Private Water Fly Fishing

Private Water Menu

Telluride Outside’s Private Water Menu offers elevated fishing opportunities for anglers who wish to pursue trophy trout in solitude.  Among the finest fishing properties in Colorado, our exclusive leases are guided only by Telluride Outside, rested between fishing days to ensure a high quality angling opportunity for our clients.  Each ranch offers unique water, from the rambling runs of Lightenburger to the tumbling pocketwater of Roaring Fork and the small stream magic of Gurley Creek.  Enjoy your special day on the river.  Solitude is priceless.

Lightenburger Ranch

Among the most naturally gifted stretches of the entire Dolores, the Lightenburger Ranch offers a combination of quality fishing and picturebook ambience that makes for pleasant mid-winter dreams. Fish grow to great size on Lightenburger Ranch. Boulder-studded pools, low-gradient runs and luxurious riffles provide superb trout habitat. Pale morning dun mayflies headline a season-long parade of aquatic insect hatches. Hoppers and crawdads are so abundant, however, that many of our guides favor large foam-bodied dry flies and streamers over match-the-hatch imitations.

Additional rod fee: $120

Private Water Button Photo

Akin Ranch

Akin Ranch features almost 1.5 miles of enticing natural pools, generous riffles and long dry fly slicks. Notable for variety, Akin is home to resident rainbows, brown trout and cutthroats in addition to heavy cuttbows and browns that migrate seasonally from McPhee reservoir through the property. This is an excellent destination for anglers of any ability. Beginners enjoy sizable pools for practicing techniques with the chance to hook multiple fish. Experienced fishers have the opportunity to walk upriver all day without seeing another angler or running out of room.

Additional rod fee: $120

Roaring Fork

The Roaring Fork Ranch offers 1 1/2 miles of exclusive private access along one of the most beautiful sections of the Upper Dolores River. Here, the Dolores consists of fast-moving pocketwater interspersed with a handful of deep pools. It is terrific natural fish habitat enhanced by a tremendous aquatic insect population. Surprisingly big fish are caught in this modest sized stream. Only 40 minutes from Telluride, the Roaring Fork Ranch lends itself to half day trips in addition to full day trips.

Additional rod fee: $120

Beautiful Water On Roaring Fork Ranch

Rico River Ranch

Located just one mile downstream from the town of Rico, Rico River Ranch offers a terrific private water destination that is reachable on both half and full day guided trips from Telluride. A half mile of the Upper Dolores River passes through Rico River Ranch, bordered by a remote section on Forest Service property downstream. This is classic Upper Dolores pocketwater with a handful of long, glassy runs in the mix. The fish population includes rainbows, browns, brook trout and the occasional native cutthroat offering colorful variety.

Additional rod fee: $120

Cascabel

Crown jewel of the San Miguel, Cascabel offers 3 contiguous miles of private water in Norwood Canyon. This is the best water on the San Miguel, notable for its structure, habitat variety, fish size and profusion of aquatic insects. No longer operated as a fishing club, our lease at Cascabel offers anglers the opportunity to fish a section of the San Miguel that has been protected for more than 30 years.

Additional Rod fee: $150

Private Water Button Photo, Main Fishing Page

Gurley Creek

The western cornerstone of the San Juan Mountains is a spectacular pyramid called Lone Cone, rising above Wright's Mesa and casting long shadows from Beaver Park to Norwood. At its foot lies a 300-acre reservoir called Gurley, into which flows a single tributary carrying water from the surrounding foothills. Our Gurley Creek lease offers more than 1/2 mile of highly structured small stream water with the potential for catching many large fish. Dry flies, nymphs and streamers are all effective. When the fish are in, we enjoy a high success rate for large fish under almost any water conditions. This is a "right place, right time" fishing opportunity for late spring and early summer.

Additional Rod fee: $120

Sawmill

Perhaps the finest natural trout habitat on the Dolores, the lovely West Fork winds through this enchanted valley in a series of mule shoes, cobbled runs and braided channels structured with boulders and root balls. This is small water of the highest quality, a great place to fish a fiberglass 3-weight with an attractor fly for large trout. Mid-summer is the apex season at Sawmill when water levels are ideal and profuse hatches put the fish in high gear.

Additional rod fee: $120

A Heavy Dolores Brown Trout

Cowley Ranch

Cowley offers a great opportunity to fish highly structured water on the San Miguel just 20 minutes by car from Telluride, ideal for half day trips. Long considered one of the best fishing sections on the river, Cowley Ranch boasts an impressive aquatic insect population with abundant summer hatches including caddis, PMDs, yellow sally stoneflies, blue winged olives and even a few green drakes. A great classroom for anglers of every ability, Cowley Ranch is a favorite among our guides.

Additional rod fee: $120