Top 5 Colorado Rivers Fishing This Week | May 2026

The Arkansas River is currently flowing at 72 cfs (normal) with a falling trend. Flows are fishable today. The Verdict: Excellent Conditions This week’s forecast shows temperatures ranging from 36-59°F. Cooling temperatures may slow hatch activity.

Insect Activity: The Upper Ark is still acting like high-country spring water at 72 cfs: cold mornings, short feeding windows, and trout that want an easy meal before they want to rise. Lead with a size 20 Griffith’s Gnat or size 18 Rainbow Warrior in the late morning, then mix in a size 16 Garcia’s Mother’s Day Caddis or a pink size 12 Squirmy Worm once the afternoon clouds and showers start knocking food loose. With snow and thunderstorms in the forecast, expect the better bug movement from about 11 a.m. through mid-afternoon instead of right at first light.

Where to Fish: At this flow the Upper Ark is very wadable, so fish the heads of pocket water, the soft cushions behind boulders, and the tailouts below short riffles before you ever step into the middle. The best trout will sit where skinny fast water dumps into a knee-deep bucket and lets them eat without burning energy. Keep your approach tight and quiet here—72 cfs makes the prime lies easy to reach, and just as easy to spook.

Gear Tip: Start with a streamer rig in softer edges. Switch to a two-fly nymph rig and a yarn indicator as flows settle. A 9-foot 5X leader with light tippet keeps the rig natural in these flows.

Presentation: Start shallow, then add weight or depth as you move into deeper runs and pockets. Use longer drifts to cover tailouts and seam water.

Regulations: From the confluence with the Lake Fork of the Arkansas near Leadville downstream to Parkdale at the U.S. 50 bridge crossing above the Royal…

The Arkansas River is currently flowing at 261 cfs (normal) with a stable trend. Flows are fishable today. The Verdict: Excellent Conditions This week’s forecast shows temperatures ranging from 43-61°F. Cooling temperatures may slow hatch activity.

Insect Activity: Salida is in a friendlier spring lane than the upper river at 261 cfs, with enough volume for fish to spread into seams and enough warmth for a real midday hatch window. Look for size 16 Silvey’s Caddis Pupa and Garcia’s Mother’s Day Caddis to matter most, with a size 18 Sparkle Dun or size 16 Parachute Adams worth carrying when the cloud cover breaks and the river gets a little lighter. If the thunderstorms roll through, do not overthink it—drop a size 14 San Juan Worm or size 12 Squirmy Worm under the same rig and keep fishing the soft water.

Where to Fish: Focus on long walking-speed runs, inside seams below islands, and the softer slots along gravel bars where trout can slide out of the main push. At 261 cfs you can cover a lot of this section on foot, but the fish are often set up one seam closer to shore than people think. A good move in Salida is to fish the first three feet off the bank thoroughly before you chase the far seam.

Gear Tip: Start with a streamer rig in softer edges. Switch to a two-fly nymph rig and a yarn indicator as flows settle. A 9-foot 5X leader with light tippet keeps the rig natural in these flows.

Presentation: Start shallow, then add weight or depth as you move into deeper runs and pockets. Use longer drifts to cover tailouts and seam water.

Regulations: From the confluence with the Lake Fork of the Arkansas near Leadville downstream to Parkdale at the U.S. 50 bridge crossing above the Royal…

The Colorado River is currently flowing at 157 cfs (normal) with a rising trend. Flows are fishable today. Water Temperature: 45°F (cold). The Verdict: Excellent Conditions This week’s forecast shows temperatures ranging from 41-60°F. Cooling temperatures may slow hatch activity.

Insect Activity: Hot Sulfur to Byers is in a clean technical window right now: 157 cfs, 45-degree water, and clear enough at 5.2 FNU that fish can get selective fast. Start with small stuff—a size 20 RS2, size 20 Griffith’s Gnat, or size 18 Sparkle Dun—then add a size 16 Silvey’s Caddis Pupa or Elk Hair Caddis during the warmest part of the day when the canyon finally loosens up. If the showers color the edge even a little, a size 14 Nuke Egg or San Juan Worm can save an otherwise fussy afternoon.

