North Fork of the White River – 09/12/2025

Time: 10:15AM – 1:15PM

Location: Between Trappers Lake and Buford

North Fork of the White River 09/12/2025 Photo Album

Friday was my getaway day, as I departed from Ute Lodge and drove to Bachelor Gulch, where the rest of my family was gathered for Jane’s special birthday celebration. Because of the Derby Creek wildfire, I was unable to take the usual direct route to Avon. I was forced to drive west to Meeker and then south to Rifle and then east to Avon. For this reason I logged a shorter than normal day of fishing in the Flattops. I did, however, witness the sad aftermath of the Lee fire, as I drove south from Meeker to Rifle. All the hillsides were charred, and I sympathize with the ranchers, who lost immense amounts of grazing land.

Bankside Slot

I packed up my belongings at the Pine Cabin and made the relatively short drive to the chosen section of the North Fork. The temperature was in the upper fifties, so I pulled on my fleece hoodie, and I assembled my Loomis two piece five weight. By 10:15AM I found myself perched along the stream with a peacock hippie stomper trailing a salvation nymph. I read my posts from a year ago for this same section of the stream, and I learned that the stomper and salvation performed quite well.

Very Large for a Small Stream

Alas, after ample time prospecting with the two flies, I failed to notice any sign of a fish, so I shifted directions and deployed a tan size 8 pool toy hopper, a beadhead hares ear, and a salvation nymph. These flies remained on my line for the remainder of my time on the North Fork.

Home of Brook Trout

Before I took my lunch break at 11:45AM, I accumulated fourteen trout. The first hour included a high gradient stretch, and I probably devoted too much time to short pockets. Once I encountered more favorable stream structure, the fish count grew rapidly. Among my morning catch were some chunky fourteen inch rainbows and a wide slab of an orange bellied brook trout.

Orange Dominates

Little Eddy

After lunch I continued upstream for another hour. I was more selective about my target spots, and the approach paid off, as I notched another twelve landed trout to boost the fish count to twenty-six. Two more brilliant brook trout in the twelve inch range rested in my net, and four cutbows and rainbows of twelve to fourteen inches were much appreciated.

Amazing Deep Charcoal Color

By 1:15PM I reached my planned exit point, so I hustled up a steep bank and climbed over deadfalls to return to the car. The return drive by way of Meeker and Rifle took nearly three hours.

Friday was another rewarding day in the Flattops. Twenty-six trout in three hours netted some fairly fast action. There were some locations, however, that historically produced, that shut me out on this go round. Nevertheless, it was a solid day on the North Fork of the White River, and I will most likely miss the beauty and remoteness until next year. I never encountered another angler during my four days of fly fishing, and I love solitude.

Fish Landed: 26

2 thoughts on “North Fork of the White River – 09/12/2025”

  1. Ralph Burns

    Doomscrolling the news quickly becomes too much, so my GF and I often say, “what’s Dave Weller been up to?” and follow along your travels. This time we’ve booked the Aspen cabin for her birthday, the last weekend of this month. I’m curious if you ever find fishable public waters downstream of the White North & South confluence. I’m also curious which fork has higher flow rates or fishes bigger?

    1. wellerfish Post author

      OK, answers to your questions. Yes, there is public water downstream from the confluence. The bridge at Buford is under construction, so I had to drive west and then cross just below the confluence to get to the road that goes to the SF CG. There were a couple anglers there, but I’ve never tried it myself. It might be on my future list. There is more volume on the South Fork, and I think it contains bigger fish, but I generally catch way fewer. It is a tricky river to fish. There are a lot of barren spots and you have to skip them and seek out places where the river bed narrows thus causing deeper runs and pockets. If you hook up with one of the larger rainbows, however, hold on. Dave

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