Flyfishing Nevada's Ruby Valley

Forget all your preconceived notions of Nevada—the glam and glitter of the Las Vegas strip and the funky, hardcore casinos of Reno. The other side of Nevada, far removed from Vegas and Reno both in miles and in feel is a remote and sparsely populated region that beckons to those who would rather spend a day summiting an 11,000 foot mountain or hooking a trout in an alpine stream than spinning the wheels of a slot machine.


This part of Nevada, in the far northern reaches of the state, is an outdoor paradise, an area filled with imposing snow covered peaks, rugged high desert and clear mountain lakes. It’s also relatively unknown. Ask people if they’ve ever heard of the Ruby Mountains, the Goshutes or Great Basin National Park and chances are all you’ll get are blank stares. Yet all those places and more dominate the landscape.

Too much to see and do in one trip—how do you choose between hiking the Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail, heli-skiing the Ruby Mountains or trekking to the 13,063 foot summit of Wheeler Peak? So I opted to spend a few days there flyfishing the marshes and streams of Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This 35,000 acre refuge, located two hours south of the town of Elko, hosts thousands of ducks, geese, sandhill cranes and other waterfowl in its marshes and lakes. And it also offers good flyfishing for trophy sized rainbow, brown and brook trout as well as tiger trout, a brown trout/brook trout hybrid.

The refuge has a lengthy network of ditches and streams interspersed with small ponds that harbor healthy but finicky trout. I spent my entire first day watching trout ignore my best nymphs and midges with zero luck—not a single hit. Especailly frustrating since I could see them clearly swimming in the clear water.  I was sure I had wasted a week coming to this remote place only to be shut out.

Day two was a different story. I stumbled onto an easily accessible fishing spot known locally as Governor’s Pond, a still, open bay near the edge of the refuge. I spotted large numbers of trout working the water and gently rolled a nymph into the water. What followed was two hours of near continuous action, nearly thirty trout in the 8- to 14-inch range taking my offerings.

Then as quickly as it started the pond went cold. Another fruitless hour and I gave up and headed across the refuge to a large oxbow below a fish hatchery located on the refuge. This spot also proved fruitful, but with one significant difference—the fish here were ginormous. I hooked three fish in quick succession—all being long distance releases. One was particularly huge—the largest trout I ever had on line but it flipped loose well away from my net. You know the story—the one that got away. I felt bad but not as bad as when I read this story a few days later:

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/field-notes/2011/03/rocket-scientist-breaks-39-year-old-nevada-rainbow-trout-record

Yep, exact same place I fished, within mere days of my trip. I’ll always tell myself I let the state record slip away.

Flyfishing the Big Thompson River, Colorado

It just doesn’t get much prettier than this: A clear mountain river coursing through the heart of an alpine meadow, the warm morning sun sparkling on the current’s riffles. This is the Big Thompson River, a flyfishing mecca. Brown, rainbow and brook trout lurk in its eddies and deep pools and bear, moose, elk and mule deer haunt its edges.


The Big Thompson originates in the far reaches of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, flowing through the mountain wilderness of Rocky Mountain National Park before tumbling down through the town of Estes Park Colorado in the valley below. Snow melt and the frigid temps of the high Rockies mean cold water in the Big Thompson, and the steep mountain flanks mean rushing, oxygen-aerated water. Just what trout like. And if trout like it, so do trout anglers, which is how we found ourselves thigh-deep in the rushing waters of the river, flipping delicate flies over the jangling water.

Before we hit the high alpine meadows, we took a couple of hours to literally get our feet wet, checking out the hatch and throwing flies at likely trout-lurking spots. Our guide, Marsh Thompson from Kirk’s Fly Shop in downtown Estes Park, took us to a section of the river accessible from a bridge just outside of town. We walked across a meadow of waist-high goldenrod and through an alder thicket to this hidden-within-view spot less than twenty minutes from downtown. We could hear the occasional car rumble by on the road but the spot still felt wildernessy and we quickly tied on nymphs and started working the water. The Big Thompson here is a little tamer than what we would encounter over the next two days—by the time it reaches this spot near Estes Park, the broad level valley has slowed the current down and it’s a gently flowing waterway.

But no less productive. We had barely gotten our waders wet and we were already into a hungry school of brown trout. The hits came rapidly and continuously for the next couple of hours and we lost count of the number of fish we hooked. It was fast and fun, an addicting introduction to Big Thompson River flyfishing. As the morning rolled on the fishing slowed and we pulled out for greener pastures. We headed further into the backcountry, hiking into an isolated stretch of the river dominated by huge boulders and fast water. The fishing here was even better and the browns and rainbows even hungrier. We easily caught thirty fish each.

Next day: Rocky Mountain National Park where the Big Thompson meandered through a broad meadow next to our campsite. Spectacular fishing, just as productive as the valley and add a backdrop of snow capped peaks. Our best two days of flyfishing ever and Kodak moments to complete the experience.

Details: You can wander about trying to find a prime fishing spot or you can hire a guide to save time searching and have more time fishing. I highly recommend Kirk’s Fly Shop in Estes Park, www.kirksflyshop.com 877-669-1859. Kirk’s does one-day and overnight trips and will rent gear plus they have a fully equipped shop for any last minute flies you may need.