Colorado fly fishing is a year-round trout state built on tailwaters like the South Platte below Cheesman Dam, the Fryingpan below Ruedi and the Gunnison below Crystal Dam, plus big freestones like the Arkansas and Colorado rivers. Colorado Parks and Wildlife counts 39 Gold Medal Waters. Fly into Denver; you need a licence plus a Habitat Stamp.

Colorado is the state our Fly Fishing Insider Podcast guests keep coming back to. You can fish a technical tailwater for wild browns in the morning and float a big freestone in the afternoon. The catch is homework: every famous stretch carries its own rules, the hatches run small, and the best water moves with dam releases and snowpack.

This page is the Colorado map: the six rivers that anchor most trips, what Gold Medal water means, when the bugs come off, and what our Colorado guests told us that no regulation sheet will.

One conversation sums up why Colorado deserves a second look. We recorded with Zeke Hersh on June 16, 2023, the day after he floated the Colorado River. The river was high and a little off-colour after a big winter, the water was cold, and he didn't see another boat all day. Clients still put a solid day of fish in the net, and right as they pulled in for lunch a blue-winged olive hatch switched on fish that had shown nothing all morning. His take: people write the Colorado off when it's high and muddy, then change flies too often instead of slowing down and working the slow banks and eddies.

Where to Fly Fish in Colorado

These six rivers carry most Colorado trips. Every regulation below comes from the CPW Chapter W-1 fishing rules.

• South Platte River: the technical tailwater an hour from Denver. Cheesman Canyon, from Cheesman Dam down to the upper Wigwam Club line, is artificial flies and lures only, catch and release, and Denver Water notes the canyon holds Gold Medal water. Between Spinney Mountain and Eleven Mile reservoirs, every fish goes back, and portions can close September 15 to December 31 for kokanee spawning work. Pat Dorsey, guiding Cheesman Canyon and Deckers since the early 1990s, told us that if you can catch fish here, you can catch them almost anywhere.
• Arkansas River: long freestone water. The BLM's Browns Canyon guide notes CPW designated 102 miles, from the Lake Fork of the Arkansas confluence down to Parkdale, as Gold Medal in 2014. Near Pueblo, from the Valco Ponds bridge to Pueblo Boulevard, it's flies and lures only and trout 16 inches or longer must be released.
• Roaring Fork River: a classic freestone, as Martin Gerdin described it on our show. From McFarlane Creek to the upper Woody Creek bridge it's flies only, catch and release; from there to the Colorado River it's flies and lures, two trout, 16-inch minimum.
• Fryingpan (Frying Pan) River: roughly 14 miles of small-bug, crystal-clear tailwater from Ruedi Dam to the Roaring Fork confluence. Flies and lures only, and every trout except brown trout must be released.
• Gunnison River: Gold Medal water from 200 yards below Crystal Dam through the Black Canyon to the North Fork confluence, per the National Park Service. Flies and lures only, and all rainbow trout go back. Matt McCannel told us about guiding multi-day Gunnison Gorge trips and sight-fishing big resident browns once flows drop in fall and winter.
• Colorado River: big float water. From the US 40 bridge west of Hot Sulphur Springs to Troublesome Creek, it's flies and lures only, catch and release. Zeke Hersh floats the lower river to get away from the crowds.

Don't overlook Denver itself: Nic Hall, president of Denver Trout Unlimited, joined us to talk urban trout and carp in the city.

What Are Colorado's Gold Medal Waters?

Gold Medal Waters are Colorado's highest-rated trout fisheries, designated by the state wildlife commission and managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. A 2024 CPW regulation paper defines the standard: at least 12 trout of 14 inches or longer and at least 60 pounds of trout per acre. CPW currently counts 39 Gold Medal Waters statewide.

Gold Medal describes the fish, not the rules, so read the brochure for the exact stretch you're fishing. The standard can also be met too well. CPW found brown trout on the Gold Medal Fryingpan averaging 764 pounds per acre in 2022, while the number of larger fish and the average length were falling. Its answer was to allow anglers to keep brown trout there, which is why every other trout on the Fryingpan goes back but browns can be kept.

When to Go Fly Fishing in Colorado

Pat Dorsey's point is that Colorado's tailwaters fish year-round. Freestones are different: snowmelt blows them out in late spring, so plan those trips for after runoff and lean on the tailwaters in winter.

Intensity:LightModerateHeavy

This calendar comes from our guests: Pat Dorsey on South Platte midges, olives, PMDs and tricos, and Zeke Hersh on Colorado River caddis, olives and the short salmonfly window. Treat it as a planning guide; elevation and dam releases move every row.

Book a Local Pro in Colorado

See all Colorado pros on the FFIP directory map. It also shows Colorado fly shops and lodges compiled from public sources; those are unclaimed listings, not FFIP partners, so contact them directly.

Custom Flies and Rods from Colorado

Colorado Tips from Podcast Guests

• Rig a chubby dry with a two-fly dropper for shallow water
  A big attractor dry, three to four feet down to a heavy stonefly nymph, then a Prince Nymph or San Juan Worm trailed off that.
  Zeke Hersh, Colorado River drift-boat guide
• Start managing your drift the instant the flies land
  On a short-line nymph rig, a little controlled slack the moment the flies touch down is what makes the drift.
  Pat Dorsey, South Platte tailwater guide and owner of the Blue Quill Angler fly shop
• Ditch the tapered leader for a stealthy mono nymph rig
  A long hard-mono butt, a free-sliding yarn indicator and a micro swivel get flies down to wary Gunnison Gorge browns faster.
  Matt McCannel, Gunnison Gorge tailwater guide
• Fish the edges of a big freestone before wading to the middle
  Work a dry-dropper in the first few feet off the bank before you wade toward the heavy center current.
  Colton Mclaren, Grand Lake, Colorado fly shop guide
• Watch the water before you cast, then match what's happening
  At an unfamiliar alpine lake, watch for rises and check what's flying or crawling before the first cast.
  Martin Gerdin, Colorado-based glass artist and fly angler

Want more? Browse every tip in the Fly Fishing Tips Library, sorted by region, water type, species and skill, or go straight to the Rocky Mountain West roundup.

Hear Colorado on the Podcast

Shop the Water: Flies and Gear for Colorado

Small flies for the tailwaters, dry-droppers for the freestones, plus the rod, line, leaders and net to fish them. Everything below is in stock in the FFIP shop.

Colorado Fly Fishing Questions, Answered

Fly Fishing Insider Podcast has a referral partnership with Frontiers International Travel. If you book after being introduced through us, we may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.

Tight lines, everyone!

By Christian Bacasa, host of the Fly Fishing Insider Podcast. Last reviewed October 2026.

Prices, availability, flight routing and entry requirements change. Every figure on this page is the starting rate published by the lodge or by Frontiers International Travel at the time of writing, per angler, and is a starting point for a quote, not a quote. Seasons, lodge capacity, charter schedules, visa and passport rules and licence requirements can all change without notice. Confirm current pricing, availability and entry requirements with your Frontiers specialist before you book anything.

Sources: River regulations: CPW Chapter W-1 fishing regulations (final, October 2025) and the Colorado Fishing Brochure. Gold Medal count: CPW Fishing. Gold Medal standard and Fryingpan biomass: CPW regulation issue papers, August 2024. Licence fees: CPW Fishing Licenses and Dates. Arkansas River Gold Medal: BLM Browns Canyon National Monument guide. Gunnison River Gold Medal: National Park Service, Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Cheesman Canyon: Denver Water. Hatch timing and technique: Pat Dorsey, Zeke Hersh, Matt McCannel and Martin Gerdin on the Fly Fishing Insider Podcast.