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Pass Creek of South Fork of Rio Grande Fishing Information
Main Section - near South Fork, CO
Pass creek of the south fork of the Rio Grande is a difficult little gem to fish, but has a ton of fish in it. Beginning at the top of pass creek road up Wolf Creek pass, the river doesn’t get much bigger than what most could jump across with a running leap. Tons of vegetation and wooded banks make this creek difficult to cast, but has a mecca of insects due to the vegetation, shade and river quality. It’s not uncommon to experience caddis, green drake and stonefly hatches at the same time during the summer months and fish are always ready to take a dry fly or nymph if you can get it in the water.
That, however, is the real challenge of pass creek. For anglers that like to sneak up on their targets through wooded rivers and make bow and arrow casts, this is going to be a joy to fish. For beginner anglers who are just learning, this is a great place to lose every fly in your box and possibly break your rod in the process. For those who don’t mind dapping a few casts or using a bow and arrow technique with short rods and light weights, you will find a lot of action and solitude on pass creek. Out of all the places I fished over a weekend in the Rio Grande drainage I enjoyed this one and caught the most fish here. I personally love the challenge of casting and landing fish in places you wouldn’t expect a fly rod to function, but this kind of fishing isn’t for everyone.
You can catch brown trout and brook trout and the occasional rainbow trout as well. I suspect there are cutties in here in certain areas, but I have yet to find them. The South Fork below has all 4 species of trout however, so I don’t see why a major tributary of the SF wouldn’t have them as well. Fish aren’t large ranging 6” to 14” at the biggest, but for such a small creek and little room to set the hook and move a rod tip in a direction that helps you land the fish, they provide ample challenge to land. I highly recommend barbless hooks here (as I do everywhere for that matter as it’s better on the fish and easier on anglers) because it’s a great place to lose a lot of flies if you can’t unhook your flies from foliage that you will undoubtedly hook in the process of fishing this creek.
While Pass Creek my not be for everyone, that will create appeal for the solitude seekers looking for new water that doesn’t get fished very often. You can explore this creek for miles and there is lots of water to cover and it is difficult to cover it quickly so you can spend alot of time here. If you get bored or want to switch it up, you’re less than 30 minutes from fishing the South Fork of the Rio Grande, or hop over wolf creek pass to access the east and west fork of the San juan river towards pagosa springs. There are tons of places to fish in this area, so use the maps we have on here and check out the surrounding areas and enjoy this gem of a valley for fly fishermen.
Fly selection isn’t terribly difficult and I didn’t have to change flies ever to get a fish to eat it. They were willing to hit anything that fits the right size and color of what you see floating around or hitting you in the face. Parachute adams, stimulators, elk hair caddis, green drake patterns etc are all great options in #10 – #16. I’d recommend something that floats well and is easy to see without much maintenance to keep afloat. You’ll have a hard enough time making casts and landing fish, you don’t need to be overly technical on the flies. A single fly is recommended for here again for ease of fishing, though a dry dropper or double dry if you’re feeling dangerous would put a lot of fish to net as well.
Fish: Many Small-Sized Fish
Popularity: Low
Difficulty: Hard
Accessibility: Hard
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
Massive hatches under the bridges. Green drakes and stoneflies featured here.
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
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.
Fly selection isn’t terribly difficult and I didn’t have to change flies ever to get a fish to eat it. They were willing to hit anything that fits the right size and color of what you see floating around or hitting you in the face. Parachute adams, stimulators, elk hair caddis, green drake patterns etc are all great options in #10 – #16. I’d recommend something that floats well and is easy to see without much maintenance to keep afloat. You’ll have a hard enough time making casts and landing fish, you don’t need to be overly technical on the flies. A single fly is recommended for here again for ease of fishing, though a dry dropper or double dry if you’re feeling dangerous would put a lot of fish to net as well.
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 Pass Creek of South Fork of Rio Grande 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.
Pass Creek of South Fork of Rio Grande 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.
