Catch and Release | Pack it in Pack it Out | Leave No Trace
"We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so." - Theodore Roosevelt
Please be a good steward of our precious resources.
Upper Bear Creek Fishing Information
Canyon Section - near Evergreen, CO
Bear Creek is a small creek that begins up in the Mount Evans Wilderness and makes it’s way through Evergreen, CO, Kittredge, CO, Idledale, CO and Morrison, CO before entering into Bear Ponds and then into the South Platte River down in town near Englewood. As it moves downstream, Kerr Gulch, Cold Spring Gulch and Saw Mill Gulch all add to it’s flow making it a sustainable river to fish from spring to fall.
Bear Creek is very accessible and perfect for day trips or weekend trips where you don’t want to fish the same water everyday. There isn’t any camping along the creek and it’s really something you drive to and return from every day. This is great for those who live along the front range and are looking for a quick day trip. 30 – 60 minutes of a drive and you can be slaying the baby brown trout all day long.
Characterized primarily as a canyon fishery with lots of pocket water, deep holes and fishy-looking runs, there are tons of trout in this river ranging from 6 inches up to 18 on rare occasions. Primarily a Brown Trout fishery for most of its waters, Bear Creek also holds a population of intermixed rainbows and as you get up high into Mount Evans Wilderness, tributaries and main channels hold some brook trout 12 inches and smaller. You can expect to have good success on this river as fish are typically eager to eat and aren’t overly-educated or spooky of fisherman. If you’ve fished the Big Thompson, St. Vrain or Boulder Creek, this will be very similar and you can expect similar results. I’ve found that Bear creek offers slightly larger fish at times than some of these other waters and fishes more consistently than other front range rivers as well. Fish average between 10 – 14 inches on a good day, and you’ll always catch numerous 4-8 inch browns throughout your adventure.
Tip* Though Bear Creek fishes well consistently, it is fairly susceptible in the spring to fall to being muddied up by rain storms. Pay attention to weather 24 hours before your adventure and if any rain substantial rain happened, it may be better to try another creek or river that didn’t get rain. This is typical of nearly all front range creeks and rivers that don’t have tailwaters to clear up the waters.
Check out our information below on the fishable sections of the creek and select the other tabs above to view Current flows, weather, reports, top fly patterns by season and access points via google maps. We hope you enjoy our complete resource on fly fishing Bear Creek in Colorado.
Middle Section of Bear Creek
The Middle Section is everything from O’Fallon Park down to Lair Of the Bear. This includes (listed from upstream down) O’Fallon Park, Corwina Park, Lair of the Bear. There is also a fishable section right as you drive over the bridge of Cold Spring Gulch that fishes well but is small and backs into private property. (Which by the way is the Dunafon Castle used for events, but it has ponds with monstrous trout, not sure when I have a need for a wedding since I’m already married, but fishing there would be a lot of fun!)
Fly Fishing Lair of the Bear is likely the most popular section of Bear Creek. Don’t be scared off by the hoard of cars in the parking lot, there a lot of day hikers, bikers, and day campers about and likely only 10-15% of those cars carry a fly or spin rod. There are always fish to be caught in any of these sections and though parking can be an issue on the weekends, there is always some open water to fish.
My favorite section is O’Fallon Park. It’s fishable up and down stream of the parking area and is the prettiest water on the creek in my opinion. Fishing is about as good as anywhere else. I’d recommend fishing in a variety of locations as it’s fun to try new waters and sections and it all seems to fish well most days.
Fish: Many Small-Sized Fish
Popularity: High
Difficulty: Easy
Accessibility: Easy
Best Techniques: Dries & Nymphs
Best Seasons: Spring - Fall
River Type: Small Freestone
Fish Types:
Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
Dog Friendly: Yes but Leashed
Located in the South Platte River Basin near Evergreen, CO
Hatch Charts
Knowing what flies to use is only have the battle. You have to know when the insects are active on the water and when it's likely the trout are feeding on them. Refer to our hatch charts below to understand when the insect categories and some of the possible hatches on the river.
