Tailwater · Mixed · Colorado, US

Dolores River (below McPhee)

Aerial view of the Dolores River winding through a red-rock canyon in southwestern Colorado.

The Dolores below McPhee is the tailwater that should be one of the Southwest's best and too often isn't, because in dry years the reservoir keeps the water and the river below runs thin.

Tomorrow · Not the day for it
Pheasant Tail
Forecast · Tomorrow
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
45% projected
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail
Pheasant Tail
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.74 m
Lifting fast
Water temp11.5°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather17°C
WindN 7 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.6 mm
Rain · ahead0.2 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 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
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Western Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 60%
Also:Black Midge26%
Peak emergence window5 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Western Blue-Winged Olive (Western Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 with Pro.

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14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

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

Through the year
0–3 scale · September 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
  • Quality water with special-regulation sections — verify CPW rules and current McPhee release.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 1
Animas River (Durango)
59 km
30
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Aerial view of the Dolores River winding through a red-rock canyon in southwestern Colorado.
    Dolores Recreational River, Colorado
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Dolores below McPhee is the tailwater that should be one of the Southwest's best and too often isn't, because in dry years the reservoir keeps the water and the river below runs thin. When the release is good it's a fine cold-water brown-and-rainbow fishery in red-rock canyon country; when it's bad it's a cautionary tale about how a tailwater lives or dies by what the dam lets through. This is a river where the release figure isn't background detail — it's the whole forecast. Check the flow before you make the long drive, and respect a stressed low-water year.

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

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Dolores River, mainstem' (COSJDO04a_B), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Oxygen Depletion. 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) · COSJDO04a_B

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 85 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity61 × 12%7.3
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts