Colorado's Top Fishing Towns

As reported in Field & Stream and reprinted with minor commentary in Charlie Meyers' outdoor column in this past Sunday’s Denver Post, Glenwood Springs was selected as one of America’s top fishing towns. From the article - “The town at the confluence of the Colorado and Roaring Fork rivers won out over Mountain Home, Ark.; Traverse City, Mich.; Bozeman, Mont.; and Minocqua, Wisconsin. In 11th place, Missoula, Montana, is the only other Rocky Mountain location on the list. What about Gilpin/Nederland? How come we never make it on the list?!?

I believe that the Peak-to-Peak stretch between Black Hawk and Ward is the best place to live. (I’d say Gilpin/Nederland, but I’ve got friends in Ward and points beyond.) Forget about just fishing, we’ve got much more. There, I wrote it. Now I’m hosed. Like the curse of Chief Niwot, I believe there is some spell that the high country has cast over me. As cold as it gets, as much as the commute to Boulder/Englewood is a pain, I doubt I’ll ever be able to leave. I tried once, before I was married, but here I am - living the dream above 8,000 feet. Something tells me I’m not alone with this curese/blessing.

What doesn’t living in the mountains have? Pizza delivery? Sure, but who needs pizza delivery anyway! The delivery guy always brings the wrong pizza and then looks at you with those sad, red, watery eyes that says “dude, I’m so fired if you don’t pay for this pizza that you didn’t order”. So I pay for the pizza and scrape off the artichokes, black olives, and all the other stuff I didn’t want, until I get down to the cheese, sauce, and dough that I did want. Yummy. Something tells me that if we ever did get pizza delivery in the mountains there be even more delivery guys with red, watery eyes delivering pizzas that I didn’t order. Oh well.

Here’s what we do have, all out our backdoor or within a few minutes: skiing, snowshoeing, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, four wheeling, mountain biking, hiking, dirt biking, camping, trail running, swimming, and ice fishing. I still don’t give a hoot about ice fishing, but it makes the list longer. Not only do we all those things that we can do, there are actually folks that do them. The canyons that come up to Hwy 119 are the training ground for international cyclists. Magnolia Road is the training ground for Olympic runners. Eldora is the training ground for the national champion Colorado Buffalos ski team. My driveway is the training ground for future bobsled champions… or snowboarders. It depends on whether or not the kids sit or stand in the sled while taking turns sliding into the cul-de-sac. Until you write it all down, it can be easy to forget how much living in the mountains has to offer, summer or winter.

While I may not have grown up around livestock, I did grow up in the woods with a creek flowing through it. I got to do all the things kids do in the woods – climb trees, build tree forts, hunt for snipe, and have acorn fights. I can’t remember a summer day when I didn’t play in the woods or go fishing in the creek. Well, there were a few, but those were the days that I had to cut the lawn or pull weeds. I’ll never understand my mother’s complete infatuation with weeds. Anyway, the fish we caught were nothing to shout about, mostly catfish or sunfish, but they did provide use with hours of entertainment and kept me out of trouble.

Lucky for me I’ve got lots of woods to play in now, a few creeks, and a lake. The lake is stocked with trout every spring and by fall the bigger ones tend to tip at 3+ pounds and measure almost 22 inches. Yes, I said 22 inches! I’ve fished the Roaring Fork River by Glenwood. It is a great river and the hot springs make a nice rest stop after fishing all day long. I’ve never caught a 22 inch Rainbow or Brown in the Roaring Fork. I’d rather save the time, gas, and money by fishing in my own neighborhood than schlepping all the way out to Glenwood. Perhaps one day Gilpin/Nederland will top the list of Field & Stream’s best places to fish next year. Until then, I’ll just enjoy everything we have and appreciate all the wrong pizzas I don’t have to pay for.