Fishing Report
April 11th, 2025
Welcome to the North Park Anglers’ fishing report! We are officially open for the season!
Spring is finally arriving in North Park! The North Platte and Meadow Streams are now open for the season, and the Buttes, Lake John, and all our lakes are beginning to crack along the edges. We have many options for anglers in April this year. We hope to see you soon!
Please read further for more detailed info on our fisheries.
If you have any questions, please call the shop at 970-723-4215!
Fly Shop Spring Hours :
Monday: Closed
Tuesday – Saturday: 8 am – 5 pm
Sunday: 8 am – 2 pm
Meadow Streams:
The meadow streams are open. With the warm weather this week, they colored up and puffed up a little bit in terms of flow and clarity, but the colder nights have cleared them up in the morning. There isn’t much snow in the valley, so we should see a good window through April on the small streams. The fish are still hunkered down in their wintering holes, so look for deep, slow-moving water to hold fish. Nymphing with a stonefly, worm, and various attractor nymphs is the main game this time of year, and slowly bumping a streamer along the bottom can bring out some large fish as well!
Meadow Stream Flows: Michigan and Illinois River flows
North Platte
(Canyon Section)
The Canyon is starting to open. You can drive in and access Routt and the 6-mile gap. The river is clear, and fishing will be a little slow with colder water temperatures. We expect the river to stay low and clear through the weekend and possibly early next week until warmer weather moves in. The fish are still hunkered down in their wintering holes, so look for deep, slow-moving water to hold fish. Nymphing with a stonefly, worm, and various attractor nymphs is the main game this time of year, and slowly bumping a streamer along the bottom can bring out some large fish as well!
North Platte River Flows: North Platte River Flows at North Gate Canyon
The North Platte in the valley is open. With the warm weather this week, it colored up and puffed up a little bit in terms of flow and clarity, but the colder weather overnight has cleared it up in the mornings. There isn’t much snow in the valley currently, so we should see a good window through April in the Valley. The fish are still hunkered down in their wintering holes, so look for deep, slow-moving water to hold fish. Nymphing with a stonefly, worm, and various attractor nymphs is the main game this time of year, and slowly bumping a streamer along the bottom can bring out some large fish as well!
Note* The valley section is upstream of where the North Fork of the North Platte, Michigan, and Illinois Rivers dump into the Platte. The gauge we watch at North Gate, where we report flows from, will always be slightly more significant than what the valley section reads.
FYI: North Platte Flows in North Gate Canyon (Routt Access to Pickeroon)
0-750 CFS Good Wade fishing level
500-4000 Good Float/ Fishing Level
4000 and above is best for Whitewater
North Platte River Flows: North Platte River Flows at North Gate Canyon
Delaney Buttes, Lake John, and Cowdrey Lake
The Delaney lakes and Lake John still have some ice on them, but they are starting to open up along the edges. The smaller lakes like Cowdrey, Seymour, and many of the other lakes around the valley have a decent bit open on them. With the forecasted warm weather and wind, we anticipate the lakes opening up more in the next week. Nymphing with leeches and chironomids is the main game durng the day, and stripping buggers, leeches, crayfish, and boatmen in the early and late hours of the day is always a good bet as well.
High Country Lakes and Streams
Joe Wright, Chambers, and Big Creek are all frozen, but the ice thickness varies spot to spot. We’ve found ice ranging from 20-30+ inches thick. We anticipate the high lakes icing off in the middle of May.
