Colorado Fishing Report: Vail Valley and Beyond | September 24, 2026
Upper, Middle, and Lower Colorado River • Roaring Fork River • Eagle River
Fall fishing is in full swing across the Vail Valley and western Colorado. The Upper Colorado is our standout this week at 9/10, with hopper-dropper, nymph, dry-fly, and streamer fishing all producing.
The Roaring Fork has recovered from recent rain, and is fishing well.
Clarity is improving on the Middle Colorado and streamer fishing has really picked up.
Lower Colorado is still dirty, but streamer anglers have a reason to get out.
The Eagle River closures have been lifted and the entire river is open to fishing!
Blue-winged olives are a major part of the daily plan. Watch how trout feed as the hatch develops: start with a small nymph below the surface, move to an emerger when fish feed higher, and reach for a dry fly when they begin taking adults. That nymph-to-emerger-to-adult approach follows the strategy in our September Starting Lineup.
Colorado River: Pumphouse to Catamount
Flow: 573 cfs at Kremmling
Clarity: 4 feet
Fishing Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ 9/10
The Upper Colorado is fishing excellent, and there is no need to commit to one method before you launch.
Hopper-dropper rigs, nymphs, dries, and streamers are all working. Let the water and the fish tell you which approach to use.
Start by covering riffles, seams, and the drop-offs below faster water with a hopper-dropper. A pink size 8 Yeti Hopper or size 10 Peacock PMX can support a Duracell or Prince Nymph, followed by a size 22 Day Saver Baetis. Adjust dropper depth to the run and watch the hopper for subtle pauses as closely as you watch it for a surface eat.
As BWO activity builds, pay attention to where trout are eating. Fish the Day Saver Baetis while they feed below the surface. Switch to a size 22 Sexi Top May BWO or Chocolate when they move towards the surface. When you see steady takes of adult mayflies, present a size 22 Sparkle Dun or Parachute Adams with a clean drift. Watch a rising fish long enough to find its feeding lane before making your first cast.
Streamers give you another strong option, especially when you want to cover banks and structure. Black has been the best color; olive, rust, and yellow are also worth carrying. Change your retrieve and angle before giving up on a productive-looking bank.
Main Hatches & Timing
Morning: Tricos. Look for rising fish in softer water; nymph the nearby seams with a drowned adult if surface activity is limited.
Late morning through afternoon: Blue-winged olives. Follow the fish from nymph to emerger to adult.
Throughout the day: Hopper-dropper fishing can cover riffles, banks, and drop-offs between hatch windows.
Later in the day: Watch for caddis and red quill activity and match the rises you actually see.
Hatch timing can shift with cloud cover, light, and weather. The trout’s feeding behavior is a better guide than the clock.
Best Dry Flies & Surface Patterns
Best Nymphs & Emergers
Best Streamers
Black is the first color to try; carry olive, rust, and yellow as alternatives.
Baby Gonga
Kreelex
Sparkle Minnow
Thin Mint
Mini Dungeon
Rusty Trombone
She Demon Bugger
CRO guide Brian Hilbert pro tip:
“If trout are eating but ignoring your BWO nymph, check your depth and drift before changing flies. During the hatch, the same fish may shift from taking nymphs to emergers and then adults within a short stretch of water. Also try deeper or heavier before changing flies.”
Colorado River: Catamount to Dotsero
Flow: 747 cfs at Dotsero
Clarity: 2–3 feet
Fishing Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆ 7/10
Closures on the Colorado River have been lifted and clarity is finally coming back into shape after weeks of dirty water below Red Dirt Creek. Cooler conditions have improved the outlook, and streamer fishing has been especially good.
Smaller streamers are outperforming larger offerings. Start with black, then try olive or rust. Cast slightly upstream and tight to the bank, then swim the fly downstream. That angle has been producing more reaction strikes than retrieves that simply draw fish into a chase.
Hopper-dropper fishing is also strong. A hopper with a size 16 Duracell and a small Day Saver May gives you a useful way to cover the bank and adjacent seams. Work each piece of promising water thoroughly before moving on.
The Upper Colorado fly lists above also apply to this section. Favor smaller streamer profiles when choosing from that list.
CRO guide Matt Fletcher pro tip:
“Vary your streamer retrieve until the trout tell you what they want. Start with short, quick strips and a pause. If fish follow without eating, try a longer pull, a slower swing, or a longer pause. Pay attention to when the strike happens, that tells you which movement to repeat on the next bank.”
Colorado River: Glenwood Springs to Rifle
Flow: 1,240 cfs at Glenwood Springs
Clarity: 1–1.5 feet
Fishing Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆☆ 4/10
Closures on the lower Colorado have been lifted but this section is still running dirty, though a little color does not put it out of commission. Streamers are the best bet while clarity continues to improve.
