EAGLE COUNTY — Lynn Kanakis estimates he caught around 30 fish one day in the Eagle River west of Edwards this fall.

“I generally don’t count how many I catch,” said Kanakis, a retired mine worker from Minturn who throws the fish back after he reels them in to shore.

However, Kanakis has been catching “quite a few fish,” he said.

This fall, locals are enjoying fishing in the valley as tourists leave and the fishing gets better than during the summer, they say.

Kanakis fishes three times each week, sometimes making trips to Twin Lakes in Leadville or Stage Coach Lake near Kremmling.

“I just like feeling — the twitch on the end of the pole — of the fish on the end of it,” Kanakis said.

Aggie Martinez will fish any time of year, but he gets the Vail Valley’s rivers and lakes mostly to himself in the fall.

“It gives you a little more room to fish,” he said.

Fall is one of the best times of the year to fish, even though Fly Fishing Outfitters does most of its business during the summer, said guide Alvin Dedeaux. More serious fisherman are on the rivers during fall, he said.

Catching fish: how, where

Brown and brook trout bite more often during their spawning cycles. They bite out of “malice,” because they are trying to protect their territory, said Jim Kanda, general manager of Gore Creek Fly Fisherman.

After 9 a.m. and from 4 to 5 p.m. are the best times to fish, Dedeaux said. Fish also get hungry after a light rain, he said.

Fish eat mayflies, small bugs that live in the water. Attach an imitation of those flies up to a quarter inch in size, or an imitation of a small fish, called a “streamer,” and you should catch a fish, the guides said.

Fish are easily scared because they are wary of predators.

“You definitely have to be stealthy,” Dedeaux said. “Bright colored clothing is not a good thing when you’re out on the water.”

The guides tout the Eagle River in Avon, Minturn, Edwards and Wolcott and the Gore Creek as good streams to fly fish, they said.

Fish will most likely feed in calmer waters downstream from rapids, Dedeaux said.

The east fork of Lake Creek is one of the best for fisherman who want to avoid people, to see the colors of leaves change and to catch fish, Kanda said.

But the fishing is good in almost every stream in the valley in fall, he said.

“Everywhere you go, if it’s fishing, it’s fishing really well,” he said.

Know your trout Rainbow: Introduced in Colorado in the 1880s, rainbow trout live in most mountain lakes and streams. They have dark spots and a rainbow horizontal stripe on their bodies. Cutthroat: Three cutthroat trout species are native to Colorado — the greenback, the Rio Grande and the Colorado. Cutthroat trout have heavier spotting toward the tail than rainbows and a a red slash on their throat. They can be found in high lakes and streams. Brown: Introduced in the 1890s, brown trout live in a variety of habitats, from high mountain streams to the broad rivers in the plains. They have dark and red dots, distinguishing them from rainbows and cutthroats. Brook: Introduced in the late 1800s, brook trout have white spots on top of a dark background with orange, black and white outlined fins. They are found in higher elevation lakes, beaver dams and streams. — Source: Colorado Division of Wildlife. For more information on fishing in Colorado, go to http://wildlife.state.co.us/Fishing/

‘A good time to bond’

Dedeaux welcomes beginners to fly fishing.

“The sport itself is not that difficult,” Dedeaux said. “You can learn. We teach people everyday.”

But if you’re not ready to fish with a fly rod, you can catch plenty of fish with your casting rod in lakes such as Nottingham in Avon or Sylvan, south of Eagle.

Just ask 3-year-old Andrew Descalzo, of Longmont. He caught his first rainbow trout in Nottingham Lake Sunday.

Carlos Descalzo, Andrew’s father, said fishing was a good way to relax with his family.

“It’s a good time to bond with him,” he said about his son.

Martinez has been fishing “since I can remember.”

“You get a lot excitement just playing them and landing them,” he said.

He fishes with a fly rod and casting rod, which he uses for ice fishing in winter. Despite the cold, he enjoys it because he catches bigger fish and it’s more challenging, he said.

In any season, the valley has the best fishing in Colorado, Martinez said.

“That’s why I live here,” he said.

<I>Staff Writer Steve Lynn can be reached at 748-2931 or slynn@vaildaily.com.