Tailwater · Mixed · Colorado

Blue River (below Dillon)

A partly frozen stretch of the Blue River tailwater near Silverthorne, Colorado, with forested mountains behind.
Fair · Brown Trout
Sparkle Dun · 14-18
Fairlive now
A side-water session, not the main event
Low and clear — careful approach country. Long leader, small flies, slower casts.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.26 m
  • Water temp5.7°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
SD
Sparkle Dun14-18
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.26 m
Water temp5.7°C
ClarityClear
Weather11°C
WindS 7 km/h
Pressure1022 hPa
Rain · recent1.5 mm
Rain · ahead0.5 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Cool — slow
5.7°Cideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Good — water clarity is working for you, but water temperature is the limiting factor today.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 3 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

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Evidence
ModelledModerate confidence

Modelled from regional ecology — no survey or occurrence data for this water yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Western Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Pale Morning DunHatch
2
3
3
2
TricoHatch
2
3
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Colorado licence
  • Gold Medal / special-regulation town water — verify CPW rules
  • Mind fragmented public/private access downstream of Silverthorne.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 1
Colorado River — Upper (Kremmling / Pumphouse / Gore Canyon)
55 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A partly frozen stretch of the Blue River tailwater near Silverthorne, Colorado, with forested mountains behind.
    Blue River
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 63 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature31 × 28%8.7
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time75 × 13%9.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity37 × 12%4.4
Conditions total= 63
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
Warmer water — toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the temperature score.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts