On Friday morning, May 17, three anglers converged along the rec path in Silverthorne, chatting briefly before each staking out their own claim along the Blue River.

Father and son, Doug and Ben Yenter, are Evergreen residents and occasional visitors to the Blue River in Summit County. As Doug Yenter waded into the river, which runs parallel to Colorado Highway 9 through the valley below the Dillon Reservoir, he described he and his son as “tailwater junkies” who enjoy the difficulty of the trout that can be found below the dam.

“Yesterday was one of my top days on the water ever, quite honestly,” Doug Yenter said, describing mayflies that swarmed near the surface of the water, tempting the trout.

Ben Yenter said Blue River’s flows below the dam have been strong as of late, and the fish have been biting.

“I like how clear it is,” Yenter said. “It has good quality fish and they’re tough. So it’s a good challenge.”

The Blue River Watershed – which drains north from Quandary Peak at 14,265 feet to where it flows into the Colorado River south of Kremmling at 7,400 feet – encompasses all of Summit County and parts of Lake and Grand counties.

Blue River Watershed Group events coordinator Rose Adler-Rephan said the watershed is important both locally and regionally.

Besides being upstream of the Colorado River – which serves an estimated 40 million people – the Blue River Watershed is located in the Dillon Ranger District, the most popular district within Colorado’s busiest national forest. In 2022, the Dillon Ranger District saw 8.4 million visitors, many of them undoubtedly anglers, rafters or other fluviatile recreationalists.

“Personally, water is one of the most magical and important things to life, in my opinion,” Adler-Rephan said. “The rivers are a huge part of the economy, for recreation, for fishing, and in general they’re a big part of our environment in Colorado. When our rivers aren’t healthy, it has a grander impact because everything in the environment is connected.”

Every year, the Colorado River District hosts the State of the River event series across Western Colorado to give the public a peek at the upcoming water forecasts for the season, discuss major western water issues and highlight local river restoration projects. On Thursday, May 23, Blue River Watershed Group will co-host the State of the Blue River at the Silverthorne Pavilion. The event is free but attendees are asked to preregister at ColoradoRiverDistrict.org/state-of-the-river-meetings-2024. 

Presentations at the event will cover summer water forecasts for local rivers and reservoirs, Summit County’s role in the larger Colorado River Basin shortages, updates on a Blue River habitat restoration project and information on trans-mountain diversions.

“It’s a formal presentation set up but an informal atmosphere where people get to come and learn about our watershed,” Adler-Rephan said. “It’s a nice way for anyone at any expertise level, or lack of expertise, to get into a room with other people who are interested in the state of our rivers and learn from experts on a bunch of different topics.”

The Upper Blue River Watershed is formed by three major tributaries that drain into the Dillon Reservoir: the Snake River, the Blue River and the Tenmile Creek. Below the dam, the middle section of the watershed extends from the Dillon Reservoir, through the heart of Silverthorne, and to the Green Mountain Reservoir, including portions of the Ptarmigan Wilderness Area to the east and Eagles Nest Wilderness Area to the west. Below Green Mountain Reservoir, the Blue River empties into the Colorado River.

Last year, the federal government announced $1.8 million in grant funding for habitat restoration along a stretch of the Blue River below the Dillon Reservoir. The funds will support the Blue River Watershed Group’s efforts to restore Gold Medal fishing on the Blue River, a status the river lost in 2016.

On Friday, Denver resident Mike Myers chatted briefly with Doug Yenter and his son, before choosing a spot along the Blue River near the 6th Street bridge to cast his line. Myers, who has been fishing in Colorado since the mid-1970s, said he has a “love-hate” relationship with the Blue River because it sometimes can be incredibly challenging to fish.

But Myers said that during his last visit two weeks ago, “I caught some of the biggest fish I’ve ever caught, right here.”