Early Summer Colorado River: High Water, Great Action—Mornings and Evenings Peak

This is Artificial Lure with your Colorado River, Colorado fishing report. We’re in a classic early‑summer pattern now. Flows on the upper Colorado around Kremmling through Glenwood are running a bit on the high side but dropping and clearing, with two to three feet of visibility in most popular stretches. No tides to worry about on this river system, so it’s all about flow, water color, and temperature. Overnight lows have kept water temps in the low 50s at first light in the higher reaches, warming into the low 60s by midafternoon down toward Glenwood Springs. Air temps today are heading for the 70s to low 80s with mostly clear skies, light morning wind and a typical afternoon breeze and the chance of a quick thunder boomer. Sunrise hit right around 5:30 a.m., with sunset just after 8:30 p.m., giving a long, productive window. Fish activity has been best from first light to late morning, then again the last two hours before dark. Midday is still fishable, but you’ll need to go deeper and smaller. Recent reports from local fly shops and guides on the upper Colorado describe good numbers of wild browns mixed with some chunky rainbows, most in the 12–16 inch range, with a few 18–20 inch fish pulled from the softer seams and deeper buckets. Spin anglers have been sticking the occasional smallmouth in the lower, warmer stretches closer to the Colorado–Roaring Fork confluence. For fly anglers, mornings have seen solid nymph and dry‑dropper action. Think blue‑winged olive and pale morning dun nymphs in sizes 16–20, paired with a size 12–14 stonefly or attractor nymph. Caddis are very much in play now; tan and olive patterns in sizes 14–18 have been consistent producers in riffles and along cutbanks. When the sun gets high, switch to smaller nymphs and add a bit more weight to get down. If you swing conventional gear, small to medium **inline spinners** in gold or copper, 1/8 to 1/4 ounce **Rooster Tails**, and **Panther Martins** in brown, black, or rainbow trout patterns have been dependable. For soft plastics, a 3‑inch **tube jig** or **grub** in natural colors worked slowly through deeper runs is taking both trout and the odd smallmouth. Natural bait regulations vary by stretch, so check the current Colorado Parks and Wildlife regs, but where legal, **nightcrawlers** drifted under a small float through the seams are putting fish in the net. Hot spot number one: the public access pull‑outs between Parshall and Kremmling. Those long riffle‑run‑pool sequences are holding good numbers of browns, and the slightly off‑color water is giving anglers some forgiveness on approach. Work the inside bends and any soft edge below a riffle. Hot spot number two: the Glenwood Springs section, especially just above and below town where there’s good walk‑in access. As the day warms, trout slide into the deeper troughs midriver and along drop‑offs. A deep nymph rig or a small crankbait ticking just off bottom can be deadly here, especially in the evening when fish slide shallow again to chase caddis. Overall, numbers have been solid rather than spectacular, but persistence is paying off. Anglers putting in a full morning are commonly reporting half a dozen to a dozen hookups, with a good mix of browns and rainbows and plenty of willing smaller fish to keep things interesting. This is Artificial Lure wishing you tight lines and safe wading out there. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn