Taylor River Fly Fishing Report
Taylor River at Almont. Guides and local shops report an ideal wade-fishing window of roughly 300–400 cfs (Riffle & Rise Guide). Live gauge data below updates automatically.
Want today's Rig of the Day pick for Taylor River? Flip its card in the live River Conditions grid on the homepage.
What's swimming in the Taylor River
- The 20-mile reach below Taylor Park Reservoir offers Brown, Rainbow and Cutthroat Trout (CPW fishery survey).
- Brown Trout make up 65-85% of angler catch (higher in the middle and lower sections, spawning mid-October through November); Rainbow Trout 15-35% (higher near the tailwater, spawning mid-April to mid-May) (CPW fishery survey).
- A 2021 tailwater estimate found about 2,351 Brown Trout and 789 Rainbow Trout per mile (CPW fishery survey).
- This section was designated Gold Medal water in January 2023, covering all 20 miles below Taylor Park Reservoir (CPW fishery survey).
Getting to the Taylor River
- CPW documents eleven miles of public access at seven river sections plus three boating access points (CPW fishery survey): Taylor Dam Tailwater ("Hog Trough") -- the top 325 yards below the dam are closed to fishing as posted, the next stretch to the Taylor River SWA boundary is flies-and-lures-only, catch-and-release, and can get crowded given the limited access and large fish.
- Lodgepole to Lottis Creek Campground and Granite / North Bank / One Mile / Rosy Lane Campgrounds (USFS Gunnison National Forest) offer wade access; Almont to Five Mile Access has bank/wading access in three sections.
- Boating access at South Bank, Five Mile, and Almont (just below the East Fork/Taylor confluence); wading gets difficult above 250 cfs (CPW fishery survey).
- Standard-regulation section (Lottis Creek Campground to Almont) has a 4-trout bag and possession limit (CPW fishery survey). The Hog Trough tailwater is flies-and-lures-only, catch-and-release (see access above). The full 20-mile reach below Taylor Park Reservoir was designated Gold Medal water in January 2023 (CPW news).
32 sourced hatch windows for the Taylor 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midge | Jan 1–Dec 31 | #22-26 (size 24 Zebra Midge cited) | Seasonal estimate | FlyFishFinder |
| Midges | Jan 1–Dec 31 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Mysis Shrimp | Jan 1–Dec 31 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Brown/Rainbow Fry | Jan 1–Dec 31 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Worms | Feb 1–Nov 30 | Pat's Rubberlegs #12-14 (lead-fly list) | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Eggs | Feb 1–Nov 30 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Blue-Winged Olive | Mar 1–May 31 | #18-22 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder |
| Little Black Stone | Mar 1–Jun 30 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| BWO / Baetis | Mar 1–May 31 | BWO dry #18-22; Juju Baetis #18-20 | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Blue Winged Olive (spring) | Apr 1–Apr 30 | #16-22 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Midges (various) | Apr 1–Nov 30 | #16-24 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Streamers (various) — spring | Apr 1–May 14 | #2-10 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Pale Morning Dun | May 1–Aug 31 | #16-18 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder |
| Caddis | May 1–Sep 30 | Caddis Larva #16-18 (top-flies list) | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Terrestrials | May 1–Sep 30 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Caddis (various) | May 15–Sep 14 | #10-20 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Golden Stonefly | May 15–Jul 31 | #6-18 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Caddis | Jun 1–Sep 30 | #16-18 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder |
| Golden/Yellow Stone | Jun 1–Aug 31 | not stated in chart | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Green Drake | Jun 1–Jul 31 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Pale Morning Dun | Jul 1–Aug 31 | #16-20 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Red Quill | Jul 1–Aug 31 | #12-20 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Terrestrials (various) | Jul 1–Sep 14 | #8-20 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Tricos | Jul 1–Sep 30 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| PMD | Jul 1–Aug 31 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Red Quill | Jul 1–Aug 31 | — | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Green Drake | Jul 15–Aug 31 | #10-12 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Blue Winged Olive (fall) | Aug 15–Oct 14 | #16-22 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Streamers (various) — fall | Sep 1–Nov 14 | #2-10 | Week-level estimate | Fly Shack |
| Blue-Winged Olive | Sep 1–Nov 30 | #18-22 | Month-level | FlyFishFinder |
| BWO / Baetis | Sep 1–Nov 30 | BWO dry #18-22; Juju Baetis #18-20 | Month-level | Taylor River Anglers |
| Mysis Shrimp | Seasonal (no specific dates published) | #14-18 | Seasonal estimate | Fly Shack |
14 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 Taylor 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 Taylor River
Taylor River fly fishing questions
What is a good flow (cfs) to fish the Taylor River?
Guides and local shops report an ideal wade-fishing window of roughly 300–400 cfs on the Taylor River (Riffle & Rise Guide). TroutTips shows the live current reading against this range so you can check before you go.
Is the Taylor River designated Gold Medal water?
No, the Taylor River does not currently carry Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Gold Medal water designation.
What flies work on the Taylor River?
TroutTips tracks 14 fly pairings reported specifically on the Taylor 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 Taylor River?
Yes, Gunnison River Fly Shop, Willowfly Anglers (Three Rivers Resort), Taylor River Anglers (Harmels), Dragonfly Anglers, Crested Butte Angler guide this river. See the Nearby Fly Shops section on this page for details.