These tippet-snapping trout have seen few flies during the winter. But they are still well-educated fish. Diligence is required.

Don't just jump in when you arrive. Study the water with a good pair of polarized glasses and look for any activity. It's not uncommon to see several 18- to 20-inchers in the runs.

Spotting them before they spook is key. Once you find one, stalk him like a hunter. Get into position and present the perfect drag-free drift.

Early spring in the Rockies means cold snaps, cold fingers and iced-up rod guides, but it also means willing takes, bowed rods and stretched tippets. The waters are beginning to warm, and the trout are getting feisty as they start shaking off the slow-metabolism days of winter. As it warms, so do the takes, and you can fight numerous 20-inchers in one day.

These big boys start feeding more, and kick into spawning mode. As these lovesick fish push upstream, they feed aggressively. This change of season is the best time to be streamside. In fact, hooking into some of these hogs means you're liable to see your backing before you see the fish.

Colorado offers numerous tailwaters to test your early-season skills. But for some of the best action, it's hard to beat the Blue River below Dillon Reservoir, the Taylor River below Taylor Reservoir, and the Yampa River below Stagecoach Reservoir and Lake Catamount. These catch-and-release hotspots offer opportunities to hook a trout pushing the tape to 22-plus inches.

BLUE RIVER
The first in this threesome is the fabled Blue River. Although its waters start atop the snowcapped Continental Divide and offer numerous public sections of freestone river to drift a fly through, it's the tailwater below Dillon Reservoir that seems to draw most of the angler attention in the spring.

Rightly so! It's a great stretch of Gold Medal Water if you want the opportunity to hook a trout that tips the scales upwards of 8 pounds.

"Spring is an excellent time to head to the Blue," said Zeke Hersh of Blue River Anglers. "The fish are starting to get active, and the midge hatches start coming off."

Although spring fishing usually means peace and quiet, that's not the case here. The cold, clear water pumped from Dillon Reservoir carves its way through the quaint mountain town of Silverthorne. Slamming car doors, ringing cash registers and bustling shoppers provide the backdrop to the tailrace trout here. In fact, this may be the only tailwater in Colorado where you can fool a 20-inch 'bow, get cheers from the onlookers for a great catch, and buy a steaming cup of java to shake off the chills of those cool early spring days -- all without even moving your vehicle.

In the late 1990s, the Colorado Division of Wildlife discovered that the Blue no longer met the state's Gold Medal standards. Drought, whirling disease and reduction in the river's biomass were thought to be the culprits. The Blue River Restoration Project went to work to improve river habit below Dillon Reservoir.

The result was new holding pools, riffles and boulder gardens for river residents. The CDOW also jumped in and began an aggressive restocking program, planting more than 2,500 10- to 14-inch rainbows below the reservoir over the past few years.

"Now, there are excellent numbers of 16- to 18-inch 'bows, browns and cutts," said Hersh. "And there is always a chance you'll hook into a 26-inch pig."

You'll find the best public access from the Forest Service Office in Silverthorne to the dam. That's a stretch of about a mile and a half.