The Florida River begins as a trickle from Lillie Lake, high in the Weminuche Wilderness. It cascades through meadows and canyons until it reaches Lemon Reservoir. This segment of river is beautiful and supports a healthy population of wild trout, but good luck getting to the water! There is no trail that parallels the river as it passes through steep, hard-to-access canyons, and it takes miles of hiking to get there. Below the dam, the Florida flattens out to become some of the best dry fly fishing in the area. The other issue with the Florida is that it’s highly utilized for irrigation. Below the diversion for the Florida canal, flows are so low that fish populations are sparse and stressed. This leaves about 10 miles of private water between the dam and the canal. The Dry Fly Retreat represents over 4,600 feet of this scenic and productive tailwater.