Roaring Fork River Fishing Guides and Conditions, Colorado

About the Roaring Fork River

The Roaring Fork starts on Independence Pass above Aspen and runs forty miles down the valley through Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs to the Colorado. It picks up the Fryingpan at Basalt and the Crystal at Carbondale, and each addition roughly changes its character, from a small freestone up top to a full-size float river by the time it reaches Glenwood.

The upper river around Aspen is wade water, small and quick with rainbows, browns and brook trout. From Basalt down the river is floatable and the reach from Basalt to Carbondale and Carbondale to Glenwood is Gold Medal water and the heart of the guided fishery. Browns dominate, rainbows are strong and increasing, and there are enough big fish to justify the reputation. The Fryingpan tailwater above Basalt, below Ruedi Reservoir, is a separate and very well-known technical fishery in its own right and is the fallback when the main stem is high.

The Roaring Fork is a freestone river, which means runoff genuinely closes it for several weeks in late May and June. The rest of the year it is one of the more consistent rivers in Colorado, with good green drake and caddis hatches in summer and excellent blue-winged olive and streamer fishing in October and November.

The Glenwood Springs gauge is at the bottom and reads the whole valley. Guides generally like the several-hundred to low-thousand cfs range for floating; runoff peaks several times higher and off-color. Watch the trend and the clarity as much as the number.

Aspen, Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs all have shops, guides and lodging, with Basalt the traditional angling center.

Access

Aspen and Independence Pass: upper river wade access.
Woody Creek and Upper Woody Creek: the top of the floatable water.
Basalt and the Fryingpan confluence: the main access hub and the top of the Gold Medal float.
Hooks Bridge, Catherine Store and Carbondale: mid-valley ramps.
Sunlight Bridge and Westbank: lower valley accesses.
Glenwood Springs: takeout at the Colorado confluence near the gauge.

Seasons

March through May: pre-runoff blue-winged olives and streamers, excellent before the water comes up.
Late May and June: runoff; fish the Fryingpan tailwater instead.
July through September: prime float season, green drakes, caddis and terrestrials.
October through December: the best streamer fishing of the year and very few boats.