INTRO TO FLY FISHING - from Paul Inglefield
Tuesday, July 26
Update: I plan to take a group FLY FISHING for a day as I have done in the past. The date this year is Tues July 26 weather permitting. I have done this in the past with individuals on the Elk River; however water levels there make this problematic. Where we go is still being considered as the stream levels are finally going down. However it will be relatively close to town and light hiking in terms of distance.
I don’t plan any intensive instruction but rather give people an idea about the sport/activity, some demonstration, tips on how to get started and some of the basic considerations. If you wish to rent equipment that is fine but not necessary, if you do - just a rod, reel and line will suffice. I would suggest in addition to normal day hike equipment (water, lunch etc) pack some sort of water shoes (old sneakers are a possible if you don’t have anything better) and wear shorts.
I suggest meeting at the Safeway parking lot at 9am. If this conflicts greatly with other activities a shift of a day is possible. I would like a rough idea of numbers so email if you intend to attend. Active fly fishers are also invited as their additional input and help would be appreciated.
You can access the fly fishing page of the OTHG website for some more general info. Also contact me or Steve Richheimer if you have any questions.
Paul Inglefield ( pinglefi@springsips.com )
The following is some general information about fly fishing in the area near Steamboat Springs, CO.
For current information about fishing conditions in the area, please either CLICK HERE , or scroll down to the bottom of this page to click on "Current Fishing Info" under "Current Info".
Opportunities for both stream and lake fly fishing for trout abound in the immediate Steamboat area (less than 1 hour drive) and within a 2 to 3 hour drive. A number of OTHG members are active fly fishers and though there are no formally organized, regular activities at this time, contacts for advice, fly fishing outings and instruction are possible.
In addition there are a number of shops in town, which offer equipment, instruction and guided trips and provide up to date reports on local conditions. The local organization: “Yampa Valley Fly Fishers” (
http://www.yvff.org/) meets on a regular basis in the winter months giving talks and other presentations and are active in conservation projects in the area. The Colorado Division of Wildlife has a fishing site (
http://wildlife.state.co.us/fishing/fishcond.asp/, follow the link to “conditions” which gives updated weekly conditions). In the North Park area (Walden) the North Park Anglers (
http://northpark anglers.com.ramdesigns.com/) has weekly updates on conditions in that area.
The near places:
The Yampa
- Downtown: Good water from the Rotary Park area all the way through town. Conditions depend on water levels and temperature, which varies considerably throughout the season.
- The Stagecoach Tailwater: About 25 mins south of town fishes consistently throughout the season. Water is very clear and often quite low so fishing can be “technical” (you can see the fish but can’t catch them). There are fairly large fish and lots of them, mostly Rainbow and lots of people especially in the holiday months.
- The Sarvice Creek, Pleasant Valley Area: About 25 mins south of town. Can be good depending on water conditions, fish density is lower than above and Whitefish are present, but not so many people.
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The Elk
- Most of the public water is in the National forest area (off Seedhouse road, about 35min north of town. This is a freestone river and not really fishable till runoff subsides (June/July). Beautiful river with three main branches, the fish tend to be smaller than the Yampa. Can be a great dry fly stream.
- There is a small area of public water just above Mad Creek about 15 mins from town. It tends to be heavily fished.
Further afield
- There are numerous streams and high mountain lakes in the Zirkel and Flat Top areas which contain trout mostly requiring hikes of varying length and difficulty.
- The North Park area (nr Walden) has many lakes and rivers including the North Platte in Northgate canyon, which is a designated Gold Medal stream. Walden is about 1.25 hours and most waters are within 30 mins from Walden.
Further away (ca 2-3 hours) is the Green river on the Utah Colorado border. This is a very famous and extremely popular destination.

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