Freestone · Mixed · Colorado, US

Rio Grande (Del Norte / Creede)

Rio Grande (Del Norte / Creede) terrain map

The Rio Grande up around Del Norte and Creede is southern Colorado's quiet answer to the hammered Front Range icons — a snowmelt freestone with good browns and rainbows, fished hard by locals and largely overlooked by everyone driving to the famous water.

Tomorrow · About as good as it gets
Pheasant Tail
Forecast · Tomorrow
About as good as it gets
On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
90% projected
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail
Pheasant Tail
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp12.9°C
ClarityClear
Weather19°C
WindN 9 km/h
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
13°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
Good — water temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Mahogany Dun

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 95%
Also:Reed Smut67%Flying Ants40%
Peak emergence windowDegree-days at peak8 food groups active

Peak activity at 12pm — Mahogany Dun (Mahogany Dun, 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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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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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
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
  • CPW Quality Water with special-regulation sections in the South Fork–Creede corridor — verify reach rules.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
About this water

The Rio Grande up around Del Norte and Creede is southern Colorado's quiet answer to the hammered Front Range icons — a snowmelt freestone with good browns and rainbows, fished hard by locals and largely overlooked by everyone driving to the famous water. Post-runoff it's a fine dry-fly and terrestrial river through summer, with afternoon monsoon storms the main thing that'll color it on you. The real conservation story lives up in the headwater creeks, where native Rio Grande cutthroat hang on; the main river itself isn't a cutthroat fishery, whatever the name suggests. A strong pick for the angler who wants Colorado without the crowd.

  • Mixed
Conservation note

Rio Grande cutthroat trout (native, conservation lineage) live in headwater tributaries above the main fishery — important conservation content, but the mainstem Del Norte/Creede water is a brown/rainbow fishery, so cutthroat stays in prose, not the scoring array. Brook trout in the high country.

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

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Rio Grande, mainstem' (CORGRG04b_C), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Temperature, Metals Other Than Mercury. 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) · CORGRG04b_C

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 76 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow60 × 22%13.2
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time45 × 13%5.9
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity55 × 12%6.6
Conditions total= 76
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
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