1532 Bergen Pkwy, Evergreen, CO 80439
Blue Quill Angler is the institutional home of South Platte River expertise in Colorado. Operating from a foothills location in Evergreen since 1988 — 30 miles west of Denver, tucked in the pine-covered canyon country where Bear Creek runs cold and clear — this shop has spent over three decades building the deepest knowledge base for Colorado's most famous tailwater corridor. It is where Pat Dorsey, one of the most decorated fly fishing guides and authors in the American West, built his career and co-owns the operation alongside a roster of 25-plus guides.
The Blue Quill Angler covers the full South Platte River system — Cheesman Canyon, Deckers, Spinney Mountain Ranch, Eleven Mile Canyon, the North Fork, and the Williams Fork — as well as the Blue River and upper Colorado. Pat Dorsey's four published books on Colorado fly fishing are sold here, alongside the Mercury Midges, UV Scuds, and Black Beauty nymphs he invented and which have become standard issue on tailwaters nationwide. The retail shop stocks Sage, Simms, Orvis, and Rio alongside tying materials for the technically demanding small-fly patterns that define South Platte fishing. If you're planning time on Colorado's Front Range tailwaters, this is the first call you make.
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout
Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout
Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
“Guided by Pat Dorsey himself on Cheesman Canyon — a bucket list day I won't forget. He called the hatch before it happened, set me up with a size 22 Mercury Midge droppered below a Cranefly Larva, and I had the best technical nymph fishing of my life on a stretch of water I'd been intimidated by for years. The shop's local fly selection is unmatched — patterns specific to every section of the South Platte.”
“I've been a customer of Blue Quill Angler for twelve years and their guide staff has consistently been the most knowledgeable I've encountered anywhere in the Rockies. My Deckers guide read the water like a topographic map — he positioned us in a riffle I would have walked past and we took eight fish in two hours including a 21-inch brown that ate a size 20 RS2. There's no substitute for this level of institutional river knowledge.”
“Excellent shop with world-class expertise. The staff spent fifteen minutes helping me sort out my Spinney Mountain setup before a self-guided trip — great advice on rig depth, indicator sizing, and which bank to focus on at different water levels. Bought four dozen flies and they performed exactly as described. The only reason for four stars rather than five is parking can get tight on weekend mornings.”
