Freestone · Mixed · Colorado

Colorado River — Upper (Kremmling / Pumphouse / Gore Canyon)

A wide valley view of the Colorado River meandering below golden autumn hillsides near Kremmling, Colorado.
Prime · Rainbow Trout
Parachute Adams · 12-18
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River high but settled. Coloured water — fish bigger and deeper, confident takes down the seams.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.71 mLast reading 23h ago
  • Water temp17.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Parachute Adams
Parachute Adams12-18
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.71 m
Last reading 23h ago
Water temp17.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather18°C
WindNE 3 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.8 mm

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

Water temperature for Rainbow Trout
Ideal
17.4°Cideal 10–18°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Rainbow 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
Excellent — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
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

See the full sub-surface read with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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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 Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2
American March BrownHatch
2
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Rainbow Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Colorado licence
  • CPW Quality Water; verify reach rules and watch for voluntary low-flow/temperature closures.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 3
Eagle River (Vail to Gypsum)
52 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Blue River (below Dillon)
55 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Colorado River — Middle (State Bridge to Dotsero / Glenwood)
60 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A wide valley view of the Colorado River meandering below golden autumn hillsides near Kremmling, Colorado.
    The Colorado River - Grand County Colorado
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Conservation note

Mountain whitefish present. Sculpin/streamer ecology. Native cutthroat in upper tributaries (conservation-sensitive, prose only).

Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Colorado River, all tributaries' (COUCUC07a_D), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Fully Supporting. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · COUCUC07a_D

The full read · show the working · for Rainbow Trout · confidence 90%
How the 84 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time75 × 13%9.8
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity65 × 12%7.8
Conditions total= 84
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts