Colorado River Fly Fishing Report
Gold Medal waterColorado River near Dotsero. Guides and local shops report an ideal wade-fishing window of roughly 600–1500 cfs (FlyGuysNLies). Live gauge data below updates automatically.
Want today's Rig of the Day pick for Colorado River? Flip its card in the live River Conditions grid on the homepage.
What's swimming in the Colorado River
- The Kremmling-to-Dotsero reach is dominated by Brown and Rainbow Trout, supplemented by Mountain Whitefish and incidental Brook and Cutthroat Trout (CPW fishery survey).
- The Lyons Gulch reach nearest Dotsero can hold Brown Trout numbers exceeding 1,000 fish per mile; CPW stocked whirling-disease-resistant Rainbow Trout here after 2012 flash floods cut brown trout biomass by 81% (CPW fishery survey).
- Mountain Whitefish juveniles are abundant at Lyons Gulch; CPW set a statewide 4-fish daily whitefish bag limit in 2021 (CPW fishery survey).
- The 32-mile Gold Medal reach (Gore Canyon to Rock Creek near McCoy) sits upstream of Dotsero, not at the Dotsero gauge itself (CPW fishery survey).
Getting to the Colorado River
- Dotsero Landing (BLM, with Eagle County Open Space) has a concrete boat ramp and a seasonal restroom, May 15–Nov. 15 (BLM Dotsero Landing).
- Lyons Gulch Boat Launch (BLM), 3.8 miles up Colorado River Road from the Dotsero I-70 exit, has a boat launch, toilet and five campsites, no fee; restroom closed Nov. 15–May 15, no cat holes near the river, stay limits 7 days (Apr–Aug) / 14 days (Sept–Mar) (BLM Lyons Gulch).
- Cottonwood Site / Cottonwood Island (BLM), 5.9 miles north of the Dotsero exit, has a boat ramp, picnic site and vault toilet; camping is allowed only on the island, not at the parking area, picnic sites or ramp (BLM Cottonwood Site).
- Two Bridges (BLM, with Eagle County), upstream of Dotsero off Highway 131, has a boat ramp, ADA parking and restroom (BLM Two Bridges).
- CPW: "Public access is good throughout, with much of the river accessible and managed by the Bureau of Land Management" (CPW fishery survey).
- Gold MedalCanyon Creek (Gore Canyon) to Rock Creek near McCoy -- 32 miles, upstream of Dotsero itself; a 2-trout bag applies from Troublesome Creek down to I-70 exit 90 at Rifle (CPW fishery survey; CPW special regulations).
39 sourced hatch windows for the Colorado River
Species, size, and season, each tied to the published fly-shop or guide-service chart it came from. See Hatch Charts for every Colorado river we track and a precision-level key.
This river has no dedicated hatch chart for a meaningful share of these windows: they're drawn from regional/statewide fly-shop templates or a source that only gave a start month with no published end date. Check the Precision column per row before planning around a specific date.
| Species | Season Window | Size | Precision | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midges (various) — winter | Jan 1–Mar 31 | #22-28 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Streamers | Jan 1–Dec 31 | #2-12 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Blue-Winged Olive | Mar 1–May 31 | #18-22 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder |
| Blue Winged Olives | Mar 1–May 31 | #16-20 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Caddis | Mar 1–Sep 30 | #10-18 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Blue Winged Olive (spring) | Mar 15–May 22 | #16-22 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| BWO (spring) | Mar 15–May 15 | #16-20 | Day-level | Big Y Fly Co |
| Caddis (various) | Apr 15–Sep 30 | #10-18 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Caddis | Apr 15–Sep 15 | #10-18 | Day-level | Big Y Fly Co |
| Attractors (various) | May 1–Sep 14 | #8-18 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Golden Stonefly | May 1–Jun 30 | #6-10 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder |
| Caddis | May 1–Sep 30 | #14-18 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder |
| Golden Stoneflies | May 1–Aug 31 | #8-12 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Salmonfly | May 15–Jun 30 | #4-6 | Day-level | Big Y Fly Co |
| Salmon Fly | May 23–Jun 30 | #4-6 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Golden Stone | Jun 1–Aug 31 | #8-10 | Day-level | Big Y Fly Co |
| Yellow Sally | Jun 1–Aug 31 | #14-16 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder |
| Pale Morning Duns | Jun 1–Sep 30 | #14-18 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Red Quills | Jun 1–Sep 30 | #12-16 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Green Drakes | Jun 1–Aug 31 | #10-14 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Salmonflies | Jun 1–Jul 31 | #6-10 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Golden Stonefly | Jun 15–Aug 22 | #8-10 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| PMD | Jun 15–Aug 30 | #16-18 | Day-level | Big Y Fly Co |
| Pale Morning Dun | Jun 23–Aug 22 | #16-20 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Green Drake | Jul 1–Jul 31 | #10-12 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder (Colorado statewide chart) |
| Yellow Sallies | Jul 1–Sep 30 | #14-16 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Hoppers | Jul 1–Sep 30 | #6-14 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Ants & Beetles | Jul 1–Sep 30 | #14-18 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Red Quill | Jul 8–Aug 22 | #14-18 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Terrestrials (various) | Jul 8–Sep 22 | #6-18 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Red Quill | Jul 15–Aug 30 | #10-16 | Day-level | Big Y Fly Co |
| Hoppers | Jul 15–Sep 25 | #6-12 | Day-level | Big Y Fly Co |
| Blue Winged Olives | Aug 1–Sep 30 | #16-20 | Month-level | Alpine Angling |
| Blue Winged Olive (fall) | Aug 23–Sep 22 | #16-22 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Midges (various) — fall/winter | Sep 1–Dec 31 | #22-28 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Midges | Sep 1–Oct 31 | #20-24 | Day-level | Big Y Fly Co |
| BWO (fall) | Sep 1–Oct 31 | #16-20 | Day-level | Big Y Fly Co |
| Blue-Winged Olive | Sep 1–Nov 30 | #18-22 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder |
| Midges | Sep 1–Mar 31 | #18-24 | Month-level | Alpine Angling / Roaring Fork Anglers |
12 fly pairings from real fishing reports
Up to 2 pairings for this river are always free to browse in full. Fly names, leader/tippet spec, and full source are unlocked by .
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Recent reports from anglers on the Colorado River
Real ratings, notes, condition tags, and rig tags logged by signed-in anglers after fishing this water.
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Fly shops on the Colorado River
Colorado River fly fishing questions
What is a good flow (cfs) to fish the Colorado River?
Guides and local shops report an ideal wade-fishing window of roughly 600–1500 cfs on the Colorado River (FlyGuysNLies). TroutTips shows the live current reading against this range so you can check before you go.
Is the Colorado River designated Gold Medal water?
Yes, at least part of the Colorado River carries Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Gold Medal water designation.
What flies work on the Colorado River?
TroutTips tracks 12 fly pairings reported specifically on the Colorado River, each tied to a season and a real source. See the Fly Pairings section on this page for the full list.
Are there fly shops near the Colorado River?
Yes, Cutthroat Anglers, The Colorado Angler, Mountain Angler, Breckenridge Outfitters, Fly Fishing Colorado (Kremmling), Winter Park Flyfisher / Grand County Fly Fishing Co., Roaring Fork Anglers, Glenwood Hookers Fly Shop, Glenwood Springs Outdoors, Vail Valley Anglers, Fly Fishing Outfitters (Avon), Fly Fishing Outfitters (Vail), Gore Creek Fly Fisherman, Minturn Anglers (Minturn), Minturn Anglers (Vail), Taylor Creek Fly Shop, Frying Pan Anglers, Alpine Angling, Crystal Fly Shop, Aspen Flyfishing, Bucking Rainbow Outfitters guide this river. See the Nearby Fly Shops section on this page for details.