i am in the process of planning a road trip that will last about three weeks and take me from Texas to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and points west. a whirlwind. i’ve fished in Colorado a bit but nothing north of there. can anyone recommend some nice spots to fish that are open for public use? thanks.
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First of all, what time of year are you going? Second, there are way too many public access rivers and lakes to list in those four states, we’re talking thousands. Any chance you can be more specific? Even with three weeks you might want to consider 2 or maybe three general areas, i.e. Yellowstone, eastern Idaho, southeastern Wyoming, etc.
Do some weeding out of potential areas and I’ll be glad to help.
Best,
-John
[This message has been edited by ktokj (edited 02 April 2005).]
good point. i’ll have to get back to you on the specific route. something that takes me through towns with shops so i can gather flys and licenses is a requirement. i know for sure i’ll be visiting Glacier N.P. not certain about Yellowstone. i’ll be trying to keep costs low so i’ll be doing a lot of camping or rest stop sleeping. as far as time of year, it will be in mid-July. i’d prefer rivers, small streams, and tiny brookie streams.
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You are going to have a great trip, mid-july should be good if it doesn’t get too hot. I’m not familiar with Glacier, hopefully somebody can chime in on that. There is a ton of good water in that part of Montana. I’ve heard really good things about the tribs of the flathead as well, no personal experience though. Stay flexible - that is don’t get stuck on any one area if fishing is slow or conditions change. Check w/ local shops when you get there, sometimes they are willing to give away a few “secrets” if you show up in person.
Have a great trip and let us know how it goes.
-John
my route is starting to take shape. we’ll go from Texas and drive straight to Denver via interstates and prolly stop to visit a friend and ride. from there, over to Grand Junction to visit another friend, fish, and ride some more. then maybe stop by in Steamboat to visit some people, then up to Wyoming skirting the Western side. we’ll decide whether or not to stop in Grand Teton and Yellowstone NPs. then North through the Western part of Montana fishing along the way up to Glacier NP. from there, hop over to Idaho whereever the riding and fishing takes us to Donnelly and Tamarack to ride.
that’s about as far as i’ve looked so far. from there, tho, we’ll streak West to Oregon, then San Fran to visit another friend and ride, then back towards home i suppose through Nevada, Utah, SW Colorado, and New Mexico. i dunno if my copilot has been to Moab (i’ve been three times in two years) so maybe we’ll do that, then to Durango, then New Mexico. Arizona would be another option since Flagstaff and Sedona have good riding.
the exact route will be mapped out shortly depending on input from those in the know about the fishing and riding. any input is appreciated. thanks!
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I’m not so sure this is a 100% strength knot. I just tested it’s strength several times, and while I had a helluva time trying to break it on most occasions, it broke at the knot every single time.
I don’t know exactly what part of Texas you will be departing, but a lot of places in TX are not far from NM. I’d go to the San Juan, maybe checking out Santa Fe if you’ve never been. The Chama area will be beautiful. There are other places to fish in NM, but nothing as good as the SJ. You may want to finsih up on the SJ on your return, if you are dialed in and really hit the big boys, everything thereafter will seem like a letdown.
In CO: the Rio Grande, Taylor, Frying Pan.
In MT: Yellowstone and SW Montana. Far superior to northern MT aroung Glacier. There are fish up there, but having done both, I’d hit SW MT. From there, you are not far from the Snake, which is by another place to visit, the Tetons. Talk about a pretty place to fish. It is cut water, and you can catch a lot of fish.
Idaho: S. Fork of Snake, prolly better done from a boat. Not far from Jackson, WY area. The Henry’s Fork is beautiful, the Harriman Ranch at Last Chance area is something everyone angler should see once, the canyon is nice to float. If you get around Haley-Ketchum area, there is Silver Creek, which is tough for anyone not we acclimated on spring creeks. The Big Wood around Ketchum is easier, but private land on it has gotten more scarce. The KOA used to be a great place to camp and fish, but the property value overheated and now it is a subdivision. The S. Fork of the Boise is the most underrated water in Idaho.
If you have to go to NW MT, and are going to drive to OR, you may want to drop down to Missoula and drive 12 across Idaho to Lewiston, ID/Clarkston,WA. Tha will take you along the Lochsa, and in addition to that, there are a lot of roads off of 12 that will take you up the tribs to a bunch of creeks like Kelly. You may drive 50-60 miles on dirt roads to such destinations, so have the right rig, spare tires, jacks, chockblocks, etc.
