Sanford Creek offers a great balance between challenging fishing and fun fishing for intermediate anglers. Casting room becomes problematic at Sanford Creek as brush and shrubbery line the banks and pack the stream in tight. Anglers should leave the heavy trout fishing gear at home as these trout are small, wild, very beautiful and often worth the effort. Sanford Creek holds some of the most colorful trout in Colorado during spawning season for Brown and Brook Trout. Whether you explore a big reach of the creek or simply “creek-hop” your way around this area, Sanford Creek has some beautiful trout well worth the stop.
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.
Sanford Creek Fishing Information
Main Section - near Almont, CO
- Fish: Some Small-Sized Fish
- Popularity: Low
- Difficulty: Medium
- Accessibility: Medium
- Best Techniques: Dries
- Best Seasons: Spring - Fall
- River Type: Small Freestone
- Fish Types: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
- Dog Friendly: Yes
Located in the Gunnison River Basin near Almont, 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.
Almont
33°
clear sky
humidity: 92%
wind: 3mph SSW
H 29 • L 28
65°
Mon
60°
Tue
56°
Wed
60°
Thu
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
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
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
Sanford Creek Flies
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.
-
Sale!
Beadhead Flashback Hares Ear
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
CDC Midge Adult
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
San Juan Worm
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Barrs Emerger
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Foam Wing Parachute Biot Adams
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Mercury Midge
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Foam Wing Parachute BWO
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Beadhead Skinny Nelson
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Blue Wing Olive
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Beadhead WD-40
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Smokejumper
$3.00$1.50 Select options -
Sale!
Renegade
$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.
Sanford Creek Access Map
Sanford 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.