Summer Trips
SUMMER TRIPS
Our Summer fly fishing season starts with the Summer Solstice, approximately mid-June through mid-September. Depending on the caliber of our snowpack in the high country, the summer season begins on queue with decreasing runoff as river and stream flows normalize to optimal fly-fishing flows and ideal ambient air temps, increasing the production of aquatic food sources and stabilized water temperatures for feeding trout and extensive dry fly fishing opportunities at all river locations we visit.
Access
As summer progresses and runoff is stabilized, accessibility to all regional fisheries opens, including our incredibly scenic and remote high alpine streams, allowing us to beat the heat of mid-summer and experience eager trout fishing available to anglers of any skill level. Visitation to the region is at its height, but for good reason, as the summer season offers the greatest access and diverse waters of the year. Summer hatches like PMD, BWO Caddis, Midge & Trico, plus terrestrials like grasshoppers, beetles, and ants, excite trout to surface takes and excellent dry fly fishing opportunities.
Advantages
Summertime in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado allows visitors to Ridgway to move more freely along the Colorado Scenic Byway: San Juan Skyway and experience the many historic and breathtaking stops along this dramatic mountainous route, including The Million Dollar Highway. A trip to the region is not complete without camping at Ridgway State Park or exploring the Victorian-era mining towns of Ouray, Silverton, Telluride and Durango, Colorado. If flying to the area, renting a car is highly recommended – get out there and explore!
Timing
Summer opens with fly fishing tours and excursions in all directions. No matter if you are near Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, Montrose, or Grand Junction, Colorado, we offer prime river sections to fish. Enjoy the Gunnison River: including Gunnison Gorge NCA, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Pak / Curecanti National Recreation Area, San Miguel River, Uncompahgre River and Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, and more are offered daily in summer. Choose from a half-day, full-day, or multiday trip in the walk-wade or float fishing style on rivers within one hour or less of our Fly Shop in Ridgway. *Summer flight schedules into Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ), a half hour from our shop and accessible via all major airline carriers due to popular destinations like Telluride Ski Resort: Town of Telluride and Mountain Village, and other regional destinations including Gunnison Crested Butte, Ouray, and Silverton Colorado.
