How to find access points for rivers?

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newtofly

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Hey everyone. I am trying to figure out some different access points to a few of the rivers I will be fishing at the end of the month. I am no expert but love to fly fish. Our entire trip will be hitting these four waters. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am assuming that the BWO hatch will be going on this late in the month. Any other bugs to watch for?

The Arkansas just SE of Salida. I have fished the Arkansas just north of Wellsville, but is there a better place to start? Any tips?

The Gunnison. Have fished the Whitewater park area (I think that is what it is), and a few pull-offs just west of town in the National Forest Area. Any suggestions here? This river has kicked our butt :confused: every time we fish it. Some tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Taylor River- We will stay downstream of the "hog trough" most of the time so where is the best place to start here? Is the road (742) open? Suggestions would be great.

Finally, the East River- Never fished it. Don't even know where to start. Help!!

How are water levels looking? Also, if you have any input, links, or just wouldn't mind offering some assistance please chime in. Thanks everyone.
 
bigjim5589

bigjim5589

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I have no experience with any of the places you're asking about, but have found that when I need information about new waters, Google Earth or Google Maps can be a very good friend!:thumbsup:
 
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pjosh6

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Where do you live at? I live east of pueblo.. Anyways I bought a book called
" Flyfisher's guide to Colorado" its by Marty Barthalomew. It shows basically almost all the places in colorado to go to and has some of the easier access points to use. There is also some other good information in there. Maybe check it out?
 
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newtofly

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Re: How to find access points for rivers? Gunnison River Area

Google has been what I have been limited to for several years now. I live in Texas, so when I get to Colorado I usually have to spend time trying to find the best water in our area and then going through the process of finding out what they are feeding on. I enjoy this process very much, but was just looking for some tips on great places to start on each of these rivers.
I can Google and find 20+ places to fish on the Gunny, but having my butt kicked every time I fish that river isn't much fun. I will just start another thread about fishing that river specifically. Have caught nice fish on the Taylor and Ark, but was looking for best places to start or best access for fly fishermen. I have never fished the east so again, I will be spending a lot of time searching out the places that I have marked on a map that I have never seen in person. Was looking for some great places to start so we didn't have to spend a lot of time looking for good water and could just start on good water. Hope all that makes sense.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I will order a copy.
 
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cpowell

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I would probably not worry abut the east.

The gunny and the Ark are on fire right now and the places you mention are fishing very well. There is a ton of good fish in the Taylor right now and the Ark is fishing as usual, very good. I like fishing the below stockmans bridge to Howard. On the Gunny I would go for some Kokes. The browns are chasing buggers. AT anytime you can pick up a new bunch coming up river above the Lake City bridge. :wavetowel Good time to be in the gunny area.
 
the_infidel

the_infidel

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at most sporting goods stores and even wal mart they sell this big map book called the Gazateer, or something close to it. its a very detailed state map. in it, it typically shows public land bordering rivers and lakes. 7 times out of 10, if you get to where the public land is displayed on this map you will find access.
 
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gwd

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I just got back from fishing the Taylor and Gunnison. The Taylor still has the road construction going on but they will let you on the river somewhere everyday. We fished at access points close to Almont and had great luck. The campground close to Almont on the Gunnison was full of great trout. The wife took two 15+ inch in her first 30 minutes of fishing and I lost a monster later that day. The salmon had not reached that area when we left Sept 4.
 
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mtboiler

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+1 on google earth. I actually use it two ways. First, I google the river and write down all the access points I see along the river. I might do 20 or 30 miles at a time. Than I load up and drive to the first spot. Pull my phone out and reference google earth as I pull over at each stop or turn off. I have found access points at most pull offs, they are pulling over for a reason. I also use Onyx hunting maps, which gives me property owners/public private.
 
flytie09

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The best way to learn a river is to explore it with a Delorme map and a full tank of gas. Mark off good access spots along the way. Google Earth is very good research before you hit the river. Pour over river reports on local fly shops online. Stopping at a fly shop as soon as you get in is probably the best suggestion I can make next to actually hiring a guide a day or 2.

As far as off the radar spots on not too well known streams.... it's really not realistic that most guys will be willing to share their spots that took years to learn. Part of the sport is the peaks and valleys....... you shouldn't expect all peaks.

To give you a kick start.... this is one of the best all around sites to get a crash course on your stream of choice - Your Waters - Trout, Steelhead & Salmon Stream Destinations

Good luck and hunting......

ft09
 
tcorfey

tcorfey

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I had an app on my iphone called Trout Stream GPS that would show river maps and access points, have not used it for awhile but it seemed to have most of the spots I went to on the rivers I knew already.
 
flyfishnbum

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I use onX hunt maps on my phone to find access points for hunting and fishing. If you have never used it, its like google earth but with land status. you can save maps offline if ya wont have service where you at.
 
fredaevans

fredaevans

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flytie09 said:
The best way to learn a river is to explore it with a Delorme map and a full tank of gas. Mark off good access spots along the way. Google Earth is very good research before you hit the river. Pour over river reports on local fly shops online. Stopping at a fly shop as soon as you get in is probably the best suggestion I can make next to actually hiring a guide a day or 2.

As far as off the radar spots on not too well known streams.... it's really not realistic that most guys will be willing to share their spots that took years to learn. Part of the sport is the peaks and valleys....... you shouldn't expect all peaks.

To give you a kick start.... this is one of the best all around sites to get a crash course on your stream of choice - Your Waters - Trout, Steelhead & Salmon Stream Destinations

Good luck and hunting......

ft09
Click to expand...
Excellent map link; will post this over on the UK 'Mother Board.'

fae
 
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