aspen, and large granite boulders. Between Copeland Lake (near the park entrance) and the Wild Basin ranger station (at the end of the road), there are multiple parking areas with easy foot access to about 2 miles of river. If you park at near the ranger station, you can fish and hike your way up to and past Copeland Falls all the way to Calypso Cascades.

Near the park entrance, the St. Vrain contains a mix of brook trout, browns, cuttbows, and greenbacks. Hunter's Creek which flows into the North Fork near the ranger station is a recovering greenback fishery and off-limits to all fishing.

The North Fork St. Vrain contains mostly brown and brook trout (top two photos) near the ranger station and downstream to the park boundary and below. Upstream near the junction of Ouzel and Cony creeks, there are native greenback cutthroat trout (above).

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Some of the brook trout here are stout by park standards with 8- to 10-inch fish a relatively common catch and brook and brown trout up to 12 inches possible. The higher up in the watershed you hike, the more greenbacks you find since tributaries such as Ouzel, Cony, and Sandbeach creeks are all greenback streams.

High-floating attractor patterns work best in the turbulent water of the North Fork. The H&L Variant, Parachute Adams, and Elk-hair Caddis are among the best because they are easy to see, nearly indestructible, and difficult to sink. A fly that needs treatment or replacement after every fish can become a nuisance since it's not uncommon to land six fish in a single pool.

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Ross Purnell is the editorial director of Fly Fisherman magazine. He used to live near RMNP in Fort Collins, Colorado, and now lives in Pennsylvania.

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