Eleven Mile Canyon Fly Fishing

Great rainbow trout fishing, in eleven Mile Canyon close to Colorado Springs.

Fly Fishing 11 Mile Canyon:
Eleven Mile Canyon is an outstanding tail-water fishery full of nice brown and rainbow trout.  The South Platte River flows out of Eleven Mile Reservoir into 11 Mile Canyon and is ideal for fly fishing.  Access to Eleven Mile Canyon is gained from the bottom of the canyon in the town of Lake George.  The top two miles of Eleven Mile Canyon are gold medal catch-and-release trout water.  This part of Eleven Mile Canyon holds the greatest concentration and quality of trout, although there are lots of fish throughout the entire canyon.  There is a fair bit of angling pressure in 11 Mile Canyon, but these feisty fish often don’t seem to notice.  This Colorado trout fisherman’s dream is known for its great BWO, PMD, and midge hatches.  Dry fly anglers can have a great time “matching the hatch” in some of the beautiful pools and runs of Eleven Mile Canyon.  Early season anglers can experience great nymph fishing, but later in the year, moss makes nymph fishing a bit tedious, but still effective.  Dry fly fisherman can have great success year round in 11 mile canyon, especially in the fall.

Unfortunately, Eleven Mile Canyon seems to have been hit the hardest by the quickly reproducing New Zealand Mud Snails.  These fast-reproducing snails compete with the aquatic insects that the trout feed on.  Waders, boots and equipment should be soaked in a 50%-specific 409 (“Commercial Solutions Formula 409® Cleaner Degreaser Disinfectant” or “Formula 409® All Purpose Cleaner Antibacterial Kitchen Fresh”) and 50%-water solution for at least 5 minutes to kill the snails.  Anglers entering Eleven Mile Canyon should heed posted warnings and restrictions to help prevent the invasive New Zealand Mud Snail from spreading to more of our Colorado trout streams.  Click here to find out more about New Zealand Mud Snails.

BWO nymph from Eleven Mile Canyon.