The Madison, the Bighorn and the Henry's Fork would make almost any angler's top ten, and they make ours. What follows is the rest of the case: ten rivers across Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico and Wyoming, chosen for the whole package rather than one famous hatch. Each gets a short argument for why it belongs.
What earns a spot on this list
A river had to do more than one thing well. Fish numbers, average size, the length of the season, public access and the quality of the dry fly fishing all count. A great two-week hatch on a river that is a slog the rest of the year did not make it, and neither did water you can only reach by boat.
Rivers one through five
1. Madison River, Montana
Fifty miles of riffle between Quake Lake and Ennis is the reason the Madison sits at number one. It is a Blue Ribbon freestone with public access along US-287 the whole way, wadeable almost everywhere, with a full calendar of hatches: Salmonflies in June, Golden Stones and caddis through July, PMDs, Tricos in August and September, then crane flies and hoppers into fall. The lower river below Ennis is bigger water and best from a boat, with pre-spawn browns that turn aggressive on streamers in September and October.
2. Bighorn River, Montana
Below Yellowtail Dam at Fort Smith the Bighorn is a cold, stable tailwater with one of the highest trout densities in the state. The float from the Afterbay ramp to the 13-Mile access is the most consistent day on the water in Montana, and the reason is the food: sow bugs and scuds year-round, midges and Blue-Winged Olives every month from October through April, then PMDs and a Trico spinner fall from July into September that starts at first light and is over by mid-morning.
3. Henry's Fork, Idaho
The Henry's Fork earns its place on difficulty. Harriman State Park and the Last Chance meadow section are flat spring-fed water where wild rainbows rise in a rhythm you have to study before you cast. Green Drakes in July are the famous event, but the PMD and Callibaetis hatches run all summer and the Trico spinner falls of August and September are as technical as anything in the West. Box Canyon below Island Park Dam is the counterweight: pocket water, wadeable ledges, and fish that take a nymph.
4. Snake River, South Fork, Idaho
Below Palisades Dam the South Fork runs through a canyon and then cottonwood bottoms, and it is the finest native cutthroat float in the country. Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat are the signature fish, with browns increasingly common in the lower valley near Lorenzo. The Salmonfly hatch of June and July is one of the heaviest in the West and moves upstream over two or three weeks, after which Golden Stones, caddis and hoppers keep the dry fly fishing going through September.
5. Green River, Utah
Seven miles from Flaming Gorge Dam to Little Hole, then twelve more through Red Canyon and Browns Park. The A section is the water most people mean: emerald, cold and clear all year, with a walk-in trail on the south bank so you do not need a boat. Fish see a lot of flies, so sizes 18 to 22 are the norm, but the June cicada fall brings the biggest fish up to a size 6 foam bug. Browns take over in the B and C sections and are the streamer fish of the canyon walls.
Rivers six through ten
6. Gunnison River, Colorado
Gold Medal water from Almont through the Black Canyon and the Gunnison Gorge. The Almont section is easy to reach and fishes well through the PMD, caddis and Golden Stone hatches of summer. The Black Canyon is a different proposition: six designated routes down into the inner gorge, all strenuous, and a two-thousand-foot climb back out. The reward is large browns that see very few flies. Nobody makes that hike casually, which is why the fishing holds up.
7. South Platte River, Colorado
Cheesman Canyon and Deckers are the Front Range's serious trout water, an easy drive from Denver. The canyon is a two-and-a-half-mile hike in from the lower trailhead and holds selective wild browns; Deckers has paved road access and more rainbows. Midges and Blue-Winged Olives carry the fishery from October through April, which makes a warm January weekday at Deckers one of the best-kept habits in Colorado. Summer brings PMDs, caddis and Tricos in July and August.
8. Deschutes River, Oregon
The Deschutes is on this list for its redside rainbows, wild native fish with a red stripe and a fight out of proportion to their size, and for the Salmonfly hatch that begins near the Columbia in late April and works upstream past Maupin through May and June. Summer steelhead enter from mid-July and give the canyon a second season on the swung fly. Maupin is the access hub; below Harpham Flat the road ends and the river belongs to rafts and hikers.
9. San Juan River, New Mexico
The Quality Waters below Navajo Dam are the best midge fishery in the West, and that is the whole argument. Midges hatch every month of the year, Blue-Winged Olives from October through April, and the fish that feed on them are large, numerous and fussy. Texas Hole is the famous flat and it gets crowded; the faster water on the trail below the dam has more structure and fewer people. Bring 7X fluorocarbon and flies down to size 26.
10. North Platte River, Wyoming
The Miracle Mile below Pathfinder Dam is five miles of walk-wade tailwater at the end of a rough dirt road from Alcova, and the browns that live there are the reason to make the drive. Upstream, the Encampment stretch through the Sierra Madre is a remote rainbow freestone with a Salmonfly hatch in June and July. Saratoga in between has public wading at Veterans Island. The best Miracle Mile water starts a short hike from wherever you park.
Planning a trip around these ten
Runoff splits this list in two. The tailwaters (the Bighorn, the Green, the San Juan, the Miracle Mile and Cheesman) fish through spring while the freestones are blown out. The Madison, South Fork and Deschutes come into their own once the Salmonflies start and stay good into October. Regulations differ on every one of these, including tribal and park permits, so check the state agency (Montana FWP, Idaho Fish and Game, Utah DWR, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Oregon ODFW, New Mexico Game and Fish or Wyoming Game and Fish) before you go.