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Blue River Tailwater – Silverthorne Fishing Information
Tailwater Section - near Silverthorne, CO
The Blue River tailwater is one of the most popular and well known fisheries in the state. Â Only 1 hour from Denver and right in town next to the Silverthorne Outlet Mall, you can fish, shop, grab a beer and some chipotle all in the same day. Â Fishable year round, the river is stocked with Rainbows, Cutbows and Browns. Â Some of the biggest fish in the state are caught here each year since mysis shrimp come out of Dillion Reservoir and help the fish grow fast, pink and strong.
If catching a lot of fish and big fish close to town is what you want, you’ve got a great option here on this section of the Blue. Â Since most want this experience, it is often quite crowded and the fish are as smart as any that you’ll catch in Colorado. Â Finding out when the fish have recently been stocked will always make the fishing easier. Â The longer they are in the river, the smarter they become.
Nymphing is the most popular way of catching fish, but during the right times of year you can catch them on dry flies with great success. Â Trout can range from 6 inches to 26 inches and over 10 pounds and sight fishing is possible since the water is often crystal clear.
The best tips we can give on this section of river is to ditch the split shot and strike indicator. Â Those fish get smart to seeing both split shot and strike indicators and will shut down and avoid you. Â The good news is that they settle back in quickly since they are used to being spooked and will feed shortly after you spook them, so stay persistent and you’ll find yourself with a fish in your net.
Fish: Many Large-Sized Fish
Popularity: High
Difficulty: Hard
Accessibility: Easy
Best Techniques: Nymphs
Best Seasons: Year Round
River Type: Medium Tailwater
Fish Types: Rainbow Trout, Cutbow Trout, Brown Trout
Dog Friendly: Yes but Leashed
Located in the Colorado River Basin near Silverthorne, CO
Fishable Seasons & Current Weather
The best seasons to fish this river are Year Round. See the current weather reports for the next 5-6 days listed below for the nearest city.
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)
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 Blue River Tailwater – Silverthorne 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.
Blue River Tailwater – Silverthorne 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.
