# Colorado Trip Need Help



## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

Going to Colorado in about a week. We have some nice rods and reels but have never used them. My question is what type of line and flies should we bring. We will be fishing beaver ponds, streams and rivers. Some guidance who really be appreciated.

Thanks, John


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## FSHHNTR (Jul 10, 2009)

*Colorado trip*

Where to in Colo. I lived there for years. You should only need a floating line WF or DT is fine for the small water stuff. Leaders and tippet 3x or 4x usually are fine and 7 1/2 to 9ft. Any standard trout bugs work hoppers, caddis, mayflies, and your standby nymphs prince, hare's ear, copper john etc. 
:fishy:Good luck


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## superflyguy (Jun 1, 2009)

Because it's CO in late summer, the fish will most likely be a little spooky from pressure and the lower water levels. Of course, the spookyness will vary depending on where you're fishing. Personally, I would use 9 foot flourocarbon leaders and flourocarbon tippet material. I would use no larger than 5X and would lean more towards 6X. Think small and clear. As for flies, I would nymph fish 90% of the time. Like FSHHNTR said, I would use prince's, hare's ears, pheasant tails are a really good choice, and caddis emergers (Lawson's) can work really well. If you dry fly fish, I would use something buggy like large caddis flies, stimulators, hoppers, or Dry Humpy's. A really good technique is a Dry-Dropper set up using a stimulator or Humpy as your upper fly and and a bead head nymph as your dropper. Personally, I fish with two flies all the time. It strengthens your chances and helps you find a pattern quicker. Good luck.


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## Salty Dog (Jan 29, 2005)

What part of Colorado are you going to?

I'd recommend a 4-5wt setup with a WF floating line and a 9' 5x, 6x or 7x leader. 6x is probably about ideal. You'll want to pick up some flouro tippet material. I just used pre-made tapered mono leaders, snipped off the end and tied in a section of flouro tippet. I mainly used 6x but in small still water often used 7x as well or used 6x to my dry and 7x on my dropper.

I don't know what will be hot when you get there. The very best bet is to hit one of the fly shops and just ask what is hot and then buy about 4 of each. I went with a pretty good assortment of drys and a few nymphs, all that were selected as being popular patterns on the rivers I was planning to fish and then hit a fly shop for the rest. Colorado has no shortage of fly shops, there was generally one in every little town we passed thru.

You'd do good to take a couple different sizes and colors of Elk Haired Caddis. We caught tons of fish on them, they are buggy and easy to fish. I caught quite a few on hoppers too. And stimulators with an orange head were good and were great to do a dry dropper rig with. I also did pretty well on yellow Humpys. You might want some Pale Morning Duns or other mayfly imitations as well. Maybe some green drakes. 

As far as nymphs I did best on bead head nymphs, pheasant tails, copper johns, etc. Depending on the river you might want some scuds or mysis shrimp patterns and some san juan worms too. In the smaller waters I did far better on dries and on the larger rivers I did much better on nymphs. 

Do a search for Colorado hatch charts and that ought to give you something to read. You will find breakdowns by river and by month that will give fly suggestions. 

Be sure you get some fly floatant. I used liquid floatant before I got the fly wet and then used a dry shake/floatant for refreshing as I was fishing. You may also want to pick up some indicators for straight nymph fishing. If you have not fished nymphs before look at the Boles Indicators, they make it alot easier to catch fish if you are not use to nymphing. They make it alot easier to get a true dead drift and to tell when you have a bite. You can fish two nymphs in tandem under the indicator. That worked great for me on the Blue. You'll need some splitshot weights too, you want the nymphs drifting right along bottom.


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## superflyguy (Jun 1, 2009)

To add to a great point that Salty Dog made...you should definitely wait to buy flies and other miscellanious tackle until you get to where you are going to be fishing. If you visit a local fly shop and spend some money with them, they will be more willing to give you some places to target and what flies are working well in that area. By the way, where are you going to be fishing?


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## Saltstalker (Jun 6, 2008)

Dont forget a couple of Royal Coachmans !


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## Bruce J (Jun 27, 2004)

I'm up in the Crested Butte/Gunnison area now. While it's "later summer" the water is still flowing pretty well because of the good snowpack they had in this area (and the usual afternoon showers).

You've had some good suggestions above. Hard to go wrong with a stimulator on top and a bead head dropper (prince, copper john, pheasant tail, etc.). However, I'd also have some smaller midge type patterns too because they sometimes will eat only the little stuff. A size 18-20 bead head zebra midge, for example can be killer. 

It's also good to have an assortment of parachute Adams. I typically use about a size 14-16. You can also fish a very small dropper under it, but this fly doesn't float as well as a stimulator or elk hair caddis or humpy.

One final thought. It never hurts to throw a big zonker or muddler type streamer out there. Throw across stream and work it back in strips as it sweeps downstream. I've had some of my very best days on bigger fish by showing them some real "meat".


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

Thanks for the input. We will be staying in Edwards but will be making several road trips and a couple off road trips. We will be looking for secluded spots where we can wade. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks, John


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## superflyguy (Jun 1, 2009)

One of my favorite places to fish in CO is on the Colorado River between Hot Sulphur Springs and Kremmling. The reason I like it so much is it's never as crowded as the easy to get to places or the more popular places and the water is incredible. When driving west on Hwy 40 out of HSP, you'll go through Byers Canyon. Once through the canyon, there are many cut offs to the left that will take you down to the river. All wade in places and most of it is public. It's all Gold Medal Water too. If you know what you're doing, you can catch many fish and big ones too. Be careful though, there are some private sections within the public sections. Unfortunately, the fish know where the private sections are too...just like on the Frying Pan. I got the opportunity to fish the private sections in this area a few years back. It was amazing how many more fish we caught versus the public section the day before. In my opinion, the best public spots on the river are near the town of Parshall. Don't be afraid to walk up and down the river and get away from the parking areas. You'll find more fish the further you get away from them. I hope this helps.


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