Where to Fish: Work the slick tailouts below riffles, the foam seams beside deeper runs, and the slow buckets tucked against the canyon wall where trout can hold out of the current. At 157 cfs this reach rewards clean drifts more than hero casts, especially in the flatter water near Hot Sulfur. Lengthen the leader, stay low on the bank, and make your first pass count before the pod knows you’re there.

Gear Tip: Start with a streamer rig in softer edges. Switch to a two-fly nymph rig and a yarn indicator as flows settle. A 9-foot 5X leader with light tippet keeps the rig natural in these flows.

Presentation: Start shallow, then add weight or depth as you move into deeper runs and pockets. Use longer drifts to cover tailouts and seam water.

Regulations: Artificial flies & lures only; Catch and release required

The Colorado River is currently flowing at 1070 cfs (normal) with a stable trend. Flows are fishable today. Water Temperature: 55°F (prime). The Verdict: Excellent Conditions This week’s forecast shows temperatures ranging from 42-60°F. Cooling temperatures may slow hatch activity.

Insect Activity: State Bridge to Dotsero is in a strong float-and-wade spring setup at 1,070 cfs with 55-degree water and clear visibility, which means fish can eat both naturally and aggressively. The subsurface game should be best with a size 16 Garcia’s Mother’s Day Caddis, size 14 Egg Pattern, size 12 Squirmy Worm, or size 20 RS2 behind it, while a size 14 Elk Hair Caddis or size 18 Sparkle Dun can show up during the warmest hour if the weather settles. That mix of prime water temperature and passing showers usually creates short but very real feeding pops instead of one long hatch.

Where to Fish: Target bank shelves, back eddies, and the softer inside lanes below riffle tongues where trout can intercept food washing down the big river. At 1,070 cfs the main current has plenty of push, so the fish do not need to sit far off the soft edge to feed well. The practical play here is to fish from the boat or from gravel bars and pound the transition water rather than trying to wade out to the middle seam.

Gear Tip: Start with a streamer rig in softer edges. Switch to a two-fly nymph rig and a yarn indicator as flows settle. A 9-foot 5X leader with light tippet keeps the rig natural in these flows.

Presentation: Start shallow, then add weight or depth as you move into deeper runs and pockets. Use longer drifts to cover tailouts and seam water.

Regulations: Standard trout regulations apply. Bag and possession limit for trout is 4.

The Colorado River is currently flowing at 1070 cfs (normal) with a stable trend. Flows are fishable today. Water Temperature: 55°F (prime). The Verdict: Excellent Conditions This week’s forecast shows temperatures ranging from 45-63°F. Cooling temperatures may slow hatch activity.

Insect Activity: Glenwood Canyon is carrying the same 1,070 cfs base flow, but it fishes more like a canyon conveyor belt than the broader State Bridge water, so the bug game is about timing and lanes. Start with a size 16 Silvey’s Caddis Pupa or Garcia’s Mother’s Day Caddis, then trail a size 20 RS2 or Griffith’s Gnat through the softer cushions; if the low light lingers in the canyon, a size 14 San Juan Worm or size 12 Squirmy Worm is a smart anchor fly. With stable 55-degree water and only modest precipitation chances, this stretch should give you the most consistent feeding from late morning through early evening.

Where to Fish: Fish the protected seams behind rock walls, the tailouts below ledge drops, and the softer recirculating pockets along the canyon margins where trout can get out of the heavy center push. Wading is possible on select edges, but this is not the place to force a crossing at 1,070 cfs. Pick a stable bank position, work each soft lane from top to bottom, and do not skip the quiet water tucked right against the rocks.

Gear Tip: Start with a streamer rig in softer edges. Switch to a two-fly nymph rig and a yarn indicator as flows settle. A 9-foot 5X leader with light tippet keeps the rig natural in these flows.

Presentation: Start shallow, then add weight or depth as you move into deeper runs and pockets. Use longer drifts to cover tailouts and seam water.

Regulations: Standard trout regulations apply. Bag and possession limit for trout is 4. No bag or possession limit for channel catfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass,…