Freestone · Mixed · Colorado, US

Conejos River (Antonito / Platoro)

A sunlit stretch of the Conejos River lined with willows and cottonwoods in southern Colorado.

The Conejos is southern Colorado's quiet classic, a freestone tumbling out of the South San Juans down through canyon and meadow toward Antonito, and it has exactly the small-water dry-fly character the famous rivers have mostly lost.

Good · Brown Trout
Parachute Adams · 16-20
Goodlive now
A proper day on the water
Low and clear — careful approach country. Stay small, stay accurate.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • Flow16.6 m³/sLast reading 4h ago
  • Water temp6.7°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Parachute Adams
Parachute Adams16-20
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Flow
Steady
16.6 m³/s
Last reading 4h ago
Water temp6.7°C
ClarityClear
Weather-1°C
WindW 4 km/h
Pressure1033 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Cool — slow
6.7°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 right today, though water temperature could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 10am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October 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
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
SD
Sex Dungeon
2-6 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Colorado licence
  • Wild-trout special-regulation sections (flies/lures, C&R) — verify CPW rules.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 2
Rio de los Pinos (NM/CO border)
12 km
67
Brown trout · Cutthroat trout · Rainbow trout
Rio Brazos (Tierra Amarilla)
43 km
73
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A sunlit stretch of the Conejos River lined with willows and cottonwoods in southern Colorado.
    Conejos River
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Conejos is southern Colorado's quiet classic, a freestone tumbling out of the South San Juans down through canyon and meadow toward Antonito, and it has exactly the small-water dry-fly character the famous rivers have mostly lost. Browns and rainbows that still eat an attractor with enthusiasm, and a fraction of the crowd. It's a post-runoff summer river — caddis, stoneflies, and hoppers once it drops and clears — with native Rio Grande cutthroat and brookies waiting up in the high tributaries for anyone willing to climb. One of the best 'Colorado without the scrum' picks in the state.

  • Mixed
Conservation note

Rio Grande cutthroat and brook trout in the high headwater tributaries above the main fishery (conservation/high-country, prose only). The Mogote reach is a brown/rainbow fishery.

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

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Conejos River, mainstem and all tributaries' (CORGAL14a_C), 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) · CORGAL14a_C

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 68 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature45 × 28%12.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time65 × 13%8.5
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity55 × 12%6.6
Conditions total= 68
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.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts