This Forgotten Mountain Town Is a Fly Fishing Paradise

High in the Rockies, this ski town holds some of the best trout water in the West.

A colored-up brook trout caught north of Steamboat Springs | photo by Jasper Taback

After a few days of fishing in the Gunnison Valley, I made the five-hour drive north to the mountain town of Steamboat Springs. In the winter months, Steamboat is packed with skiers and snowboarders – but in October, it’s a ghost town. 

In other words, it’s the perfect time to fish. 

Fly Fishing in the Heart of the Yampa Valley

Steamboat Springs sits right in the middle of the Yampa Valley, built on the banks of the Yampa River. The Yampa is one of Colorado’s last truly wild rivers — a freestone that runs un-dammed from the Flat Tops Wilderness to its confluence with the Green River. 

For anglers, that means clear water, natural flows, and wild trout that still act like trout.

The Yampa River in Downtown Steamboat Springs

I spent a day fishing the Yampa in town – where it was running low, clear, and cold. Browns and rainbows held in the middle of the riffles, willing to eat small nymphs drifted deep with a little weight.

There are parts of the town stretch where you’ll be fishing in front of bar patios and passing cyclists, but there are quiet spots to be found too.

Up The Elk River: Wild Trout in the High Country

The Elk is a tributary of the Yampa, and it offers some of the valley's best fall fishing. North of Steamboat, it winds through ranchland and open meadows before cutting into tighter canyons higher up.

The Elk is smaller and wilder than the Yampa in town — full of pocket water and quick runs that hold healthy trout.

A pockety stetch of the Elk. | photo by Jasper Taback

Small Streams and Dry Flies

Go all the way up the Elk River, and you’ll reach the Zirkel Wilderness. Pavement turns to rutted dirt roads, homes and fences disappear, and anglers become fewer and farther between.

It’s mostly brook trout water this high up – small water where fish are almost always eager to eat a well-placed dry fly. There are a few cutthroats mixed in, too, and plenty more in the alpine lakes above if you’re willing to hike. 

The gateway to miles and miles of wild trout water. | photo by Jasper Taback

Fall Fly Fishing: Colorado's Shoulder Season

In my humble opinion, it’s the best time of year. Without the crowds, the ranching culture and character of the Yampa Valley come through.

It’s a region with endless public land – where you might have to deal with some grazing livestock – and no shortage of dependable trout water. 

More Than a Ski Town - Steamboat is a Year-Round Destination

The secret is out about Steamboat Springs – Alterra bought the ski resort in 2017, and its champagne powder draws hundreds of thousands of skiers to the valley each winter. 

But when the snow melts and the crowds disperse, the same mountains feed a network of trout streams that make up one of Colorado’s best trout fishing towns. 

It's worth the trip.