FISHING GUIDELINES LEG END Standard Colorado Trailhead 160 Highway Rivers How to Release a Fish FREE MAP fishing regulations CR Campground 231 County Road Artificial flies or lures only. Trout must be Fishing Area 123 Forest Service C Road (unpaved) O immediately returned San Juan River To practice catch-and-release while fishing, follow these steps to ensure the fish N 1

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Safety Disclosure:I 4WD Road N Stocked: Rainbow, Brown, Brook and return to the water with minimal damage. Any fish you plan to release MUST be E C Ute Reservation ont Fishing N in No High Wateren Mark Law Trailer Parking Motorized Trail T ta Special Permit Cutthroat Trout returned to the water immediately. A l D L iv required Granite id D e Non-Motorized T Kayak/Raft Area Lake I r Native Fish (return to water immediately): V a il Large mouth bass Trail I D 12”– 15” must be Mountain TIME IS ESSENTIAL Quickly play and release fish. A fish played for too long will E Continental Humpback Chub, Bonytail Chub, Colorado immediately returned Bike Trail Divide Trail Divide to water Wilderness be too exhausted to recover. ail Lakes r Pikeminnow and the Razorback Sucker W Mountain Peak T Area eminuche ail Trout limit of 2 bag or r T eek r possession National Water Fall KEEP FISH IN THE WATER as much as possible. ona Monument r T 2 East Fork of the San Juan River rail imar illiams C

Fishing C W C Rainbow, Brown, Brook and Cutthroat Trout o Rainbow n 11 REMOVE THE HOOK AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE Single barbless hooks can Middle Fork t BIG i Turkey Trail n Trail e Horse Creek n MEADOW t Camp Trail a often be removed while the fish is still in the water. Beaver l

D RESERVOIR

Creek i 3 West Fork of the San Juan River D

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WEMINUCH E i CREEK l CREEK GENTLE HANDLING IS ESSENTIAL Avoid squeezing or placing your fingers RESERVOIR 12 PASS WILDERNES S 10,875’ 4 Blanco River on the gills or eye sockets. It is best to hold a fish gently by its belly or by the area in 631 Piedra TURKEY 7 CREEK HINSDALE Falls 8 Rainbow front of the tail. 636 LAKE 10 COUNTY FOURMILE Trail Rainbow, Brown, Brook and Cutthroat Trout LAKES Turkey Creek 637 ALBERTA Trail W LAKE O 039 Falls LF 636 Anderson CR 5 TO REVIVE AN UNCONSCIOUS FISH hold it upright in the water. Move the S W Creek EEK Piedra River A Trail F est S N Black Mtn. or KI ARE D k Road A R C Fourmile d e Mtn. R R fish forward and backward so that water runs through the gills. It may take a few

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E 3 L I R s No OHVs W Falls Windy Pass Fourmile Creek and Lakes C 7 R R MINERAL past this E d Trail E point K COUNTY Piedra River P WHEN PHOTOGRAPHING A FISH hold it horizontally and do not squeeze the P IEDR A iedr 667 Rainbow, Brown, Brook and Cutthroat Trout Trail QUIEN 160 a R SABE MTN. d R 5 d k Quartz fish. Do not put your hands in its gills or hold it vertically by its gills. A REA or Ridge F Jackson t F irst F M s ork ARCHULETA P Ea Trail

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R past this t d T R C ur Quartz E a V point r key I w eek R Creek Rainbow, Brown, Brook and Cutthroat Trout R A R Trail R d D d IE 646 647 SOUTH P RIVER 631 634 037 CENTOR R 2 S A N J U A N E IV 630 738 R TOWN PARK ey N Coal W I LDERNESS urk d A T gs R P Creek in iedr CR J U Spr AN Trail QUARTZ a R 400 S S LAKE Reservoirs and Lakes Game Fish F n Quartz d o o 629 u w 666 Lake VISITOR

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. F irst irst 029 and anal fins often Spotting pattern is Crimson slash on P F 160 Pagosa Devil a 10 Alberta Reservoir g 622 626 Creek os a B RAINBOW orange, edged with made up of black either side of the Road lv Left Hand 627 d yon 6 Springs Can 660 13 Road Brook and Cutthroat Trout CR TROUT black and white; spots and throat beneath the 326

Fo ECHO d Black spots on a body is dark with red-orange spots lower jaw; heavier sse CHIMNEY ROCK 9 R t G CR in 11 Big Meadows and Shaw Lakes u NATIONAL CAPOTE 700 LAKE as Leche lc o B Blue Creek h MONUMENT 651 84 nc oad Creek Rd LAKE la R OPAL light body and red white and red spots inside light spotting towards . B Trail Big Meadows has Brook, Cutthroat and C 012 d LAKE a 617 t Eight Mile C stripe along sides. inside blue circles. blue circles. the tail. r R Rainbow Trout; Shaw Lake has Cutthroat e Mesa Rd E e V k RI rujillo R Rd O T 652 C N 4 A HARRIS Trout and Kokanee Salmon L 649 d B LAKE Burns Ca R nyo co n R lan BUCKLES 613 d er B 656 Low 664 LAKE Native Western Slope Fish CR o CHALK Williams Reservoir and Williams 500 Blanc d Big MTN. 653 River R Branch 12 Valle Road (immediate release) Seco Rd V ROCK Creek Rainbow, Brook and Cutthroat Trout, 006 Ken Navajo ney and Kokanee Salmon d Peaks Fla R ts e Trail S OUTHE R N UT E k 663 a L s le k 151 c u P Lake Capote r B ic 13 e R COLORADO L I NDIAN E a 731 V ke Rainbow and Brown Trout, Largemouth I CR s R Rd 359 PIKEMINNOW RAZORBACK N CR a Mes tezum a R

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14 e t Chromo Green to silver and green-gray to Bronze to yellow fish o N Navajo Reservoir CR Arboles y avajo Riv

o er Rd 382 14 C CR white with an abrupt BONYTAIL CHUB bronze on backs and with a sharp-edge 391 Catfish, Trout, Bass, Pike, Crappie, Perch CR Trujillo Rd. 500 and Kokanee Salmon hump behind the Slight hump and a silver to white along keel behind the NAVAJO LAKE C O L O R A D O ©2016 TOR ANDERSON TRUE NORTH DESIGNSWORKS CR head. long, narrow tail. sides and bottom. head. www.visitpagosasprings.com STATE PARK N E W MEX I C O 357 Rivers

1 SAN JUAN RIVER (DOWNTOWN): The downtown stretch of the San Juan River can be accessed at several locations in town, including behind the River Welcome Center, Town Park, Visitor Center and Yamaguchi Park. to Pagosa Springs ! All trout - bag and possession limit of 2. Downtown Pagosa Springs is regularly stocked with trout. It offers some of the best fishing in the area and is a great place for children and beginners. Welcome to the beautiful Pagosa Springs area. We hope to EAST FORK OF THE SAN JUAN RIVER: Hwy 160 East for 10 miles; right on make your fishing experience as wonderful as possible. In order 2 East Fork Road. Fishing is available anywhere the river can be accessed, except to maximize the quality of fishing in downtown Pagosa, town on private property. merchants, along with support from local government, have Portions of the San Juan River run through private property, particularly on this road. Please be respectful and stay off private property! joined together to stock trophy size trout in the river during The road goes through the East Fork Canyon passing dramatic spring, summer and fall. Ideally, we’d like for everyone to enjoy “beehive” rock formations and offers great camping. Williams Creek Reservoir East Fork of San Juan River Buckles Lake hooking into a playful rainbow or a large brown trout. Because 3 WEST FORK OF THE SAN JUAN RIVER: Hwy 160 East for 14 miles; left of that, please practice careful catch-and-release (see other on West Fork Road. Fish by the bridges over the river, along the road in the vicinity of West Fork Campground. side of brochure). If you do keep fish, please stay at or under Portions of the San Juan River run through private property, particularly Reservoirs and Lakes the daily two fish limit. Also note the native fish to the Western on this road. Please be respectful and stay off private property! Slope (shown on other side of brochure) and release these Two nearby campgrounds. immediately, as they are protected species. Please 9 ECHO CANYON RESERVOIR (STATE WILDLIFE AREA): Hwy 84 South LAKE CAPOTE: Hwy 160 West for 17 miles; located at Hwy 151 4 BLANCO RIVER: Hwy 84 South for 12 miles; left on Blanco River Road #656. for 6 miles; turn right. 13 intersection. The sections of the Piedra River and San Juan River that run enjoy our wonderful waters. River access close to the road and at the Forest Service group Largemouth Bass 12 – 15 inches must be returned to the water through the Ute Indian Reservation can be accessed at several different campground when unoccupied. immediately. points. Please be respectful of private property. Visit http://www. This is the closest lake fishing to town; accessible all year, it is great southernute-nsn.gov/wrmweb/fishing for details. PIEDRA RIVER: PIEDRA RD ACCESS - Piedra Road North (CR 600/FS 631) for 5 for ice fishing in the winter. In the summer, motorized boats are allowed, Please note that fishing at Lake Capote or anywhere else on 16 miles; park at the Piedra River Trailhead. Fishing restrictions begin at the but restricted to wake-free boating; includes boat ramp. Reservation land requires a daily permit (available at Lake Capote) Piedra River Bridge on Piedra Road (FS 631) and continues downstream to instead of a Colorado fishing permit. First Fork Road. 10 ALBERTA PARK RESERVOIR (STATE WILDLIFE AREA): Hwy 160 East Lake Capote is a 45-acre lake; motorized boats are allowed, but for 23 miles; right into Wolf Creek Ski Area. Follow Forest Service Road #391 restricted to wake-free boating. PIEDRA RIVER: FIRST FORK RD ACCESS - Hwy 160 West for 22 miles; right 6 approximately 1.5 miles to where the parking lot and boat ramp are located. on First Fork Road #622. Public fishing access begins 1.5 miles north of NAVAJO RESERVOIR: Hwy 160 West for 17 miles; left on Hwy 151 and Hwy 160 (the lower boundary of the Tres Piedra Ranch). 1. Artificial flies or lures only. 14 2. All trout are catch-and-release and must be returned to water immediately. continue 35 miles. 1. Artificial flies or lures only. With 1/3 in Colorado and 2/3 in New Mexico, if you cross into New 2. All trout are catch-and-release and must be returned to water immediately. Motorized boats are allowed but restricted to wake-free boating. Mexico you will need a New Mexico fishing license. Great scenic river fishing with camping in the area. 11 BIG MEADOWS RESERVOIR (STATE WILDLIFE AREA): Hwy 160 East for Navajo Lake State Park is a 15,000-acre reservoir that allows large 26 miles; left on County Road 410. Located on Wolf Creek Pass. boats, rents boats and has boat ramps. It is the only place in the 7 FOURMILE CREEK AND LAKES: Take Fourmile Road (CR 400/FS 645) for Pagosa area that live minnows may be used as bait. Camping is 8 miles; right at junction to the trailhead. Follow Fourmile Trail. Camping is available around Big Meadows, motorized boats are allowed, but restricted to wake-free boating; includes boat ramp. offered at campgrounds, with primitive camping allowed along the Great backcountry fishing requiring moderate to strenuous 6 – 7 mile one-way shore of the lake. hike to access lake. Creek is accessible at various points near the waterfall. WILLIAMS RESERVOIR (STATE WILDLIFE AREA) AND WILLIAMS CREEK: 12 Piedra Road North (CR 600/FS 631) for 25 miles. 8 TURKEY CREEK AND LAKE: Hwy 160 East for 6 miles; left on Jackson Mountain Road to the trailhead, Follow Turkey Creek Trail. This 508-acre mountain lake is surrounded by lush forests and towering Great backcountry fishing requiring a strenuous 9 mile one-way hike to peaks, with several campgrounds nearby. Motorized boats are allowed, Archuleta Lake on the Continental Divide Trail access lake. Creek is accessible at various points along the trail. but restricted to wake-free boating; includes boat ramp. www.visitpagosasprings.com