OR: You can drive across 12 from SW MT, which is the more scenic but slower route. Or you can drive from NW MT via Spokane. You can depart the interstate and drive south into far NE OR via Walla Walla and Pendleton. I would recommend the Wallowa River in NE OR, and commend you to see the Eagle Cap Wilderness and Wallowa Range. The Grande Ronde and other water is there as well, but I think that the Wallowa is better trout water. Very nice parts of OR. Other destinations in OR would have to include the Deschutes. July is caddis time there, and a nice time to be there. Take 97 South from the Dalles, and fish around Maupin, then down toward Shaniko and fish “the junction” and maybe drive through Madras and up 26 a bit to fish “Mecca Flats.” From Madras, there are other relatively close destinations. You can drive south of Madras toward Redmond and fish the upper Deschutes around the Crooked River Ranch and the falls. It is a signif. diff. river there. The Croooked has a lot of fish, but mostly dinks. The Metolius is east of Redmond and just east of sisters. It is a spectacular river to see, clear, cold, and spring fed. It is right there next to the Cascades. But it will kick your tail if you are not used to clear spring creek fishing. It is fast, as opposed to Silver Creek and Wood River, and does not have all of the grass. But it is tough, even for some very knowledgeable anglers in OR. The Fall River is a small, pretty river south of Bend. I’ve never seen big fish. I would concentrate on the Deschutes and take the detour to see the mtns. and the Metolius over the Crooked and Fall. Proceed S. on 97 toward K Falls, and hang a right on the Rogue highway. Maybe take in Crater Lake, which can be done in a day, and drive west to the Rogue. Fish it. The Steamboat Inn is a pretty historical place, Zane Gray and all of that. You will be turning west short of the Williamson, but it is a seasonal river, really. Late August and Late October are the times to be there. There is the Wood River near Fort Klamath, but it is a traditional spring creek similar to Silver Creek in ID, and you need a mastery of spring creeks to do well. Once you fish the Rogue, you can then head over to I-5. Drive through Grant’s Pass, a town, down 101 to Crescent City and take in the Redwoods.
Jed Smith River is there, and is pretty, situated right in the big trees. I beleive most fish are anadramous, so it may or may not be vacant when you arrive.
You can drive the coast all the way to San Fran, about 5 hours from Crescent City in good traffic conditions. During the day with a bunch of tourists and RV’s, it may take 8. Getting to see the redwoods from C. City thorugh Orix and on down toward Arcata is worth it though.
Well that sounds like a lot of fun. Couple of places to hit that are my favorites:
The Yampa, in the town of Steamboat CO, if it isn’t still blown out (should be fishable by then). Dropper-dry against the bank should get the job done.
The Fryingpan in CO near Basalt - don’t fish by the dam, fish it lower, it’s a fun small stream with lots of good access and not so many people (get a map first - don’t tresspass on this one if you don’t like being shot at or going to jail). The Roaring Fork is close, but may still be blown, play it by ear.
South fork of the Snake in E. Idaho- a boat is nice, but with so little water in the mountains this year you should be able to fish it from shore. Fish Golden Stones and pmd’s in the bushes. If all you need is a tug, fish nymphs under an indicator and plan to catch obscene numbers of whitefish.
North Umpqua in Oregon - may be too early, some fish usually show up by mid-late July, but it’s less than an hour off of I-5 and what can I say…possibly the most beautiful river in the country. Who cares if you catch fish here, it’s gorgeous.
McCloud river conservancy CA - check out the nature conservancy webpage. It’s a haul to get down to the river - about an hour to go 15 miles from McCloud - but it’s about the second most beautiful river right behind the North Umpqua. If you fish the convervancy, get there early or fish mid-week, only 10 anglers allowed on the water, half of which are reserved tags. The trout are even more beautiful than the scenery.
The Truckee river in California - be sure to stop in the town of Truckee for a microbrew and pizza at Pizza junction. Then get ready for green drakes! Mid July can be lights out, you just need to be lucky and hit it right. You can fish right off of I-80. The fish get stupid this time of year and will hit big wullfs, stimies and humpies. Hang a beadhead birds nest or lafontaine’s caddis pupa under the big dry, and fish in close to the bank. Be sure to fish right up to dark and bring a headlight to get back to your car. If you don’t fish the last hour of light you will miss the best fishing of the year.
Be sure to bring lots of $$ for out of state licenses. By the way, the trip you described would take me 2-3 months to complete. I did a 16 day trip in 2001 that started in Reno, fished the N. Umpqua, Little North Santiam, Donner and Blitzen, S. Fork of Boise, H. Fork, lower Madison, Gallatin and Madison/Firehole/Gibbon in the park then banzaied back to Reno in about 10.5 hours. And that was a heck of a lot of ground to cover in 16 days! We wanted to go to Glacier as well but never got close because so much driving was killing our fishing time. So don’t get too discouraged if you don’t make it to all the places you want to. Or, just plan on spending more time.
Best,
-John
PS as you can tell there is just a LITTLE public water along your route.
godo info… thanks.
ahh, the Yampa. it’s where i learned to fly fish and up by Sarvice Creek. i’m anxious to see it again.
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