Anyone got any advice for fishing in the RMNP? I checked our sponsers and didn’t see any guides that are in this area, if anyone has a guide (or live in the area) they would recommend let me know. I will “hopefully” be going next week, short notice I know.
Thanks!!!
Rick Zeiger has written about fishing RMNP in our Panfish section. Try typing Rocky Mountain National Park into the Search feature (on the front/main page) and then narrow the search by ‘match all words’…or maybe Rick will reply here S
It’s a little early for the park, we still have a fair bit of snow in the high country. It snowed about 6" last Wednesday at my place (about 20 minutes from RMNP) but since then the weather has been in the high 80’s. Runoff is starting with the recent heat wave, by next week most of the streams will be blown out. The lakes will still be fishable, as well as the Big Thompson river below Estes Park (it’s a dam controled tail water.)
I would try for the Big Thompson below the dam and hope they don’t open the flood gates too much. Below the dam the river is fishable up to about 240 cfs, above that flow it’s really hard to do anything. It’s a tricky wading under the best of conditions, lots of slick round bowling ball sized boulders. I always use studded boots, and I still go ‘swimming’ at least once a year. Swimming during runoff could easily kill you. It’s running about 420 cfs right now, at that flow it is impossible to wade and VERY dangerous.
Here is a link for a local guide service that has a fairly detailed fishing report. don’t know anything about the guide service, I just read there reports…
http://www.wildbasinoutfitters.com/colorado_fishing_reports.htm
here is a link for real time flows on the Big Thompson below the dam.
http://www.dwr.state.co.us/SurfaceWater/data/detail_graph.aspx?ID=BTBLESCO&MTYPE=DISCHRG
I don’t have anything current to provide, but one outfitter you might want to take a look at is Kirk’s Fly Shop (http://www.kirksflyshop.com/), in Estes Park. I used them when I visited Estes in the Fall of '06 and found it to be a good experience.
Kirk and his wife Laurie own the shop and take a great deal of personal pride in it. Give them a call, at the least they can provide you with some current information.
Brian
I have fished mainly in the late summer or fall there. I used parachute adams, regular and cdc elk hair caddis PTN, and small ants.
On the streams cast near any little indentation in the bank and near if not under any little bushes along the edge. Cast EHC over the flats on the streams.
Someone else wrote tha tthey did very well with midges on some of the high mountian lakes on the Flat Top trail.
Hope this helps. Rick
i fished the park last summer and had a great time. used kirk’s fly shop as a guide and was very happy with the person they assigned to me and my cousin. fished the big thompson, falls and st vrain. each was different type of fishing but lots of fun. next time, hopefully this august, i want to hike back to one of the lakes for bigger greenbacks.