Midge Hatches
Midges hatch year round, but their importance is from September through winter into April. During the warmer months, the trout often focus on larger insects as they are more active on the water like mayflies, caddis and stoneflies.
Aside from Blue wing olives, mayflies are active most commonly from May to August in Colorado. There are many different mayfly hatches found on most rivers and the most common are listed below.
Blue Wing Olive: September throut winter to April
Colors: Green/Olive
Sizes: #16-24
Pale Morning Dun: June to Mid September
Colors: White, Yellow
Sizes: #14 - #20
Caddis Hatches
Caddis hatch starting early in May and continue to the end of October.
Colors: Olive, Green, Yellow, Tan, Orange, Brown and Black.
Sizes: #10 - #20
Stonefly Hatches
We have some great stonefly hatches in Colorado and while not all rivers carry all species of salmonflies, you can often fish stonefly adult patterns with confidence from May to September. Start off in bigger sizes and get smaller till September hits (size 8 - 16)
Little Black Stone: January to May during warm sunny days.
Colors: Black, Grey
Sizes: #16 - #20
Golden Stone: June to August
Colors: Yellow, Tan
Sizes: #8 - #14
Yellow Sally Stonefly: Mid June to August
Colors: Yellow, Tan
Sizes: #12 - #18
Terrestrial Activity
Terrestrials don't hatch since they are out of the water, but they can have importance starting in Mid April and ending in September.
These are the the top flies we sell for this river. Use the hatch chart above to know what flies you will want to have in your fly box during your adventure on the river and then select the flies here 30 days before your trip to get them at a great price. All of our flies are hand tied to each order to ensure quality and to keep our prices low for you.
Click on a fly below to select a size and color for purchase.
Our fly assortments make fly selection easy. We take our entomology knowledge and years of fly fishing experience on these rivers to bring you the right fly patterns, including the correct colors, sizes and quantities to set you up for success. A good selection of flies will prepare you properly for anything the trout may be eating on the river and our fly assortments are specifically curated to maximize your success. Take a look at the assortments we provide below and add one to your box today. Use coupon code AST50 for $50 off and free shipping on these as well, just to help make fly fishing a little more affordable!
Click on any of the pictures to see what flies, colors and sizes we recommend in each assortment.
View our access map for the Upper Bear Creek and learn public and private access points as well as other notable features around fly fishing this river. We include headwater and confluence data and in an effort to not "hotspot" river access points that are better than others, we list every access point available. This serves two purposes. First, it keeps us from hotspotting, which is just showing the best spots and bringing unwanted and harmful attention to the specific access point. The second reason is while we want to help you catch fish and find great places to explore, we don't want to spell it all out for you. If you get it all spelled out, we're doing the exploring, not you. Missing out on the journey of exploring places to fly fish is one of the more enjoyable aspects of fly fishing. While not everyone has time to go explore everything in person, we provide some of the top level data to help you know if something is worth your time, then pass it off to you to explore and find your own adventure. Now enjoy the info, if you're on this page then this river is worth exploring! Go out and find some memories.
Upper Bear Creek Tips & Resources
Use these epic resources to get ready for your adventure. Whether you're planning your trip, learning your insects, improving your fishing with expert tips or getting detailed resources from the USGS streamflows or DoW, we got you covered to help you find the river and find the success you want.
Bear Creek is a small creek that begins up in the Mount Evans Wilderness and makes it’s way through Evergreen, CO, Kittredge, CO, Idledale, CO and Morrison, CO before entering into Bear Ponds and then into the South Platte River down in town near Englewood. As it moves downstream, Kerr Gulch, Cold Spring Gulch and Saw Mill Gulch all add to it’s flow making it a sustainable river to fish from spring to fall.
You can expect to have good success on this river as fish are typically eager to eat and aren’t overly-educated or spooky of fisherman. If you’ve fished the Big Thompson, St. Vrain or Boulder Creek, this will be very similar and you can expect similar results. I’ve found that Bear creek offers slightly larger fish at times than some of these other waters and fishes more consistently than other front range rivers as well. Fish average between 10 – 14 inches on a good day, and you’ll always catch numerous 4-8 inch browns throughout your adventure.