Keep your casts tight to the bank, where a trout has a better chance of seeing and reacting to the fly. Start with a Sex Dungeon, Barely Legal, or Kreelex in black, olive, olive and white, or rust. Cover likely holding water carefully, and expect conditions to change as the river clears.
CRO guide Matt Fletcher pro tip:
“In limited visibility, make your streamer easy to find. Put it close to the bank and give it movement within the fish’s strike zone instead of relying on a long chase. Short slow strips.”
Roaring Fork River: Carbondale to Two Rivers
Flow: 434 cfs at Glenwood Springs
Clarity: 2 feet
Fishing Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆ 8/10
The Roaring Fork is back in shape after the recent rain and is fishing well. Blue-winged olives are the main hatch, while stoneflies, leeches, and worms offer trout a larger meal.
Nymphing softer water has been excellent. Start with a coffee-and-black size 8 Pat’s Rubber Legs as an anchor fly and trail a size 22 Day Saver May BWO.
Work the slower edges beside current, deeper pockets, and the water below riffles. Keep the rig deep enough to reach fish without dragging the anchor fly through the bottom on every drift. Running about 2’-3’ has been the sweet spot.
Dry-fly action during BWO hatches has ranged from slow to decent, particularly on cloudy days. Watch for consistent rises before switching over. If trout appear to be feeding near the surface but refuse a dry, try an emerger or cripple before moving on.
Small Woolly Bugger-style streamers have also been good. Black, olive, rust, and white are the colors to carry.
Main Hatches & Timing
Morning: Start in softer runs with a larger anchor fly and a small BWO nymph. Watch for early surface activity before committing to dries.
Midday: As BWOs become active, concentrate on seams and current transitions. Fish the Day Saver May below the surface, then try a Sexi Top May Chocolate as trout feed higher.
Afternoon: On cloudy days, watch quiet edges and flats for rising fish. A size 22 Sparkle Dun or Parachute Adams can produce when trout are taking adults; a size 20 Ms. Tickle Cripple is worth trying when they refuse a fully emerged dry.
Best Nymphs & Emergers
Best Dry Flies
Best Streamers
Carry black, olive, rust, and white.
Thin Mint
Baby Gonga
She Demon Bugger
CRO guide Matt Weldon pro tip:
“Don’t overlook the inside current lanes and shallow riffles. Trout will slide into these spots to feed when insects are drifting through. Start with a few drifts along the softer inside seam, pay close attention to small pockets and changes in depth. Some of the best fish of the day may be sitting in water you’d normally float past.”
Eagle River: Vail to Edwards
Flow: 60 cfs
Clarity: 3 feet
Fishing Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10
Recent rain has brought the Eagle up a little and improved the fishing, though flows remain low. Midges and blue-winged olives are still active. Pocket water is the best place to start, and a hopper-dropper gives you a quiet way to present small flies without repeatedly casting an indicator over fish.
In the morning, try a Thread Frenchie or red Perdigon with a #22 Day Saver Midge in olive or red. From midday into the afternoon, switch the small trailer to a #22 Day Saver Baetis or Day Saver May BWO as BWO activity develops.
Approach each pocket carefully. Fish the closest useful water first, keep your shadow away from it, and make a few accurate casts before stepping forward. If a trout flashes at a fly without eating, allow the spot to settle and change the drift or depth before casting again. When fish rise steadily, a #22 Parachute Adams or Sparkle Dun offers a dry-fly option.
Best Nymphs
Best Dry Flies
CRO guide Chris Stella pro tip:
“On the low-water Eagle, your approach can matter as much as your fly. Stop short of a pocket, fish its near edge first, and land your cast gently. Trout will spook easily so stealth with your walking and presentation is key.”
Eagle River: Edwards to the Colorado River Confluence
Flow: 126cfs (Gypsum)
Clarity: 2’-3’
Fishing Quality: Unknown
The fishing closure has been lifted as of yesterday, and the entire Eagle River is open to fishing. CRO guides have not yet fished the Edwards-to-confluence section since it reopened, so we don’t have a firsthand report from this stretch.
With low water and plenty of grass, start by looking for clean current lanes and shallow riffles. Midges and blue wing olives are a sensible starting point for fly selection. For a nymph rig, try a Mayer’s leech followed by a size 22 Day Saver Midge or Day Saver May, and check your flies often for grass. We’ll update this report in the coming week.
Fish Fall With Colorado River Outfitters
This is the kind of week we look forward to: strong fishing on the Upper Colorado, a Roaring Fork that has come back into shape, and enough variety to build a trip around how you want to fish. Whether you want to learn a hopper-dropper rig, make a careful cast to rising trout, or work a streamer along the bank, the CRO guides can help you make the most of your day.
Call or text 970-236-1937, or book your fall trip online.
Follow @colorado.river.outfitters for fishing updates and days on the water. Find this report helpful? Tag CRO in your fishy posts and stories, we would love to see what you catch.
See you on the water!
— The CRO Team
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