Front Range Anglers

We booked a half day fly fishing trip through Zach with our awesome guide Alex this past weekend. It was just my husband and I and we booked Saturday morning for a Sunday morning trip — so that was awesome to be able to do that so last minute. Zach was the nicest guy — making sure we got our reservation, sending a confirmation email, and then was the guy at the shop who helped us get set up with our fishing licenses & equipment. Could not have asked for a friendlier guy to get started with. Alex, our guide, drove us up to Estes National Park and was super nice, fun conversation. I hear you don’t have to drive with the guide up there, but I’m glad we did because I felt like it was a good bonding minute before fishing. Alex was really nice and patient as we got the hang of things. He absolutely knew what he was doing and was really helpful anytime the hooks got caught or needed changing, etc. If we lived closer, we would do that way more often. It was the highlight of our Colorado trip by far. You guys rule. Absolutely would recommend this crew to anyone even remotely interested in a great outdoors day whether you care to catch fish or not.

The team at FRA were really superb! My brother and I went on a guided tour with them to help kick-​off my brother’s bachelor party. It was a perfect trip. They made everything extremely easy, even for two newbs like us. We had a great time. Definitely recommend.

I took two guided trips through FRA and had an absolute blast! Dealing with Zach to get the trips set up was super easy. He called me about 10 minutes after I sent him an email requesting information on the trips they offered. Zach put me with Wallace Westfeldt who was an excellent guide. Not only did he put me on fish, but he was great to fish with. Very knowledgeable and very patient. I caught my biggest trout ever at least a dozen times during our time fishing together.
I would highly recommend Front Range Anglers to anyone who’s interested in fly fishing in CO!

My son and I went out with Nick DelVecchio and had an excellent experience. We originally thought we wanted to fish Boulder Creek to scout the creek for future reference, but Nick suggested the Big Thompson was better and he was right. We both caught plenty of fish to make it a great outing. In addition, Nick went out of his way and drove us back to Boulder by way of Nederland to give us a tutorial on Boulder Creek. Definitely above and beyond what was expected. Nick is a very personable guy which made the day even more enjoyable.
Zach Lass was who we dealt with when arranging our trip and I must also compliment Zach as he was very responsive and clear in his communications.
This is a very nice and well run fly shop. I live in southern Colorado, so I haven’t made my way up to this area much, however, based on this experience, I will definitely look in this direction more often in the future.

What a fantastic experience! I took my 14 year old nephew for a ½ Day Guided Trip with FRA. We lucked out and Antonio Rodrigues (sort like getting the Von Miller of Fly Fishing) was our guide. Great instruction and information about fishing conditions, reading water, how to fish on a windy day — «bow and arrow» a fly line is now in my fishing vocabulary :-) We cut the trip short due to weather and we headed to the park for casting lessons and practice.
Zach and Antonio thank you for the attention you gave to Jackson. Super fun and highly recommended as a memorable spring break activity!

My family and I came here for our first fly fishing lesson and it was wonderful. The staff is not only incredibly nice but very knowledgeable. They spent a ton of time helping us find the right gear for us and then spent the time to share fishing tips and some possible locations we may enjoy going on our own.

My brother and I, as 100% beginning anglers, celebrating 50^th birthday — were led on a guided trip by Antonio. We experienced easy-​going camaraderie and patient instruction, beautiful setting in RMNP — and even caught a few fish! Highly recommend a guided trip in order to get a feel of the sport, and in the good hands of FRA and if available, Antonio. Thanks for a great experience.

What a great time with George on our trip to the alpine Locke Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Beautiful surroundings, great guiding, lots of fish and just a delightful day of testing all angles of that lake. Highly recommend the adventure!
Tom and Jeff Wright Alpharetta, GA

My guide Wallace was fabulous. He was patient with me and provide a wealth of knowledge as a new angler.

I’ve never fly fished before and vacationing in CO, seemed like the opportune time. My husband was at a conference, so I booked a fly fishing outing for myself and our children, ages 12 and 10. FRA was very communicative throughout the process, before, and after. Checking to make sure they answered any questions or concerns I might have.
Our boy can be very talkative and lacking the ability to pay attention and not think HE already knows how to do it, so I was concerned this skill might be too much for his temperament. They paired us up with Alex. We met him on Wednesday morning at the shop and he helped us get all the gear on and drove us to the streams. He patiently coached my kids through the basics and after instructing me and going back to check on my son, my daughter (the 12 yr old) caught a brown trout on her own! We had the best luck in the morning. By noon, bites had pretty much disappeared.
Alex took us to 3 different locations. All of them beautiful, and yet a bit of a challenge to get to considering you had to climb down rocks or banks and wander through head-​high weeds/​shrubs at times.
Soon, my son caught a brown trout too, and then my daughter a 2^nd. We had booked the ½ day excursion. And I was just happy to have had some bites and enjoy my kids catching fish. But Alex re-​rigged my rod for the conditions and lo-​and-​behold I caught a beautiful rainbow trout. End of excursion! Alex took our pictures with our catches and sent them to us via email. This way we didn’t have to carry my phone, which was not water proof.
It was a perfect way to tryout fly fishing. I loved their shop, their staff and the attention to customer service. If back in the area, I’d go with them again in a heart beat.
JB-​Iowa

