The White river is a fun and distant freestone river that has pristine access to the flattops wilderness.  You can catch rainbow, brown, cutthroat, cutbows and whitefish through most of the river.  Though the river holds mostly 12-16” fish, those willing to explore can find some large fish.  They seem to be migratory and some years are present and other years not as much.  You can find fish pushing 20” if you put your time in, though most of the action will be healthy, hard fighting fish in the 12-18.  Nymphing and dry flies work best throughout the season up here and the water is fishable from spring to fall.  This river is very delicate and requires special care when fishing to preserve it’s waters.  As it is getting more crowded these days it holds less appeal than it did 10 years ago.

That said, there are many access points that are available to the angler including the town of Meeker, Sleepy cat and the South Fork Campground and Trappers lake up on the North Fork.

North Fork Access

Most of the north fork is private, but there are a few sections that are public and heavily wooded.  There are likely some large fish up here but it is hard to access successfully.  If you’re up for an adventure, give this place a shot and bring some protection.  It’s more likely than not to see bears and moose in this area and it’s easy to sneak up on them in the heavily willow and wooded sections of the North Fork.  Come prepared and ready to explore Colorado wilderness and you can find some truly wonderful fishing.