The Fly Fishing Guide to Colorado's Flat Tops Wilderness

by Al Marlowe, Karen Christopherson

Overview

Everything an angler needs to know about fly fishing the Flat Tops Wilderness Area! The Flat Tops, located in west-central Colorado, is an angler’s paradise with trout-laden lakes, ponds, and streams crisscrossing this vast wilderness.

Al Marlowe, a fly fisherman for more than forty years, shares with you the best spots to fly fish, how to get there, which trout species are where, GPS coordinates, lake elevations, fish stocking information, topo maps for orientation, and helpful contact information.

Each chapter will cover a section of the Colorado river and provides information on access, parking, seasons, hatches, recommended equipment, and fly patterns.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780871089953
Publisher:	WestWinds Press
Publication date:	10/01/2013
Series:	The Pruett Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	86
Sales rank:	733,643
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Al Marlowe, freelance writer and photographer for outdoor recreation publications, is a member of the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers. He has been published in American Angler, American Survival Guide, Arkansas Outdoors, Backpacker, Bird Dog News, Colorado Dept. of Natural Resources, Colorado Outdoors, National Wildlife Federation, Rocky Mountain Game&Fish, Rocky Mountain Streamside, and Western Outdoors.
Karen Christopherson has been fishing since her childhood in Boulder, Colorado. A geophysicist by education and training, Karen has traveled extensively throughout the US and across the world, often with her fly rod in tow. Writing has been a passion since school and she feels fortunate to author books about fly fishing as a diversion from the technical world of geosciences.

Read an Excerpt

The Flat Tops Plateau is located in west-central Colorado. It is bounded on the south by Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon, and on the west by State Highway 13. It lies south of US Highway 40, and State Highway 131 provides access from the east. Shortly after the beginning of the twentieth century, the US Forest Service planned to develop the shores of Trappers Lake for summer homes. Arthur Carhart, an architect working for the Forest Service at the time, was assigned to lay out lots around the lake. When he observed the beauty of the area, Carhart believed that the land should be preserved. It was through his influence that development plans were abandoned. Carhart’s efforts in preserving the land eventually led to passage in 1964 of the Wilderness Act. This high plateau is covered with numerous lakes and streams. The waters are home to native cutthroats, and nonindigenous species have been stocked, including brook, brown, rainbow, and lake trout. Some of the lakes are shallow and winterkill. The lakes included in this guide are those that normally have fish. Many of the Flat Tops’ lakes are unnamed, and little information is available for them. This doesn’t mean they are always barren. Anglers should talk with biologists, guides, and lodge managers for information on not-so-well-known fishing holes. When using this guide be aware that some road names appear different on some maps and from the way they are listed in this guide. A few roads have been re-designated and a few road signs might show those names. The current National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps annotate both route numbers and the recent names given to avoid confusion.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Fly Fishing the Flat Tops Note for GPS Users Rio Blanco County Routt County Eagle County Maps Lodges and Agencies Internet Resources About the Author