Trout Valley Fishing Club - Walden CO

The Trout Valley Fishing Club out of Walden CO is the most exclusive trout fishing club in the country. Nestled between the rugged Mt. Zirkel wilderness area and the majestic Medicine Bow Mountains in Northern Colorado, the club privately leases 100,000 acres of land and 60 miles of the finest trout streams and lakes in North America. The incredible scenery is surpassed only by the wildlife in the valley, and the fish in the waterways.

North Park is the last frontier in Colorado, where moose outnumber people and She Loves Fly Fishing was blessed enough to fish!

Here’s how it happened. The thing about some anglers; when they have a good day sometimes they like to keep the location a secret but there are a gracious few veterans out there who like to spread the love; take pictures, post them on Facebook, and tell the world. My friend, Brian O'Keefe of Catch Magazine is one of the more hospitable anglers fishing the waters of our planet and when he takes pictures we all benefit. When I saw the good day he had on the Platte River at the Trout Valley Fishing Club out of Walden Colorado, I wanted the details!

Hugh Fadal, Operations Manager of the Trout Valley Fishing Club, extended an invitation to come fish some of the waters on the vast property and I was all too happy to oblige. I live in North Denver and I’ll gladly head North on I25 any day over heading West on I70. What a glorious drive with aspens just starting to proof their gold, sightings of fox and elk along the way to add to the scenery, and a rushing river most of the way to set the mood. I arrived at the club office and was ushered off to the “Michigan House”, a spacious four bedroom home spotting a vast plain where the deer and antelope literally play outside the picture window. Remote. Quiet. Peaceful rest!

Trout Valley Fishing Club

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Our fishing day started with an introduction to my guide for the day, Joe Miller – the new guy in the club. We headed off to the Canadian River with my 5 WT Elkhorn, and negotiated the willows and cow patties to find the deep holes among the shallows. The waters were running high and mocha so we stuck with nymph set-ups and thing-a-bobbers. Casting to the willows and floating down proved to be proficient and we hooked up with a flash of silver that broke at the knot after a nice fight. I’m so used to losing fish and having my knots unravel I was unfazed - but Joe’s jaw set, (visibly), and we switched over to an Autumn Streamer.

Casting to a confluence and stripping with authority I took a monster hit and began a battle that sent Joe downstream and waist deep with the net but that’s what the crafty Brown wanted – deep waters and diving room. She took my streamer under a log and took her time releasing her tether. Joe’s jaw clenched… “Let’s head to the Platte”. I wasn’t worried. The club boasts access to the North Fork, the Michigan River, Dodge, Kimmons, and Houston Lake – so many options.

The skies were heavy and the rain sputtered and I found that I had underestimated my layering so I added my high-profile wind-breaker to my ensemble and attempted to color me stealth by adding a camo-buff. One day I’ll have a walk-in closet just for my fishing out-fits and I will never be caught water-side in anything that isn’t coordinated, functional, and fabulous. The Gold Medal North Platte river is a slow moving wide open Trout resort with so many honey-holes, Poo-Bear would over-dose. We went with a ‘Halloween Streamer’ and hit a rhythm that quickly produced half-a-dozen healthy fish all in the two pound range and flaming with fall color.

Get Your Pink On

Elkhorn Rod & Reel

This was what I came for and this is what the club delivered; a fantastic day on a gorgeous river full of healthy fish. It doesn’t get any better than that! I think it was Groucho Marx that once said,” I refuse to join a club that would have me as a member”. Groucho had never been to Trout Valley.

To schedule a private tour of the Trout Valley Fishing Club, Walden CO, please call 719-439-1182