colorado flies

[Andrew Erickson]

im down in colorado for a wedding and there is a trout stream that runs right through where we are staying.I brought my fly rod but only have a couple flies.We are probably gonna go to a fly shop down there so what kind of flies would you reccomend me getting.Thanks

[thistlekicker]

just go to the fly shop and ask them what patterns are working right now. they should be able to help you out.

unless by "fly shop" you mean WalMart or Gander Mtn - go to a real fly shop that doesn't also sell housewares and baby clothes.

What town are you in? Someone on this board might know a local shop.

[Andrew Erickson]

yea i plan on going to a real fly shop.We will be staying in estes park

[Nate McVey]

Rinc, depending on which way you go to Estes Park, there is a great fly shop in Silverthorne that I personnaly know the owner and guides. They are great guys and wont just feed you lines of bs..........I lived in the area (Avon) for 5 years and have fished the Blue, Colorado, FryingPan, etc. religously. Send me an email if you want some more specifcs. shiner2367atyahoodotcom. I don't want to post specifics about the shops since they are not sponsors.

[so haaad]

Rinc,

Usually Estes fly fishing means fishing the Thompson. Where exactly will you be fishing? Big Thompson-RMNP, in Estes, Down in the Valley, etc. I'm a former CO resident and have relatives who live on the river between town (Estes) and the north entrance to RMNP. The hatches vary depending on the kind of water you are fishing. As far as patterns, my general bread and butter patterns out there were:

Nymphs: beadhead pheasants, copper johns, and copper and/or red brassies used as a dropper. The green drake hatch should also be going on when you are out there, so look into trying a green drake nymph, too.

Dries: PMD's, elk hair caddis, stimulators, green drakes, and smaller adams size 16 or 18.

The main fly shop in town is the Estes Angler. Definitely buy a few flies if you are looking for info in their shop. I believe they have a web site, so just Google them.

Hope this helps.

[gsptbone]

I live in Colorado, and just fished the Big T in Estes over Memorial day weekend.

Good spot to try is the Big Thompson right below the dam/spillway of Estes Lake. Their is a go cart/put put golf place in town. If you traveling away from town on hwy 34 you will see it on the right hand side. Take a right theire and park and walk to the river.

This is all catch and release flies and lures only. I was getting bit pretty well with beadhead phesant tales and grey hares ears. Besides these two you can use copper john and prince nymphs as your point flies and then drop a smaller fly like a WD40 or RS2.

For dries my buddy was fishing parachute adams and caught a few. You can try green drakes, royal wulff, and elk hair caddis.

You can try and catch some dumb ones at the inlet to lake estes where the Big T comes in. A lot of the stockers will move up into the river aways. I was slaying them their last time using a green copper john.

HOpe this helps. We saw thousands of elk, mostly bulls, in the park memorial day, you should check it out.

Tony

[Andrew Erickson]

thanks for the tips guys.We went and i got a couple of nymphs and a wolly bugger and i got 8 browns total and got 2 on the fly rod.Had alot of fish on on rapalas and spinners but landed 6 on those baits.