Freestone · Mixed · Colorado

Colorado River — Middle (State Bridge to Dotsero / Glenwood)

The Colorado River flowing through a red-rock canyon between Burns and Dotsero, Colorado, with a rail line following the bank.

From State Bridge down past Dotsero toward Glenwood the Colorado is bigger, lower and warmer, a float angler's freestone with good browns and rainbows and a whitefish in every third drift.

Marginal · Brown Trout
Parachute Adams · 12-18
Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.81 mLast reading 12h ago
  • Water temp20.0°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Parachute Adams
Parachute Adams12-18
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.81 m
Last reading 12h ago
Water temp20.0°C
ClarityClear
Weather21°C
WindN 3 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.8 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
20.0°Cideal 1016°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
Water at 20°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 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
Brown 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
Cooler water nearby · 1
Water here at 20.0°C — the fishing's alive, but these are cooler if you'd rather rest the warm water.
Gallery · 2
  1. The Colorado River flowing through a red-rock canyon between Burns and Dotsero, Colorado, with a rail line following the bank.
    Colorado River
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

From State Bridge down past Dotsero toward Glenwood the Colorado is bigger, lower and warmer, a float angler's freestone with good browns and rainbows and a whitefish in every third drift. It fishes beautifully in the cool windows — post-runoff summer mornings, and especially the autumn when the BWOs come and the browns get aggressive. But this is the reach where temperature is the headline risk: it draws down and warms through July and August to the point where the right call is often no trout fishing at all. In late summer, the honest advice is simple: go early, head up the Eagle or the Fryingpan instead, or leave the trout alone.

  • Mixed
Conservation note

Mountain whitefish present. Lower, warmer mainstem — thermal stress is a primary summer concern.

Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic lifeSupporting
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 Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 28 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature25 × 28%7.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time60 × 13%7.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity64 × 12%7.7
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
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January31 December
Related guides
Booking & contacts