Roaring Fork River, Colorado

Aspen to Basalt

The Roaring Fork starts on Independence Pass and runs through Aspen as a small mountain stream. Below town the paved Rio Grande Trail follows the river much of the way to Basalt and gives walk-in wading at places like Woody Creek and Jaffe Park. This is the smallest water on the river and the section most likely to freeze in winter. From Maroon Creek down to the Upper Woody Creek Bridge it is flies only and catch and release.

Basalt to Carbondale

The Fryingpan comes in at Basalt and the Crystal River joins just below Carbondale, and the Fork roughly doubles in size through this reach. Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Gold Medal designation runs from the Fryingpan confluence down to the Colorado River. Basalt has several public access points, but from here down much of the bank is private, so floats from Basalt to Carbondale are the way most anglers cover it.

Carbondale to Glenwood Springs

The lower river is wide, fast and mostly float water, taken out at Two Rivers Park in Glenwood Springs where the Fork meets the Colorado. Wading spots exist at the public parks and bridges but the flow at Glenwood is often too heavy to cross. Fourmile and Threemile Creeks enter on this stretch and the 50 yards above and below each mouth are closed in spring and fall to protect spawning fish.

Brown trout

Wild browns are the majority fish from Basalt down, and the fall streamer bite in the deep runs near Glenwood is the reason the lower river gets fished hard in October. The Fork has a salmonfly hatch in late May and June, golden stones and green drakes into midsummer, and PMDs and caddis through September, so dry fly fishing for browns runs most of the open-water season.

Rainbows and whitefish

Wild rainbows are strongest in the faster water above Basalt and mix with the browns everywhere below. Mountain whitefish are native here and are numerous in the riffles, especially in winter when they outnumber trout in the catch. Both species are covered by the same regulations as the trout below Woody Creek.

Season and regulations

The Fork fishes year-round below Basalt; runoff blows it out from mid May into early July. Local guides call 400 to 700 cfs at the Glenwood Springs gauge good wading water for the lower river, with floating best from about 700 to 2,500 cfs, and this page compares the gauge to the wading range. Late summer flows in a dry year can fall below 400 cfs, when the upper river fishes better than the lower. Taylor Creek Fly Shop in Basalt posts weekly flows and closures for all three reaches.

From McFarlane Creek to the Upper Woody Creek Bridge: artificial flies only, all trout released. From the Upper Woody Creek Bridge to the Colorado River: artificial flies and lures only, 2 trout, 16 inch minimum. The Fourmile and Threemile Creek mouths are closed March 15 to May 31 and October 1 to November 30. Colorado Parks and Wildlife closes reaches to fishing in hot, low water summers, so check the current CPW regulations and closure notices before you go.