Tailwater · Mixed · Colorado, US

Taylor River (below Taylor Park Reservoir)

Taylor Park Reservoir venue image

The Taylor below Taylor Park Reservoir is a Jekyll-and-Hyde tailwater.

Good · Brown Trout
RS2 · 18-22
Goodlive now
A proper day on the water
River steady at a fishable height. A proper day for it. Work the seams with an upstream nymph, switch to the dry when they show.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.96 mLast reading 2h ago
  • Water temp7.2°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
RS2
RS218-22
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.96 m
Last reading 2h ago
Water temp7.2°C
ClarityClear
Weather-3°C
WindE 4 km/h
Pressure1034 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead2.7 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
Cool — slow
7°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°

We have not characterised this dam's release, so this is a general cold-release figure and could be several degrees out in either direction. Treat it as a hint, not a reading, and check locally before you fish.

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

Top prey shown — see all 3 as a supporter.

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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
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
  • Gold Medal (20 miles below the reservoir); special regs on the dam water — verify CPW rules.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 3
Arkansas River — Upper (Granite to Buena Vista)
39 km
38
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gunnison River — Upper (Almont to Blue Mesa)
42 km
68
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Arkansas River — Browns Canyon (Buena Vista to Salida)
51 km
74
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Taylor below Taylor Park Reservoir is a Jekyll-and-Hyde tailwater. The quarter-mile right under the dam grows preposterous mysis-fed trout and draws a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd to match — technical, combative, hero-shot water that brings out the worst in people's manners. Drop downstream and it relaxes into a lovely pocket-water tailwater with plenty of willing browns and rainbows and room to breathe. CPW made twenty miles of it Gold Medal in 2023. Treat the dam reach and the river below it as two different places, because they fish that way and they feel that way.

  • Mixed
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 71 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature52 × 28%14.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity72 × 12%8.6
Conditions total= 71
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
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
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts