Fly Fishing Piedra River - Above Navajo Reservoir

Fly fishing the Piedra River above Navajo Reservoir is southwestern Colorado's best-kept secret — a remote, hike-in canyon fishery with vast stonefly populations and almost no angling pressure. Originating near the Continental Divide in the Weminuche Wilderness, the Piedra flows 40 miles through granite box canyons created by geological faults, alternating between narrow canyon sections and open meadows. The main stem supports Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Cutbow hybrids averaging 10 to 14 inches, with fish exceeding 20 inches documented below the confluence of the East Fork, Middle Fork, and Williams Creek. Native Rio Grande Cutthroat persist in the upper tributaries within the wilderness.

The Piedra's two box canyons — First Box and Second Box — define the fishing experience. Congressional designation in 1993 established the Piedra Area to preserve its wilderness character: no motorized or mechanized travel is permitted. The best 10 miles of water require hiking the Piedra River Trail #596, which clings to the canyon edge through both box canyons. The complex stream structure — tilting sedimentary rocks creating pocket water, runs, riffles, and deep pools — provides outstanding habitat diversity. At 6,150 feet elevation with a 653-square-mile drainage, the river runs hard during runoff (water levels increase tenfold) before settling into wadeable flows of 60–250 cfs from July through October.

The Piedra is stonefly water, first and foremost. The annual stonefly hatch from mid-May through mid-June is the signature event, with vast populations especially abundant in and below Second Box Canyon. This is the best window for larger fish on the Piedra. Caddis provide fairly plentiful hatches from May through October with sporadic afternoon emergences. BWOs are important from September through winter into April. PMDs appear sporadically in summer but play a secondary role. Midges in an unusually wide color range (black, white, gray, cream, olive, red, brown, blue, purple — sizes 16–24) sustain winter fishing. Terrestrials work through meadow sections between the box canyons from June through October.

The main stem is catch-and-release, flies and lures only — a regulation that reflects both the river's quality and the management goal of preserving this wilderness fishery. Two trailheads provide access: the upper (north) trailhead is 19 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs via Lower Piedra Road with a large parking area; the lower (south) trailhead is 22 miles west of Pagosa off US 160 via FR 621 (First Fork Road), though this road can be steep, narrow, and may have washouts. San Juan National Forest land provides the access corridor. Check with the ranger district for current trail conditions before heading in.

The Piedra demands more effort than any other river on this list, and that's precisely its appeal. Durango-La Plata Airport (DRO) is the closest commercial service, with Pagosa Springs providing the nearest lodging and supply base. For anglers willing to hike into a box canyon where the only sounds are rushing water and stoneflies buzzing, the Piedra delivers a wilderness fishing experience that has largely disappeared from the modern West — catch-and-release water, native Cutthroat in the headwaters, and an honest-to-goodness sense of discovery around every bend.