Of course, the central region is also home to the state's namesake water, the mighty Colorado River, whose middle portion is "certainly improving" according to Knox. Toss in the region's other fine trout streams like the Eagle River, the Fraser River and the Williams Fork River, and it's easy to see why anglers love this part of the state. Again, if a winter of good snows has fallen on the high country by the time you read this, then there should be little reason not to expect a year of solid fishing on central Colorado's ample trout streams.

THE FRONT RANGE
All in all, trout anglers should be able to expect pretty good trout fishing across this region right out the backdoors of Denver and Colorado Springs.

As previously mentioned, the Arkansas River is one of those streams that are doing quite well at the moment. In fact, when you combine the solid fishing on the stream with its close proximity to the Interstate 25 corridor and Pueblo, the Arkansas becomes a good candidate for a non-resident visiting the state on business to pack a four-piece fly rod and fly vest, rent a car, grab a guidebook, and hop down the interstate for a fine day of fishing.

The Arkansas, says Baskfield, isn't the only Front Range trout stream that visiting anglers can target. "You don't have to fish in Colorado for 20 years to know where the good spots are," Baskfield said. "There are so many good books out there, not to mention sites on the Web, including the DOW site. A guy coming out here on a business trip for a weekend can do his research and be successful rather than just showing up blind (and hoping to catch fish)."

One such Front Range trout fishery that should not be overlooked is the Big Thompson River, a wonderful aquatic resource that Knox ranks as the state's third best trout stream.

"Its waters flow out of Rocky Mountain National Park and it has one of the best wild rainbow trout populations near the population centers along the Front Range," Knox said of the small-to-medium sized freestone river that flows through Estes Park toward Loveland. "I'd give it an A."

SOUTH PARK
Mention South Park and all eyes turn toward the famed South Platte River and the 2,000-acre Spinney Mountain Reservoir lying some 80 miles southwest of Denver.

"The number four trout fishery (in the state) would be the South Platte, about 15 miles above and below Spinney reservoir, including the reservoir itself," Knox said. "That whole complex is in excellent shape and we've altered our stocking program to get around the northern pike (in the reservoir), so that whole system is just excellent right now. I'd probably give it an A- just because it does get a lot of fishing pressure and it doesn't have quite as good a habitat as some of the other streams do."

Knox goes a step higher on the grade scale for Spinney Mountain Reservoir.

"I think without a doubt, that's probably the best fishing lake in the state in terms of going for quality fish," Knox said. "I'd give it an A+ and there is no reason to believe that will change anytime soon."

At Spinney, as with several other Colorado reservoirs that support trout and northern pike at the same time, biologists are stocking larger rainbow trout than normal to give the rainbows a head start on avoiding the big mouths of hungry pike. Instead of the customary 10-inch catchable trout stocked in most waters, Spinney gets 14-inch rainbows, a strategy that is apparently working well.

"I don't know (what the average sized trout is), but an awful lot of fish that are caught are greater than 20 inches," Knox said.

SOUTHERN COLORADO
While southern Colorado has been affected a bit more by drought than other portions of the state, there's still plenty of reason to be optimistic here.