Freestone · Mixed · Colorado

Clear Creek (Golden)

Clear Creek flowing over a small rapid lined with boulders in Golden, Colorado, foothills visible in the background.

Clear Creek is the Denver metro's closest thing to mountain pocket water — a small, fast freestone dropping out of the canyon along US-6 and running right through Golden, twenty minutes from downtown.

Marginal · Rainbow Trout
Parachute Adams · 12-18
Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River lifting fast on the rain. Slow going — pick your moments and do not force it.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.25 mLifting fast
  • Water temp18.6°C
  • ClarityVery colouredColouring up
Today's fly
Parachute Adams
Parachute Adams12-18
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Rising
1.25 m
Lifting fast
Water temp18.6°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather20°C
WindNW 12 km/h
Pressure1015 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.9 mm

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

Water temperature for Rainbow Trout
Warm — slow
19°C est.ideal 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
Water at 18.6°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 2 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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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 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
  • Verify CPW rules
  • Heavy tubing in Golden through summer.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 19°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 2
  1. Clear Creek flowing over a small rapid lined with boulders in Golden, Colorado, foothills visible in the background.
    Clear Creek
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Clear Creek is the Denver metro's closest thing to mountain pocket water — a small, fast freestone dropping out of the canyon along US-6 and running right through Golden, twenty minutes from downtown. It's no secret and it's no wilderness, but it holds browns and rainbows, fishes well in the cooler months, and scratches the itch on a weekday evening when you can't get to the high country. Small and flashy means it blows out fast in runoff and after a storm; through Golden the summer tubing crowd is a fact of life. A quick-hit reach, scored honestly as convenient rather than pristine.

  • Mixed
The full read · show the working · for Rainbow Trout · confidence 80%
How the 36 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature81 × 28%22.7
Flow55 × 22%12.1
Clarity45 × 18%8.1
Feeding Time75 × 13%9.8
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity46 × 12%5.5
Conditions total= 64
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
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