From the majestic San Juan Mountains to the wide-open expanses of the San Luis Valley, few fishing areas rival the pristine beauty, diversity, and solitude of southern Colorado's rivers and trout streams. This guide thoroughly explores the region's watersheds: the Conejos, Rio Grande, San Juan, Piedra, Los Piños, Animas, and Dolores, as well as the still waters of high mountain areas. Included are detailed maps of the region and each watershed; area regulations and conservation policies; safety precautions, weather, and wildlife information; and a list of the region's important aquatic insects. For those willing to hoof it, southern Colorado's streams and rivers offer old fashioned, have-the-river-to-yourself fly fishing. But with this guide, even the roadside angler can find idyllic spots to cast a fly, making Fly Fishing Southern Colorado an essential guide for any angler interested in knowing and fishing ""the Little Switzerland of Colorado.""

This all-new third edition of this best-selling flyfishing guide to Colorado's waters includes an 8.5x11-inch layout, full-color photos and maps, and many brand-new redesigned highly detailed river and lake maps with GPS coordinates for all access points. Breaking the state into six sections, Bartholomew, a Colorado native and guide, blends his personal knowledge with the experience of state biologists and regional shop owners to offer the most complete flyfishing guide ever offered on Colorado. Also includes a warm-water section.

This guide covers more than 50 fly fishing destinations, all within a 90-minute drive of Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs. Includes descriptions, illustrations, and photos of the region's most common insects and fly patterns.

The best places and times to fish in Colorado.

The South Platte River begins high atop the frozen Continental Divide, home to a chain of rugged 13,000-foot, snow-capped peaks. This region comprises lush valleys, meandering meadow streams, and rose-colored, boulder-filled canyons. For generations this area has been a recreation mecca and a fly fisher’s paradise in its purest form. Out of all the trout fisheries in America that are within an hour’s drive of a major metropolitan area, the South Platte River is clearly one of the best. It has become a river shrine to thousands of anglers on an annual basis and for good reason. Throughout the river’s entirety, the South Platte creates a series of reservoirs (Antero, Spinney, Eleven Mile, Cheesman, Strontia Springs, and Chatfield) that provide major metropolitan water storage systems for Denver Water and the City of Aurora. The by-products of these storage facilities are world-class tailwaters that provide anglers with year-round fishing opportunities. Against all odds, the South Platte River remains a world-class trout fishery abundant with some of the most finicky and challenging trout in the world. There’s a common belief among South Platte regulars—if you can catch trout on the South Platte; you can catch trout anywhere in the world. * Completely new maps and updated river, access, and fishing information * Regional experts like Landon Mayer, Greg Blessing, Jeremy Hyatt, Chris Wells, Richard Pilatzke and John Perizzolo, Rick Mikesell and many more, share insider information * New line up of cutting-edge fly patterns * Additional chapters on stillwaters and the Denver Metro Area

What if you could peer into the fly boxes of the guides who make their living helping people catch fish, day in and day out? With this comprehensive guide to the best patterns for Colorado rivers and reservoirs, now you can. Not only are these patterns effective for Colorado, but anglers from around the world will discover new flies for their home waters. • 600 patterns from the state's top guides and fly tiers • Complete hatch information for the state • Interviews with 20 of the state's top guides

A complete, all-seasons guide to the Colorado River and tributaries including Roaring Fork, Eagle, Frasier, and Fryingpan. Includes breathtaking images, fly patterns, hatch information, and more.

Anyone planning a fishing trip to beautiful southern Colorado needs this book to locate the best fly-fishing streams. Most guidebooks focus on large, well-known drainages. Williams and McPhail identify many locations not included in other books. They also recommend appropriate flies for each stream in entries that bring out the unique character of every fishing spot. In alphabetical order, the authors describe fishing waters from the Animas River to Willow Creek. They have intentionally omitted some lesser-known highcountry streams to avoid traffic and overfishing. They have also been selective in assigning flies, picking patterns that have worked for them rather than the obvious ones that local fly shops might recommend.

- Time-tested strategies for fishing tailwaters and matching the hatch season by season - The flies and knots for success - Including contributions by regional expertsTailwaters provide extraordinary year-round fishing, but you have to know how to fish them. The author covers how tailwaters work--how cold waters released from a dam affect the water, the aquatic life, and the fish. This book has it all: the hatches, the best imitation flies to use in every circumstance, nymphing and dry-fly tactics, all illustrated with drawings by artist Dave Hall and more than 200 color photographs.

New flies and old standbys from one of Umpqua Feather Merchant's top-selling fly designers with 500 step-by-step photos of 24 proven patterns for the most demanding trout Patterns for streams across the country, not just tailwaters; includes nymphs, emergers, and dry flies that imitate mayflies, midges, stoneflies, and caddis Detailed information on how to fish the patterns with over 30 rigging illustrations from artist Dave Hall