Colorado River Report June 17, 2026

FLOW: 2,289 CFS below Glenwood Springs

WATER CLARITY: Clear unless it gets hot again

OVERALL RATING: 7 out of 10 FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Golden Stoneflies, Salmonflies, Green Drakes, Pale Morning Duns, Yellow Sallies, Caddis, Blue Winged Olives, Midges, Sculpins THE LOWDOWN: Be a Pain in the A.N.S.! Clean Your Gear | Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Apologies to all of you, we have had a technical issue accessing and updating these reports. We are currently working on a solution and thank you for your patience.

Summer Outlook: Yes, we had a bad snow pack this winter, and this will affect the Colorado later this summer. We’ve seen temps as high as 62 already, so we anticipate some afternoon closures later in the summertime.

Like all the other reports, this river is in much better shape than it usually is this time of year. Hatches are on fast-forward and the twilight drake fishing is already starting to wane a bit and head up the Roaring Fork.

You name a bug, it’s hatching on the big river.

The Colorado is a big, brawling river- ideal for a drift boat but it can be accessed on foot. This river is a bit more of a quality than a quantity fishery, so be prepared to hook onto some pissed-off fish that will dump your reel in a few seconds.

Wade-fishers should exercise caution in the biggest river of the valley, but popular wading spots include the confluence with the Roaring Fork, Dino Boat ramp (both above and below the ramp) and upstream of South Canyon rapid.

Hatches: Salmonflies 4-8, Golden Stoneflies 6-10, Green Drakes 12-14, Yellow Sallies 16, Pale Morning Duns 14-18, Caddis 14-18, Blue Winged Olives 18-22. Midges 16-26 APPROPRIATE PATTERNS: DRIES: Rogue Foam Salmonfly and Golden Stone 4-8, Stimulator 12-18, Chubby Chernobyl 6-10, HOH CDC Thorax Green Drake 12, Hi-Vis Drake 12, CDC Sulphur PMD 16-18, Garcia’s Mini Hot Sallie 16, Missing Link Caddis 16-18, Puterbaugh's Foam Caddis 16-18, Harrop's CDC Biot Dun BWO 20-22, TC Sparkledun BWO 18-22, Rat-faced McDougal 16-18,

Parachute Adams 18-24, Barr's Vis-a-Dun BWO 18-20, Bill Fitzsimmons' Trailing Shuck Midge Emerger 22-24, Sprout Midge 20-22, Antonio's Hi-Vis Midge 22-24, McCannel's Massacre Midge 22-24, Dorsey's Midge Emerger 22-24 NYMPHS: Cat Poop Stonefly 6-12, Stott's Raisinette 20, BTS Baetis 20-22, Stott's Bad Carl 20, Double Down CDC PT 18-20, Soucie's Swidge 18-22, Soucie's Beau-Nator 18-20 STREAMERS: Craven's Double Dirty Hippy, Dali Lama, Tim Heng's Autumn Splendor, Carlton Banks, Stott's Conehead Ziwi, Craven's Swim Coach, Hansen's Meal Ticket HINTS: Don't be afraid to drift your flies through some riffles or faster sections! https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/09085100/#parameterCode=00065&period=P7D