Rainbows (the most common), cuttbows, browns, and Snake River cutthroats all call the Dream Stream home. Browns, the true gems of the river, are found throughout the year in strong numbers but are especially common in the fall. These aggressive fish have breathtaking colors and markings.

Trout migrate up from the deep waters of Elevenmile Reservoir into this section of the river to spawn and find suitable habitat to feed and reside during the summer and winter months. The spring brings up rainbows, cutthroats, and cuttbows, while the fall draws in the browns. The summer and winter months offer a variety of all four species. The Dream Stream has healthy aquatic life and great hatches that support the large migratory trout.

Because the distance between the two reservoirs is minimal, anglers can cover the water thoroughly for these magnificent trout. The river is relatively narrow, 20 to 30 feet wide in most places, and the flows rarely exceed 300 cubic feet per second, making it perfect for easy wading and challenging sight-fishing.

Changing Courses
For years the Dream Stream had natural flows, long riffled runs, and large dry-fly eddies that provided great year-round habitat for resident river fish. However, due to severe erosion through the stream’s natural course, the Colorado Division of Wildlife erected man-made structure in 1993--immediately downstream of the Spinney Dam--followed by increased instream construction through November 2004 on the upper section of the river. Today, the only stretch of the Dream Stream that flows naturally is 1 1/2 miles of its lower section pouring into Elevenmile Reservoir. The upper 3 1/2 miles below Spinney Mountain Reservoir contains stream restoration work including weirs, logjams, boulder structures, and willow trees lining the river. While all this is intended to stop erosion, many anglers have mixed emotions about the “improvements.” Because the bottom of the river has changed and the water surrounding the new structures is slower, most trout retreat to the reservoir when the flows are low. The remaining trout are in a handful of pocketwater areas.

These structure and flow changes have advantages and disadvantages. The downside is fish have more difficulty finding cover, oxygen, and food during low-flow periods, when the water can dip below 50 cfs as regulated by the Aurora, Colorado, water board.

The advantage is that when flows are increased, regardless of the time of year, more fish are drawn into the river, where they hold around the instream structure. Added structure also provides enough cover to keep the trout in the waterway for longer periods before they retreat to the reservoir.

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Landon Mayer is a guide and author of How to Catch the Biggest Trout of Your Life (Wild River Press, Spring 2007). He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

This article originally appeared in the May 2007 issue of Fly Fisherman.

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