Making a trip to Colorado with the family in July and looking to spend a good amount of time on my new found obsession of fly fishing. Our family goes four wheeling through the mountains during the summer in a small town called Pitkin located just west of Gunnison and there are countless small streams with plenty of trout. I have only eyeballed them in the past but plan on trying to catch some of them this year. Any advice (what to tie, techniques, etc...) would be much appreciated as I have absolutely no experience with trout outside of the TPWD stockers. Already day dreaming about it and hoping to spend some good time prepping at the vise between now and then.

My boys and I had good luck on the Taylor River and Taylor Reservoir. I have friend that swears Lake Fork Gunnison River off of County Road 64 is awesome.

I could go on for days...... here is the short version.

If you like the small streams that you have eyeballed already, stay over there from Pitkin/Aspen. Light rods, light lines, stimulators and beetles. Small hoppers too.

If you want some bigger water, try the Gunnison above Blue Mesa. Mostly subsurface here - stoneflies and BWO nymphs if its dry, SJ worms and scuds if it has rained recently. Best fished by boat, but 3 easy access points.

Lake Fork Gunnison is great. Head towards lake City and pull off the road to fish. Good Browns fishing. Cuttbows too. Depending on the timing of runoff will determine your flies.

Further east is East River, Taylor River, and Cochetopa Creek. Cebolla creek too. Taylor is a chance at a monster - 10+lb Mysis shrimp fed rainbows.

If you can spend $30 - go to Amazon and find 'Fly fishers guide to Colorado'. Cannot stress that enough. Invaluable., Hatch charts, maps, and details galore.

Charlie Cards Cicada Pattern. By far the most effective and big fish producing fly i use during the summer. If you get a chance there is a stream system called Jones Hole on the border of Northeast Utah and Coloroado that is an amazing fishery. 20+ fish in a lot of places.

message me for any other questions

Not against going on a guided trip one of my days there if anyone has any suggestions.

Parachute Adams, Parachute BWO, Humpies, Stimulators, Green Drakes, Hoppers, Anna's Ants Have always produced for me the two summers I was there. I was fishing the South Platte, Arkansas, Beaver Creek both upper and lower. I also went over to the Gunnison but never fished it. My buddie and I hit up Spring Creek and killed them with the Adams and he was using a Patriot Fly(Red White and Blue).

See if you can talk Robert into taking you down Gunnison Gorge.

Lmbo bet your glad I brought a bunch of parachute cord golfer jeff well put just too much public fantastic water to ever get started. Conejo valley another great place to look at.

Stimulators in tan and yellow, hoppers, Adams and CADDIS tan and wheat

Gunnison area is great but we are partial to the Conejos River area

wondered when you would chime in. Don't leave out orange and oddly but worked a lot of Magic days in that conejo valley a big green stimulator. I have to add sub surface hares ears (tan and olive)pheasant tails in natural and always have purple, as well as zebras and wd40. Oh think I left out hares ears no no I didn't so don't forget hares ears work all summer all sizes. I had to add a little more emphasis on their importance. I'll be in touch with you soon kody's

Robert- as a guy who fishes all over the country, how much do you find that fly selection really matters? It just seems like I've heard and read so much about how fly selection is overrated and the least important of the things required to catch fish behind presentation, tippett size, depth, etc. I would think the tenkara method that only carries several flies would confirm this. Historically, I've always been the guy that goes to local fly shop and loads up on all their special patterns for x River, but I wonder how necessary it really is.

Not Robert but here is my experience. In remote or not heavily fished areas, I do not think fly selections matters very much at all. I bought 1,000 mixed flies a few years back for a song. To me, a lot of them were not the right shape or color, but they are a mix of mostly 14 and 16 so they are the right size.I use them on small creeks or lightly fished water and they catch a lot of fish
When I fish the conejos, a river not known for rising fish, I find the closer I get to the bugs they are eating is key.
By the same token, this past summer I had a day where the Browns only wanted a yellow stimulator. Would not look at the tan or wheat...

Kodys papa hit it on the head. That's why I say have a bunch of hares ears in variety of sizes and colors. Because they will work almost anywhere anytime. If your fighting for a free pool to fish you might have to I worry more about matching the hatch so to speak.

I think presentation is the number one factor in trout.