Piedra River Fly Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
We have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes that make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone
Species
Brown Trout
Cutthroat Trout
Brook Trout
Rainbow Trout
Cutbows (Hybrids)
Size
Small to Medium
Location
Southern Colorado
Nearest Towns
Pagosa Springs
Piedra
Durango
Season
Year-round
Access:
Fair to Good
Non-Resident License
State of Colorado
USGS Water Data:
Near Arboles Co
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
Except for the Spring runoff, fly fishing the Piedra River
is mostly good all year.
Spring:
March into April before the Spring runoff can be a good
time to fish the river. Runoff is from late April or early
May until sometime in early June.
Summer:
Summer is usually a good time to fish but the water can
get quite low and warm during the hottest part of the
summer in some areas.
Fall:
In the early fall the river is low, can be waded easily and
provides some good fishing opportunities.
Winter:
Winter fishing can be good when the weather is nice.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Fly Fishing the Piedra River Colorado
The Piedra River begins near the Continental Divide in the Weminuche Wilderness. It’s a forty mile long stream that’s a tributary of the San Juan River but where it once joined the San Juan is now under water in the Navajo Reservoir. The Piedra River is formed by the confluence of its East and Middle Forks, both of which begin in the San Juan National Forest. The Middle Fork
of the Piedra River, the larger of the two, flows for about twelve miles with only part of it accessible without hiking into rugged canyons.
The East Fork of the Piedra River flows through wilderness without trials for about eleven miles before joining the Middle Fork. O’Neal, Williams, Weimuche, and Sand Creeks join in on the flow along with the first Fork Piedra River. Below that point, It receives water from Heffin and Yellowjacket Creeks before passing through the town of Piedra. Devil and Stollsteimer creeks join it and the stream is then followed closely by State Highway #151for a good ways. It flows into the Navajo Reservoir near the town of Arboles.
Fly fishing the Piedra River can be a challenge from an access standpoint but by the same token, that’s what makes it one of the best streams to hike into to fish in the State of Colorado. The main river flows through a narrow valley that’s over twenty miles long with two box
canyon sections. It requires long hikes and is managed as catch and release, fly fishing only. It sees few anglers yet it has a excellent population of rainbow, brown and cutbow trout. Although some rainbows are stocked near the Lower Piedra Campground area, most of the trout in the Piedra River are wild, stream-born trout.
The Piedra River has a huge population of stoneflies. There’s a few mayflies and caddisflies but there’s probably more stoneflies than any of the other aquatic insects. Terrestrials are popular in the Summer. Fly fishing the Piedra River with imitations that closely match the naturals, versus generic and attractor flies, offers an advantage.