The leader "recipe " will depend on the kind of fly fishing you are doing, nymphing,
,dry fly or streamer fishing .There are tutorial videos for each application.
Tippet, 4# mono is equivalent to 5x tippet.

Simply use a weighted fly . Look for a bead head nymph , leach, or wooly bugger . The bead is brass or tungsten. It will drop the fly down approximately 3/4 of the distance from the bubble to the fly maybe slightly more depending on the current.

Simply use a weighted fly . Look for a bead head nymph , leach, or wooly bugger . The bead is brass or tungsten. It will drop the fly down approximately 3/4 of the distance from the bubble to the fly maybe slightly more depending on the current.

I may be wrong but the gold medal waters are up river between Canon City up to and above Buena Vista. Below Pueblo reservoir you may find some trout but from there eastward is mostly warm water species.There are some Walleye below the dam.

Actually, it is closer to 58 miles just saying.

Small (16-22) nymphs pheasant tail,zebra midges, Caddis green, cooper John are just a few. Another idea is to flip some river stones and see what bugs are living under them and match the size and color as close as you can. Fish them in a dead drift technique.

Nymphs are always a good choice. Cooper John, pheasant tail, Caddis nymph , Frenchie among others. Wooley bugger in Black, olive
and brown. Leach patterns same colors. These flies are good choices in any river and stream. For more specific patterns contact a local fly shop.

The phone reminded me of something that confounded me during I career as an Optometrist. I had a childrens projector slide of pictures rather than letters. One of the characters was that of the rotary dial telephone.
I would project the images from the chart on the screen and ask the child to tell what the pictures were.This was in 80's thru 2018. Mind you, I am talking about kids 3 -5 years old. They would look at the phone image and answer,PHONE! I would turn to Mom and ask how they knew that , the usual answer was, I have no idea .

As I write this it is raining. Should blow over shortly. Take road 501 around the lake through the little town of Valencito to the north end, continue around the road , it becomes gravel continue on the gravel for a short distance. There is a parking area to park in. Fish right there. Try to set up at the right end of the little fishing beach as you look at the lake. That seems to be the most productive spot on the beach. People have had success fishing worms on the bottom. Get there early. Good luck.

Fished Valecito yesterday and this morning. So far on an olive wooley bugger my score: caught 1 22"Brown 5 18" bows.Got aways 8 bows. Going back this evening to even up the score. Oh ya I almost forgot caught 1 12" Northern last night. All with a 4wt fly rod.
God I love fly fishing!
I will let you know my final score tomorrow.

My wife and I are going to fish the North end of the lake tomorrow morning. We will be flying fishing starting with olive wooly buggers and a nymph dropper.Will see how that works.

The Grand Mesa , east of Grand Junction has many lakes and streams available. Many have just opened after the snow melt. Should have some hungry fish. Check with the local US Forest service office and DPW office for suggestions .

What species of fish are you wanting, Trout, salmon,pike, walleye?
The first three species are present in Eleven mile res. #1and 3 are present in Spinney Mtn and Antero res.
I would recommend contacting a fly shop in the Denver area.I know you said you were wanting to spin fish but still contact a fly shop as they generally have a good handle on the opportunities for fishing in the area. Hope this helps.

Watch YouTube videos on casting a dry fly and also the technique for nymphing. These are two very different techniques . Contact a fly shop in the area you will be visiting for information on the river you will be fishing. Buy some flies from them that they recommend. If you are flush with cash, hire a guide from one of the shops for half a day. You will learn a bunch and even catch some fish.

Pueblo reservoir, brush hollow, Arkansas River are all near you.