Colorado River Runoff Recap: Flows, Hatches, and Hotspots for June 21, 2025

Artificial Lure here with your Colorado River report for June 21, 2025, and let me tell you folks—the summer bite is heating up right alongside those Colorado afternoons. We’re in that sweet post-runoff stretch: flows are dropping, clarity’s improving daily, and the fish are shaking off the muddy blues. According to Taylor Creek Fly Shops, flows below Glenwood Springs are running around 4,300 CFS, still a touch brown in spots but with plenty of visibility for nymphs, dries, and streamers. Upstream near Kremmling, the water’s running clear and cool, with a reading around 773 CFS and 53 degrees on the gauge, so you’ll find ideal conditions up there for both floating and wading.

Weather’s just about perfect for a day on the river: highs in the upper 60s to mid-70s and a crisp morning chill that faded fast after sunrise at 5:33 am. Sunset lands late at 8:36 pm—so don’t pack up too early; those golden hour hatches can be magic.

Onto fish activity—it's on the upswing across the board. Vail Valley Anglers reports that Yellow Sallies and PMDs are thick in the air now, with good caddis pushes and Blue Winged Olives showing up whenever clouds roll in. Downstream from Glenwood, it’s mostly healthy browns with rainbows mixed in, especially if you’re drifting nymphs like stonefly, caddis pupa, or those meaty Green Drake imitations. Perfect Fly Store says cream and red midges (size 20/22) are your best bet for numbers—fish them in tandem below a strike indicator. Streamer bite is picking up, too: articulated Dungeons, Sculpzillas, and anything in olive or black should be stripped tight to the banks, especially on overcast afternoons.

For hardware anglers, it’s a great week to work those weed lines and rock-grass gaps. Jigs are still the top pick for bass—crawl them slow to mimic crawdads. Chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, and even a 3-3/4" wooden Colorado River Cutthroat Trout pattern lure will get you bit by bass, pike, or even a stubborn walleye.

Hotspots to hit today: try the runs just below Pumphouse—those clear, bouldery pocket waters are holding plenty of quality trout right now. Downstream from the confluence with the Roaring Fork near Glenwood Springs is another tried-and-true stretch, especially for floaters and streamer chuckers.

One quick reminder: rainbow trout are starting to spawn, so watch for closed zones and leave those fish to their business. And as always, keep ‘em wet for a safe release.

Thanks for tuning in to your Colorado River fishing fix with Artificial Lure. Subscribe so you never miss a hatch or a hot tip. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Artificial lure. Here with your Colorado River report for June
twenty first, twenty twenty five, and let me tell you, folks,
the summer bite is heating up right alongside those Colorado afternoons.
We're in that sweet post runoff stretch. Floes are dropping,
clarity's improving daily, and the fish are shaking off the
muddy blues. According to Taylor Creek fly Shops, flows below

(00:22):
Glenwood Springs are running around four thy three hundred cfs,
still a touch brown in spots, but with plenty of
visibility for nymphs, drys and streamers. Upstream near Kremlin, the
water's running clear and cool, with a reading around seven
seventy three cfs and fifty three degrees on the gauge,
so you'll find ideal conditions up there for both floating

(00:44):
and waiting. Weather's just about perfect for a day on
the river. Highs in the upper sixties to mid seventies
and a crisp morning chill that faded fast after sunrise
at five thirty three am. Sunset land's late at eight
thirty six pm, so don't pack up too early. Those
Golden hour hatches can be magic onto fish activity. It's

(01:06):
on the upswing across the board. Veil Valley Anglers reports
that yellow salis and pmds are thick in the air now,
with good cattus pushes and blue winged olives showing up.
Whenever clouds roll in downstream from Glenwood. It's mostly healthy
browns with rainbows mixed in, especially if you're drifting nymphs
like stone fly Cattus pupa, or those meaty green drake imitations.

(01:28):
Perfect Fly Store says cream and red midges size twenty
twenty two are your best bet for numbers. Fish them
in tandem below a strike indicator. Streamer bite is picking
up two articulated dungeons, sculpzillas, and anything in olive or
black should be stripped tight to the banks, especially on
overcast afternoons. For hardware anglers, it's a great week to

(01:50):
work those weed lines and rock grass gaps. Jigs are
still the top pick for bass. Crawl them slow to
mimic crawdads, chatter baits, spinner baits, and even a three
three quarter inch wooden Colorado River cutthroat trout pattern lure
will get you bit by bass pike or even a
stubborn walleye hotspots to hit today, try the runs just

(02:11):
below Pump House. Those clear bouldery pocket waters are holding
plenty of quality trout Right now. Downstream from the confluence
with the Roaring Fork near Glenwood Springs is another tried
and true stretch, especially for floaters and streamerchuckers. One quick
reminder rainbow trout are starting to spawn, so watch for
closed zones and leave those fish to their business and

(02:33):
as always, keep em wet for a safe release. Thanks
for tuning in to your Colorado River fishing fix with
Artificial Lure subscribe so you never miss a hatch or
a hot tip. This has been a quiet please production.
For more check out Quiet please dot AI and that
is it for today. Hit the subscribe button and never

(02:53):
miss out. Keep those tips up and lines wet. This
has been a quite please production with the help of AI.
Thanks for listening.