Fall Upper Colorado Fishing Trip, pt. 1 - Williams Fork Confluence

Each year I am lucky enough to make the journey with 3-4 close friends to a very special place in Colorado. Somewhere between Kremmling and Parshall, where the scenery evokes imagery of what the west once was, we make our way to cramped, dusty cabins in search of migratory brown trout and the hopes that we’ll head back home with a few good stories. This annual fall pilgrimage is a great example that fishing trips aren’t really all about the fishing.

There’s a quiet in this part of the world that grows loud during the transition between Summer and Fall. Sometime near the final cattle drives and before the first snowfall there’s a stretch of frigid mornings and just-right afternoons that invites long days on the river. The cottonwood trees explode into a cacophony of golden-yellows that draw the attention of leaf peepers from across the state. As a visitor I can only extract an ounce of what makes life in this area, but I feel like I’m at some type of home away from home once I pass Green Mountain Reservoir headed north on highway 9.

After non-eventful drive on 70 we find ourselves along the wide streets of Kremmling. Just past the town square where old saloon facades stand as a reminder of times past, we pull up to our destination - the Muddy Creek Cabins. My brother and I hop out of the car and settle into our cabin. While eating our Chipotle and tying flies, we engage in the pre-fishing trip ritual that is so common. We exchange stories of past fishing trips in hopes to invoke similar success. We dream of the perfect day, detailing all the exact runs that we expect to hold the most fish, and devise excruciatingly detailed plans to realize that day. Most importantly, we’re spending time together, a luxury that becomes more rare with the development of families, demanding work and social lives and the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Before we know it, it’s close to midnight, we’ve set up our rods in the cabin and hung them above the rafters; with rigs set up, we’ll hit the river quicker than anyone else in the lot.

Harlan tying perdigons ahead of the trip.

A sleepless night gives way to a frigid morning, and we’re in the car headed to the Williams Fork main access parking lot. The cool atmosphere creates a stunning field of fog over the pastures as we hum along the highway. This small, beautiful event is indicative of fishing this area of the Upper Colorado river - the fishing is often the backdrop to the scenery, not the other way around.

Fog over the pastures.

In no time we are at the lot and making our way towards the water. As we walk down river towards the Williams Fork confluence with the Colorado river, my mind is prepared to round the corner and see a few people already set up and fishing. However, I’m delighted to find no such crowd, and we have the perfect start to our perfect day. Harlan and I survey the water and dance around who is getting the perceived ‘better’ portion of the run; the mouth into the middle, or the middle into the tail out and pool? We could talk ourselves in circles and never end up fishing, so it’s easier to just say, “you go there, I’ll go here”, and get on with it.

It’s a bluebird day, and the temperatures are low, so we start the day working water with triple nymph rigs. It doesn’t take long for Harlan to get into his first fish, approximately at 8:30 in the morning. We continue working the large run just below the confluence for the remainder of the morning, making good progress as the water warms up. Harlan has keyed into the appropriate rig and depth, focusing exclusively on one stretch of water that has a good amount of trout. I have worked over a few different portions of water, picking a few fish out, but Harlan is leading the fish count by a large margin.

The first fish of the day.

And the release.

A nice brown from the morning.

We had coordinated to fish this portion of the river until lunch, at which our good friend Dave would meet up with us and we’d plan the remainder of the day from there. While the morning was near perfect, we unfortunately had two older gentlemen set up shop right below us. Not to be incendiary, but it was a true ‘low hole’ - and to be totally honest, during this time of year, not something that really surprises me on such popular water.

Due to this crowding out, once Dave showed up, we decided to pack our things and head up river. Now into the high-noon portion of the day, I was pleasantly surprised to see some rises occurring in the next section we arrived at. I had changed out my flies in hopes of luring a trout to a small trico, but I was coming up short. This was one of those classic hatches that I would never quite figure out, so I swapped back to my nymph rig.

Even when the fishing is slow, the Williams Fork offers outstanding views.

The fishing was getting worse as we continued up river, so we put in the effort to hike up to one more run at the top of the Williams Fork before headed back to the cars. Unfortunately it was crowded out, so we made the call to get back into the car and evaluate different parts of the Upper Colorado River. We might have hoped for it, but certainly didn’t expect the caliber of fishing that was to come for the remainder of our weekend.