Estes Park, CO

[Drew]

I'm in Estes Park for Labor day this year, staying at the YMCA of the Rockies, and hoping to spend a little bit of time fishing. Any recommendations for a guide down there? Also, anyone fished the streams that border the YMCA? Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Drew

[Nedak]

Drew-

Fishing Estes Park today.  There is a great local fly shop, Kirk's Fly Shop that runs guides.  I have fished w. Kirk before and he is great.  You can fish by yourself  along the Big Thompson further northwest after Lake Estes all along Route 34.  There are tons of public access points to fish the Thompson.  Literally just look for fishy spots, there are fish everywhere.  You just have to watch the signs for private spots.  The further you travel away from Estes Park the less pressure, the less spooky the fish. 

My good friend lives in Estes Park and I will get him to mark his favorite spots in the area.  He is a former DC guy and I will ask to mark on Google where to go.  He has options if you want to hike 6 miles and fish in Rocky Mountain National Park or fish the local collection lakes along the BT.

You will have a great time as your options are unlimited for dry fly and nymphing.  The BT gets lots of local pressure so you will need an assortment of flies.  I have caught nice fish on tiny tiny stuff #22-#26 midges.  The fish can get finicky. 

Kirk has access to private water and with a guide + rod fee, you will be guaranteed to have tons of shots at big fish, rainbows, cuttthroats and brookies. 

If you are an advanced trout fisher then no guide is necessary.

[Dalton Terrell]

Drew,

Trent Jones and I fished out there last year in July (report here). We mostly backpacked in RMNP to fish the alpine lakes, but also hit the Big Thompson inside the park and a little stream running through a campground right down the road from the YMCA. On the Big Thompson, we fished large ants, caddis, and mayflies, which all worked pretty well for the 8-12" browns, brookies and cutbows (as well as a 16-18" brown that broke me off in a bush). The other little creek in the campground was loaded up with brookies, and I would bet those creeks around the YMCA are as well. I would also walk out to the lake at the YMCA in the evening, hang out for a few minutes and see if you spot any rising fish, if so, throw some ants or other little dry flies to them.

If you have time to spend a few days in the park, I would recommend buying Steve Schweitzer's A Fly Fishing Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park, which lists every body of water in the park and the species (or complete lack) of trout contained in them, which we found extremely helpful while planning our trip.

Have a great trip and report back if you can.

Dalton

[Brad]

If you fish stillwater, don't forget griffith's gnats and renegades in medium to small sizes. Deadly on Rocky Mtn stillwater. Also get some chironmid imitations for the stillwater.