10th Annual Lake Fork Flyathlon

The Lake Fork Flyathlon features incredible Lake For of the Gunnison fishing while raising money for the Colorado River cutthroat trout!

September is an incredible time to be out in the woods of Colorado, as the trees are changing, the temperatures are downright pleasant, and the fly fishing is outstanding! All of this September greatness is featured prominently in the Lake Fork Flyathlon, held every September near Gunnison, CO on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. The Lake Fork of the Gunnison is an incredible sport fishery, and one of the most productive and beautiful segments of this river is the final 5 miles that run through the spectacular Gateview Canyon. And while the race takes place on Saturday, we encourage all Flyathletes to come and stay the entire weekend with us!

During the Lake Fork Flyathlon, our flyathletes run out-and-back along these very gradual, super-fishy 5 miles of river, for a total of 10 miles. The river features large rainbow and brown trout, with the occasional kokanee salmon thrown in just to make it interesting. Following the race, our participants reconvene for an incredible catered dinner, fine Colorado craft beer and whiskey, and fish stories told around multiple campfires.

Our top flyathletes from the day (Top Male and Female, Biggest and Smallest Fish) will compete for a custom fly rod in our leisure-sport-tournament-of-champions (corn hole followed by a BB rifle shootout).

This event is a ton of fun, but don’t take our word for it, as the 2017 Lake Fork Flyathlon was documented by the incredible podcast The Dirtbag Diaries. To hear Cordelia Zars’ incredible storytelling, click here.

Importantly, the Lake Fork Flyathlon is at its heart a fundraiser for project work benefiting Colorado River cutthroat trout. If you wish to participate, please plan on fundraising!

We look forward to celebrating Colorado River cutthroat trout on the banks of the Lake Fork Gunnison River in September!