Treasure creeks gems don’t lay in the minerals that were mined years ago, but in the living gems found in the river.  As the name implies, it is a real treasure of a creek hosting rio grande cutthroat trout, a protected and rare species of trout to catch.  There are no other trout in this river than the cutties and this presents a unique and fun experience if you’re willing to make the drive.  It’s probably about 6 hours from the front range any way you slice it, and not much better from any other popular town.  This isolation is in part what protects these fragile trout and though some know about it, there is ample solitude, especially on a weekday on this river due to the drive time.  You have to pass the conejos, or alamosa river or rio grande to get here but make no mistake, the journey is worth it.

The water seems glacier fed as it’s a beautiful blue hue and frigid temps make a pristine habitat for the orange bellied cutthroat that inhabit this creek. The valley itself really transports you to a place of peace, relaxation and solitude.  The few fish that can be caught here are merely icing on the cake to a great adventure. This creek is cold and takes a while into the day and into the year to really warm up.  Nymphs work best in the morning and an accurate dead drift is needed to fool these un-pressured fish.  As the day warms up, they are more willing to eat dries, and a variety of standard attractor dry flies will draw takes.  A dry dropper is likely your best bet as you fish the water.  There is a lot of different habitat to explore here.  There is a valley meadow, gorged canyon, and beaver pond water throughout the valley making it feel like a new adventure at every turn. Trout can be found in every likely and even unlikely holding area.  The times I fished this place, I found the trout to be holding in faster water than I expected and had to make sure I didn’t walk over what seemed to be unfishable water.  Any time I did, I’d spook a fish out and I quickly learning to fish every inch of the river but cover it quickly.  They don’t need more than one or two casts to be convinced if they are going to eat, if not, then you might as well move on and find a trout willing to eat.

Usually places like this, the fish are so easy to catch it doesn’t provide much challenge and is just a fun place to be.  These fish, however, despite the lack of pressure, are weary to eat a fly and need an excellent, drag free drift to commit.  You’ll find the right level of challenge on this river as an intermediate or advanced angler, and as a novice, you will feel a little extra challenge beyond what your expectation may be.  Work hard to get good drifts and you’ll find fish of astounding beauty that will swim in your memories for decads to come.

Prospect creek is also on the access map.  It’s info is on a separate river on the river explorer, but listed on the same map as an area of interest.  Not a ton of water to fish on Treasure creek and for the drive time, you’ll likely need a 3 day trip to make the most of it.  There is really only one day max of fishing treasure creek unless you also hike up to the south fork (see map), so prospect creek is another good option as well as the smaller creeks up on that same pass near 380.