Altitude: 9,000 ft
Current Discharge: 795 ft3/sec*
Current Gage Height: 2 ft*
Filed Under: Fishing
* This USGS water data was last recorded at Jul 09, 2008 07:00:00 AM from Blue River Below Dillon, Co..
This gold medal trout stream starts in an unlikely place - right in the middle of a a commercial district (outlet mall). This section of the Blue River starts just below the Dillon Dam which holds back Dillon Reservoir.
The first two miles of river flows thru Silverthorne, past the outlet malls, and under Interstate 70. It is quite an urban experience, but this is where the big ones get caught. Aslo, due to its proximity to the interstate and being a great weekend location, it gets heavily fished from the Denver crowd. The summers are partically busy due to the tourists that hit the area. However, other than big fish, this section of the Blue is great for the family. The spouse can shop in the outlet malls while just yards away you can fish for the 'big one'.
The trout in the fist few miles of the river get bigger than normal due to mysis shrip that get released from the Dillon Reservoir. The average trout range in the 12" - 14" range while it is not uncommon to hear of 5 - 10 pounders being caught below the dam.
If you want to get away from the crowd, just drive a few miles north of town (on Hwy 9 which parallels the Blue River) to get some piece and quiet. On holiday weekends you will still have to compete for a space to cast your line. However, on most other days you can get a piece of river to yourself. From Silverthorne all the way to Green Mountain Reservoir, there are a mulititude of pulloffs on the side of the road and plenty of fishing access. Past Green Mountain Reservior all the way to the confluence with the Colorado River is mostly private and has no access.
This section of river has rainbow, brook and brown trout. The fish get smaller the farther you go away from the dam, however the fishing pressure is much less.
Fishing Reports
Directions
The Blue River is located just off I-70 at the Silverthorne/Dillon exit. Some of the most popular spots can be found just below the dam and around the outlet shopping malls. You can also drive north on Hwy 6 (the main road thru town) and fish at any of the plentiful pulloffs all the way to Green Mountain Reservoir. The river parallels Hwy 6 the entire way.
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