Steve McLaughlin and his team at FRA are fantastic. Their guide service is hands down the best in Boulder. I have fished numerous times with Ben, who is one of the smartest, most upstanding guys one could hope to spend a day on the river with. I often stop by the shop to catch up with Zach, Bryce or whoever happens to be there that day.
They hold great member days and clinics that introduce beginners and seasoned trout bums to everything from fly tying to casting techniques. Regarding gear… they do a great job curating products from both known and emerging brands… I never leave empty handed!
I am heading to Russia next month on a trip organized by Steve (FRA owner) and Will Blair who runs Longmont-​based «The Best of Kamchatka» — the only agent/​outfitter which works exclusively on Kamchatka.
Tight lines and support your local fly shop!

I am extremely pleased with FRA! From my first experience in the Intro class with Wallace, the help with equipment and where to fish that Wallace and Zach have provided, and the wonderful guide experience that Bryce curated I have been heartened by the entire experience and recommend FRA for anglers of all experience levels.
The level of customer service, knowledge and generally happy demeanor create a customer experience that is rare these days. Thank you to the staff, your an amazing group of folks.

Need tackles? Rods? Waders? Lines? Licenses? They have it all and more. Competitive prices and starter kits as well as super friendly staff. They have an impressive selection of well priced flies and I must say Ill definitely be back!

I would give 10 stars if I could! Everything about FRA was amazing!
Great customer service, Zach was beyond helpful answered all of our questions and we couldn’t wait to have our first fly fishing experience.
Cody was our guide, I cannot say enough about this young man, he was patient and kind… a great teacher! He is one special young man. Thank you for giving me the experience of a life time and helping me out fly fish by boyfriend :))
We cannot wait to come back. See you soon FRA!!!

I’ve booked fishing trips through Front Range Anglers’ Guides several times over the past 2 years. All have been exceptional experiences. Just finished a guided trip on North Fork Ranch and it was the best trip fly fishing I’ve had in Colorado. All the guides have been very good and I’ve been improving my skills why catching some nice fish.

These guys are great. Very friendly shop, extremely knowledgeable anglers, and want to give you the best advice possible.
I recommend FRA for picking up some flies, getting some info, taking a guided trip, or just heading into the shop to tell stories.
They have a great staff of Guides who will tailor each trip to exactly what you want.

Excellent knowledge, very helpful, strong bench of fly fishing guides, excellent product selection. They do a great job of keeping their inventory well stocked. The shop is also a beautiful shop and very enjoyable to be in.
Again though the value here is the comprehensive collective knowledge and friendly help you get from the people who work there. I am a hard core fly fisherman and many shops can be intimidating and uninviting especially for beginners. I’ve been in literally hundreds of shops. This one is excellent for beginners and fly fishing geeks like me.

Outstanding outfitter.
When it was time to graduate beyond the simple all-​in-​one pack I got when I first moved to Colorado, I went to the shop on a lark. Both the owner, and one of their guides/​salespeople (Ben McGee) helped me pick out a rod and reel, and suggested techniques to help improve my fishing.
It’s been a year and a half later, and I’ve broken the rod, had FRA help me replace it, and spent more than I should on flies. I can’t help it! Everything these guys have recommended has worked, and I am terrible about losing flies to trout that clean my tippet.
My catches increase in number and size, and I hope it only gets better.
Tip-​top shop and well worth stopping by just to chat, get advice, and get a feel for the water around town. Don’t worry about feeling like you’re not patronizing the store, you’ll probably be spending $ 20 on flies anyways!

Almost exactly a year ago, I went to Front Range Anglers to buy my first-​every fly rod. I’d fished as a kid, but knew absolutely nothing about fly fishing. Maggie spent well over an hour getting me set up with what has turned out to be a perfect setup for the mountain creeks around Colorado, and helped me stay within what I realize in retrospect was a really tight budget for fly fishing gear.
Every time I go into the shop I’m treated well, all my dumb questions are answered patiently and accurately, and I never feel rushed or pressured into buying anything. I’m lucky enough to live just a few blocks away but even if I didn’t it would be worth the trip to visit these folks. Highly recommended!

Have been in a few times and each visit is better than the last. These guys are such a big help to a beginner fly fisherman.
I took the full day tour with Tim and it was an amazing experience. We caught lots of fish, but more importantly, he took so much time answering questions and teaching me the detail stuff. We even got into turning over rocks and searching out some flys.
They have everything you will need and are welcoming to newbies. Definitely worth a visit!