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Cebolla Creek Main Section Fishing Information
Main Section - near Lake city, CO
Cebolla creek requires a decent amount of driving to access, but the beauty of this small stream is hard to beat. The ability to catch wild and eager browns, rainbows, cutthroat and brook trout all in a day is exciting and with all the ample camping nearby and great scenery and wildlife, this place should be on your list for exploring.
Cebolla Creek is an amazing little stream. This creek not only has some good water flowing through it, but endless types of water to fish. There are riffle sections, pocket water, big boulders, cut-banks, and back eddies which all produce trout. This creek also holds four different species of trout, these being browns, rainbows, cut-bows, brook, and possibly cutthroat. This is enough to attract most anglers due to the diversity of species, kind of like a box of chocolates.
The bug life at this creek is popping off, everywhere you look there are bugs emerging, dead drifting in the current, on willows, and flying around. All bug species are here including callibaetis in the ponds that the creek pools into. This means the patterns you can use are endless so experiment with new flies and stuff that is out of the ordinary. These fish aren’t stupid so stealth is necessary especially if you want to land one of the 16-18inch bows or browns. These fish are also very hungry so this creek will make for an exciting day. Use both dries and nymphs and watch the fish activity to see where they are feeding. You will need to match the hatch, but given the season there will be multiple bugs to match. As always watch for private property, private water, and do not trespass or fish without owners permission.
Most flies used will be standard dry flies and nymphs. Zebra midges, pheasant tails, parachute adams and stimulators do great up here, but bringing some less popular patterns that work well on more technical rivers can produce more fish and larger fish. Experiment and pay attention to what is flying around and in the brush, the river gives us so many clues, we just have to take the time to look.
Fish: Many Small-Sized Fish
Popularity: Low
Difficulty: Easy
Accessibility: Medium
Best Techniques: Dries & Nymphs
Best Seasons: Spring - Fall
River Type: Small Freestone
Fish Types: Rainbow Trout, Cutbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
Dog Friendly: Yes
Located in the Gunnison River Basin near Lake city, 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.
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
Callibaetis: June to August
Colors: Tan, Grey
Sizes: #16 - #22
Pale Morning Dun: June to Mid September
Colors: White, Yellow
Sizes: #14 - #20
Green Drakes: June to August
Colors: Olive/Green
Sizes: #8 - #14
Trico Mayflies: Mid July to Mid September
Colors: Black, White, Grey
Sizes: #18 - #26
Mahogany Dun: September to October
Colors: Red, Brown
Sizes: #10 - #16
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
Skwala Stonefly: March - Mid May
Colors: Brown, Red
Sizes: #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
Salmonfly: Mid May to Mid July
Colors: Orange, Red, Brown
Sizes: #6 - #14
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.
Most flies used will be standard dry flies and nymphs. Zebra midges, pheasant tails, parachute adams and stimulators do great up here, but bringing some less popular patterns that work well on more technical rivers can produce more fish and larger fish. Experiment and pay attention to what is flying around and in the brush, the river gives us so many clues, we just have to take the time to look.
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 Cebolla Creek Main Section 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.
Cebolla Creek Main Section 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.