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South Fork of Rio Grande Fishing Information
Main Section - near South Fork, CO
The South Fork is a unique section of the Rio Grande drainage. The main river of the Rio is much larger and fished best from a boat, but the south fork amidst the private property has some great and very wadeable areas for the angler without oars.
The South Fork of the Rio Grande has some gorgeous water and though it’s right off the road for the majority of the river, once you get on the stream the river drowns out the road and allows for some fun fishing. Access along the river isn’t hard to find, but walking along the river can be tough since it’s near the road. A variety of rainbow and brown trout are caught here and can be less crowded than surrounding gold medal waters on the main fork of the rio grande.
Dry fly fishing is always a great option during the summer months and while nymphing can take many fish as well, this is just a great place to throw a dry. Fish will need a good presentation and if you know how to throw a good pile cast on a still day, you’ll be able to find some great eats. A little longer leader can help get a better drift, 9ft leaders with an extra 1-2ft of tippet added to the end will underpower the fly and make it land with a little slack which can help on this river. 4wt – 6wt rods are perfect for this medium sized river. The fish aren’t overly picky if you get size and color right, so choose your favorite flies that match the hatches below for the time of year you’re going and you should be able to find some fun fish to catch.
When I was there in early July, I got a great green drake hatch for a couple hours and landed over 20 fish in just a short amount of time in a short section. Fish are in every nook and cranny in the river, so don’t over look any water that could hold a trout. A couple casts are all you need to fool them or just move on.
Overall it’s a great place to spend the day and you’ll find some enjoyable water to fish that resembles the crystal river in both size and fishing success.
<p>There are numerous hatches on this river and trout aren’t overly selective as long as you have the right size and color. Parachute green drake vs a thorax style or CDC style green drake for example makes little difference as long as you have an olive mayfly on that matches the size or one size smaller than what is hatching. A bug seine from our Entomology course really paid dividends for me on this river as well as I was able to capture both adult green drakes and the nymphs to confirm what size they were eating.</p>
Fish: Some Small-Sized Fish
Popularity: Medium
Difficulty: Medium
Accessibility: Easy
Best Techniques: Dries & Nymphs
Best Seasons: Spring - Fall
River Type: Medium Freestone
Fish Types:
Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout
Dog Friendly: Yes but Leashed
Located in the Rio Grande River Basin near South Fork, CO
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.
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
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)
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.
There are numerous hatches on this river and trout aren’t overly selective as long as you have the right size and color. Parachute green drake vs a thorax style or CDC style green drake for example makes little difference as long as you have an olive mayfly on that matches the size or one size smaller than what is hatching. A bug seine from our Entomology course really paid dividends for me on this river as well as I was able to capture both adult green drakes and the nymphs to confirm what size they were eating.
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 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.
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.
