Colorado is blessed with over 9000 miles of rivers and creeks, but only 168 miles of these are considered Gold Medal Water. The Colorado Wildlife Commission has designated these stretches of water as offering the greatest potential for trophy trout fishing.
The official criteria for gold medal water is 12 trout per acre over 14" or 60 lbs. of trout per surface acre. Our stretch of the Taylor River meets and exceeds this definition by seven times. We are currently trying to get this stretch of the Taylor River classified as gold medal, proving to be a long and arduous process.
The restoration of the Taylor River has been fun project for us. The first improvements were done back in 1984 by the Roberts family. Now, along with our resort, the private land owners in the area have recognized that improving the habitat would have a positive impact for the properties on the river. Because of these improvements and our yearly stocking program of 100 trophy trout (2 to 3 lb fish) stocked on the first of the month June, July & August; the fishing is phenomenal in both the public and private waters.
All in all, Harmel's Ranch Resort has some of the best fishing in Colorado. This combined with all of our other activities makes Harmel's a terrific vacation for the whole family!
And for the icing on the cake - don't forget to wet a line up at the famous Taylor River Catch & Release - also known as the Hog Trough - just 14 miles up the road from our resort. The record for the longest rainbow caught in the state measured in at 40 1/4" long and was caught (and released) at these headwaters of the mighty Taylor River.
Colorado is blessed with over 9000 miles of rivers and creeks, but only 168 miles of these are considered Gold Medal Water. The Colorado Wildlife Commission has designated these stretches of water as offering the greatest potential for trophy trout fishing. 
