Colorado River Runoff Fishing Report: Salmonflies, Feisty Trout, and Hatches Galore

Artificial Lure here with your June 7th, 2025 fishing report for the Colorado River and surrounding waters.

We’re in the heart of runoff season, and the Colorado is running big and brown—flows have doubled in the last week, making for high, off-colored water from Gore Canyon to Glenwood Springs. Despite the heavy flows, fish are still on the bite if you know where to look and what to throw. According to Taylor Creek Fly Shops, the river’s finally turned heavy, but angling is far from futile. In fact, float fishing has been hot, especially upriver near Pumphouse and State Bridge.

Sunrise is clocking in right around 5:33 a.m. with sunset stretching ‘til 8:30 p.m., so you’ve got a solid window for those early and late bites. Weather today is clear and warm, highs touching the mid-70s, with just a light breeze—perfect for a long day on the water.

Fish activity is mixed. The big news is the thick salmonfly hatch on the upper stretches, confirmed by Golden Fly Shop. Brown and rainbow trout are both on the feed, keyed into migrating nymphs and emerging adult flies. The trout are feisty, with some browns pushing 18–22 inches and plenty of 12–16 inch rainbows getting netted, especially on the edges and in deeper pockets where the fast water softens.

Best bait and tactics? Toss big girdle bugs or Pat’s Rubber Legs under an indicator, trailed by caddis or BWO nymphs. If you’re streamer-curious, now’s the time—strip an articulated Dungeon or Sculpzilla tight to the bank or swing it through soft seams. For dries, stick with the classics: Elk Hair Caddis, Parachute BWO, and if the salmonflies are thick, a big foam Chubby Chernobyl will get some serious looks.

Fly Fishing Outfitters and Vail Valley Anglers both report that nymphing remains a reliable technique, especially with clarity issues—stick with a heavier point fly to get down, and don’t be afraid to go big. Just a heads up from the locals: rainbow trout are moving onto their beds, so be respectful and avoid fishing the obvious spawning zones.

Hot spots for today: First, hit the Pumphouse to State Bridge stretch for the heaviest hatches and most consistent action, especially early morning and dusk. Another solid bet is below Glenwood Springs, particularly in side channels or inside bends where the flow drops off. If you’re on foot, work the eddies and slower tailouts—those big browns are hugging the structure right now.

For gearheads, the Luskville hand-carved Colorado River Cutthroat trout lipless crankbait has been getting rave reviews by multispecies anglers—give it a try if you want something besides the fly rod.

That’s the scoop for this weekend. Tight lines out there, and thanks for tuning in to your Colorado River report. Don’t forget to hit subscribe to stay up to date with the latest bites and river intel.

This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Artificial lure. Here with your June seventh, twenty twenty five
fishing report for the Colorado River and surrounding waters. We're
in the heart of runoff season and the Colorado is
running big and brown. Flowes have doubled in the last week,
making for high off colored water from Gore Canyon to
Glenwood Springs. Despite the heavy flows, fish are still on

(00:21):
the bite if you know where to look and what
to throw. According to Taylor Creek fly Shops, the river's
finally turned heavy, but angling is far from feudile. In fact,
float fishing has been hot, especially upriver near Pump House
and State Bridge. Sunrise is clocking in right around five
thirty three AM, with sunset stretching till eight thirty PM,

(00:44):
so you've got a solid window for those early and
late bites. Weather today is clear and warm, highs touching
the mid seventies with just a light breeze, perfect for
a long day on the water. Fish activity is mixed.
The big news is the thick salmon fly hatch on
the upper stretches confirmed by Golden Fly Shop. Brown and
rainbow trout are both on the feed, keyed into migrating nymphs.

(01:07):
And emerging adult flies. The trout are feisty, with some
browns pushing eighteen to twenty two inches and plenty of
twelve to sixteen inch rainbows getting netted, especially on the
edges and in deeper pockets where the fast water softens.
Best bait and tactics toss big girdle bugs or pat's
rubber legs under an indicator, trailed by Cattis or BWO nymphs.

(01:30):
If your streamer curious, now's the time, strip an articulated
dungeon or sculpzilla tight to the bank or swing it
through soft seams for dryes. Stick with the classics elkare, Cattis, parachute, bwo,
and if the salmon flies are thick, a big foam
chubby chernobyl will get some serious looks. Fly fishing outfitters
and Veil Valley anglers both report that nymphing remains a

(01:52):
reliable technique, especially with clarity issues. Stick with a heavier
point fly to get down, and don't be afraid to
go big. Just heads up from the locals. Rainbow trout
are moving onto their beds, so be respectful and avoid
fishing the obvious spawning zones hotspots for today, first hit
the pump House to State Bridge stretch for the heaviest

(02:14):
hatches and most consistent action, especially early morning in dusk.
Another solid bet is below Glenwood Springs, particularly in side
channels or inside bends where the flow drops off. If
you're on foot, work the eddies and slower tailouts. Those
big browns are hugging the structure right now. For gearheads,

(02:34):
the Luskville hand carved Colorado River cutthroat trout lipless crankbait
has been getting rave reviews by multi species anglers. Give
it a try if you want something besides the fly rod.
That's the scoop for this weekend. Tight lines out there,
and thanks for tuning in to your Colorado River report.
Don't forget to hit subscribe to stay up to date
with the latest bites and river intel. This has been

(02:57):
a quiet please production. For more check out Quiet please
dot AI dot, and that is it for today. Hit
the subscribe button and never miss out. Keep those tips
up and lines wet. This has been a quite please
production with the help of AI. Thanks for listening.