Fly-fishing shops will guide exotic trips or local waters

Boulder County anglers wanting to combine their hobby with overseas travel can choose from a selection of high-end fly fishing trips to exotic destinations offered by local angling stores. Or local guides can take you to some very good waters close to home.

Front Range Anglers, in Table Mesa Shopping Center, runs tours to Belize, Alaska and the Florida Keys, and is starting a new venture in South America next February.

Rio Palena Lodge, an upscale river resort around 1,000 miles south of Santiago, Chile, is owned by the father of Nick Moore, who works for Front Range Anglers.

“The eight-day, seven-night trip will cost around $3,700 per person, which includes airfares, transport, accommodation, food and drinks, plus the services of fishing guides,” Moore said.

Visitors would be aiming to catch rainbow, brown and brook trout, which, in these pristine Chilean waters, could scale anywhere between six and 12 pounds, possibly even more, he said.

At Kinsley Outfitters on University Hill, Manager Peter Berntsen lists the two favorite exotic destinations as Exuma in the Bahamas and Kulik Lodge out of Anchorage, Alaska.

“We organize a week in spring for the Bahamas and a week in July for Alaska and need about eight people to make each trip viable,” he says.

The Peace & Plenty Bonefish Resort is the final destination in the Bahamas where a week saltwater fly fishing for bonefish will cost around $2,500, which includes everything but drinks. From Kulik Lodge anglers fish neighboring rivers and lakes for trout and salmon at a weekly cost of about $5,000, which again covers everything except drinks.

Fishing fans in Longmont can experience a trip with a difference from local store St Vrain Angler, which takes tours to Alaska and Belize though the favored destination every April and November is Christmas Island.

Manager Mark Rayman says seven days fly fishing for bonefish off this dot of land in the Pacific Ocean close to the equator and three hours flying south of Honolulu, will cost around $3,200, everything included.

For people whose pockets are not quite so deep, the Bucking Brown Trout in Nederland offers plenty of classy fishing trips right here in Colorado and in neighboring states.

“Usually once or twice each month we take trips to fish the pick of some private waters in Wyoming and New Mexico,” says store Owner Jonathan Biggs.

In Wyoming they head for a stretch of the Little Laramie River and a trophy lake at Elk Mountain Ranch outside Laramie where Biggs says rainbow trout average six to 10 pounds.

These day trips cost the same as the store’s guided trips in Colorado — $195 for the first individual and $75 for each subsequent person, which includes transport, lunch and equipment.

Trips to the San Juan River in New Mexico in pursuit of rainbow and brown trout cost an extra $95 for overnight accommodation in a fully equipped double cabin and in addition anglers normally pay for a restaurant meal.

Closer to home, Biggs says one of their most popular trips for the past three years has been to Gold Lake Ranch, only about 15 miles north of Nederland, where parties of up to a dozen anglers can pit their skills against rainbow and brown trout, cutthroats and cutbows.

Ron Young, owner/manager of Front Range Anglers, speaks highly of guided trips on the South Platte River especially at Cheesman Canyon, below Spinney Mountain Reservoir and above Elevenmile Reservoir. Daily costs for two people, including lunch, are around $230.

Bryan Sander, who works in the store and as a guide, says Elk Trout Lodge, near the confluence of the Colorado and Blue rivers, is another popular local destination.

There have been three trips already this year to the lodge, which allows access to private fishing on the two rivers, Troublesome Creek and a number of ranch ponds. Guided day trips from the store cater for groups of about a dozen and cost $150 per person.

Kinsley’s Peter Berntsen picks horse packing into the high lakes of northwest Colorado — living under canvas with meals cooked and wranglers taking care of the mounts — as a must-do local fishing trip.

Up to eight people at a time can enjoy these three to five-day treks in the Flat Tops Wilderness area. Guests pay about $300 each per day to be taken 9,000 to 11,200 feet up in the mountains in search of good-sized rainbows and cutthroats.

“Rocky Mountain National Park is the place to go locally for some of the prettiest trout waters in the United States,” says Mark Rayman at St Vrain Angler.

The Longmont store, less than half an hour from the park, takes fully guided, all-inclusive day trips for $175 per person to places such as Lily Lake and the Big Thompson River.

Those wanting to horse trek to the high mountain reservoirs of North St. Vrain or the Wild Basin area can expect to pay $355 to $375 daily for a chance at rainbows, browns, cutthroats and greenbacks.

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