Streams:

September means its terrestrial time up in the park, fish have really started to key into ants and beetles in just about all the creeks in the park. These patterns have been most effective when fished either solo or a double dry setup. Dry droppers are still an option, but with the lower flows, the stealthy dry fly approach has been much more effective. Early mornings and evenings have also had decent Caddis hatches which fish definitely taking advantage and feeding well during these windows,

Lakes:

The High alpine lakes in the park all all in great shape! with winter approaching, the fish have begun to feed hard and pack on some calories in anticipation for the colder months. As always, the farther you get off the beaten path, the better fishing conditions you will find. Small terrestrial and midge dries have been effective in both single and double dry fly setups. For finicky fish that don't want to come up, stripping small streamers or fishing indicator rigs with chironomids, balanced leeches and scuds have been very effective.

Rocky Mountain National Park is an entirely barbless fishery, so please use barbless hooks or pinch the barbs on standard hooks before fishing.

If you have any questions about the park or would like to book a guided trip in Rocky Mountain National Park, please give either shop a call.