Beaver creek of the South Fork of the Rio Grande is a technical little stream that proved to be the most challenging out of all the feeder creeks (park and pass creek). Fish seemed to be smaller and harder to catch, but in a way that made it almost more fun. You need a good drift to catch this fish as they were refusing a lot of my drifts until I added more slack and did some pile casts. Then they seemed to be more keen on my offerings. It was a beautiful little stream and if you are seeking solitude, beautiful water to fish, and a medium challenge for some beautiful fish, this place is a great place to spend a day or a weekend. With lots of water nearby, you can always change it up and fish elsewhere if you find the fishing isn’t what you wanted. Great camping, wildlife and scenery is available on this stretch of creek and is worth the time taken to explore it.
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Beaver Creek of South Fork of Rio Grande River Fishing Information
Main Section - near South Fork, CO
A dry dropper during the summer months is your best bet here. A double dry is also good if you want to focus just on dries, but two flies here help improve the odds. Try to mix up species (caddis up front, mayfly behind) as the fish can be a little picky and finding the right bug is important. A good presentation will bring it home, but focus around caddis, green drakes, pmd, and other small mayflies and midges in 14 – 18. I like a missing link caddis followed by a CDC caddis emerger for waters like this as they are imitative enough to fool trout but search pattern enough to cover your gaps you may have.
- Fish: Some Small-Sized Fish
- Popularity: Low
- Difficulty: Medium
- Accessibility: Easy
- Best Techniques: Dries & Nymphs
- Best Seasons: Spring - Fall
- River Type: Small Freestone
- Fish Types: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
- Dog Friendly: Yes
Located in the Rio Grande River Basin near South Fork, CO
Fishable Seasons & Current Weather
The best seasons to fish this river are Spring - Fall. See the current weather reports for the next 5-6 days listed below for the nearest city.
South Fork
6°
broken clouds
humidity: 73%
wind: 19mph NNW
H 4 • L 4
4°
Sun
2°
Mon
1°
Tue
7°
Wed
Weather from OpenWeatherMap
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.
- Colors: Black, White, Gray, Cream, Olive, Red, Brown, Blue, and Purple
- Sizes: #16 - #24
Mayfly Hatches
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
- Green Drakes: June to August
- Colors: Olive/Green
- Sizes: #8 - #14
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.
- Ant Patterns: Mid April - September
- Colors: Black, Tan, Red, Brown
- Sizes: #14 - #18
- Beetles: May to September
- Colors: Black, Blue, Purple
- Sizes: #14 - #18
- Hoppers: June to September
- Colors: Tan, Yellow, Olive, Red, Pink, Purple
- Sizes: #8 -#16
- Flying Ants: Mid August to Mid September
- Colors: Red, Black
- Sizes: #14 - #18
Beaver Creek of South Fork of Rio Grande River Flies
A dry dropper during the summer months is your best bet here. A double dry is also good if you want to focus just on dries, but two flies here help improve the odds. Try to mix up species (caddis up front, mayfly behind) as the fish can be a little picky and finding the right bug is important. A good presentation will bring it home, but focus around caddis, green drakes, pmd, and other small mayflies and midges in 14 – 18. I like a missing link caddis followed by a CDC caddis emerger for waters like this as they are imitative enough to fool trout but search pattern enough to cover your gaps you may have.
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.
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Sale!
Goddard Caddis
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Mercury Baetis
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Beadhead Pheasant Tail Nymph
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Blue Wing Olive
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Beadhead Rubberleg Pheasant Tail
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Mercury Midge
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Pale Morning Dun
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
CDC Caddis Emerger
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Beadhead Rubberleg Hares Ear
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Beadhead San Juan Worm
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Crackleback
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Foam Wing Parachute Biot PMD
$3.00$1.50 Select options
Top Assortments
If you need an easier solution than selecting each fly and size, try out our top fly assortments for this river that will put all the flies you need in a single order for this river. We've already selected the flies we use in our fly box for this river including the sizes and colors and put them in these assortments so you can fish with the confidence that you have the right flies in your box.
Click on any of the pictures to see what flies, colors and sizes we recommend in each assortment.
Beaver Creek of South Fork of Rio Grande River Access Map
Beaver Creek of South Fork of Rio Grande River 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.