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Rio Grande River Fishing Information
Lower Section - near Del Norte, CO
The Rio Grande in Colorado isn’t talked about much, but still gets fished often. There are miles of fishable water and you can float most of the river. From Del Norte upstream to South Fork, the river is Gold Medal Waters holding a few less fish pre mile than the upper reaches but making up for it in size. Dry flies, nymphs and streamers all work well on the river which is primarily brown trout with some rainbows mixed in. Much of the water is private, though there are ample public access points that you can wade or use to take in or out a raft or drift boat.
There is a ton of diversity in this river and the headwaters and lower sections can seem like entirely different rivers. In addition to the river itself, the area holds well over 40 tributaries that all hold fish and provide some small creek fishing opportunities. It would take a decade to fish all the water in this area and you would catch more trout than you could remember. The river is really only fishable in mid spring to late fall as winters get tough up here. There is ample camping available up the forest roads along the main road that follows the river upstream. This is one of Colorado’s treasures that is a joy to fish and explore. It’s worth the 4 1/2 hour drive from Denver.
Upper Sections (Headwaters)
The upper section is a smaller, more wadeable section that varies from a small to medium sized river providing great dry fly, nymph and streamer opportunities. The fish aren’t very picky on the Rio Grande, which makes standard attractor patterns a good choice. Caddis and stoneflies have a major importance to trout on this river. The upper section is my favorite, but the drive is at least another hour from South Fork making it a real haul to get up here. Moose are abundant as well as other wildlife and there is tons of camping and trout to be found. Browns, Cutts, Rainbows and Brook trout can be found here. Don’t overlook the tiny water up here, you’d be amazed the size of fish hiding in what appears to be a brookie beaver pond.
Middle Section
The middle section is pretty much anything from Creede down to South Fork. This area has a few public access points such as Coller SWA, but this is the prime floating water. Going through wagon wheel gap is a historic and memorable float that is a joy to explore. The fish in this area are mostly browns and this section has the highest fish per mile count giving you the best chance to catch a lot of fish. Nymphs and dry flies work best in this section and as long as you match the insect and color, they aren’t very picky beyond that. One of the real joys of the Rio Grande is the willingness of the fish to eat a variety of flies. They don’t get as much pressure since a lot of the river is floated instead of wade fished. This means the fish don’t get 100 looks at a fly and are more willing to eat it the first time round. The middle section is a great place to fish and spend some time especially on the salmonfly hatch in late June.
The South fork of the Rio Grande is in this section to. Head south out of south fork and the road parallels the river with plenty of access. Watch for private signs here and fish only public water.
Lower Section (Gold Medal Waters)
This section goes from south fork down to Del Norte and is Gold Medal Waters that contain big brown trout. Though dry flies and nymphs will catch a lot of fish and some sizeable fish above 18 inches, you will likely find the biggest fish throwing big streamers. If you put in your hard work you can find some great fish as you float this section throwing streamers. Articulated meat streamers are what you want here. Push some water with the streamer and throw out your back using that 8wt all day and you’ll get a chance at a trophy brown. Stick to the streamers am and pm for the best results and make sure you don’t hook your guide, they tend to not like that, especially with big streamers.
Fish: Some Medium-Sized Fish
Popularity: Low
Difficulty: Medium
Accessibility: Easy
Best Techniques: Streamers
Best Seasons: Spring - Fall
River Type: Large Freestone
Fish Types: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
Dog Friendly: Yes but Leashed
Located in the Rio Grande River Basin near Del Norte, CO
Fishable Seasons & Current Weather
The best seasons to fish this river are Spring - Fall. See the current weather reports for the next 5-6 days listed below for the nearest city.
Knowing what flies to use is only have the battle. You have to know when the insects are active on the water and when it's likely the trout are feeding on them. Refer to our hatch charts below to understand when the insect categories and some of the possible hatches on the river.
Midge Hatches
Midges hatch year round, but their importance is from September through winter into April. During the warmer months, the trout often focus on larger insects as they are more active on the water like mayflies, caddis and stoneflies.
Aside from Blue wing olives, mayflies are active most commonly from May to August in Colorado. There are many different mayfly hatches found on most rivers and the most common are listed below.
Blue Wing Olive: September throut winter to April
Colors: Green/Olive
Sizes: #16-24
Pale Morning Dun: June to Mid September
Colors: White, Yellow
Sizes: #14 - #20
Caddis Hatches
Caddis hatch starting early in May and continue to the end of October.
Colors: Olive, Green, Yellow, Tan, Orange, Brown and Black.
Sizes: #10 - #20
Stonefly Hatches
We have some great stonefly hatches in Colorado and while not all rivers carry all species of salmonflies, you can often fish stonefly adult patterns with confidence from May to September. Start off in bigger sizes and get smaller till September hits (size 8 - 16)
Golden Stone: June to August
Colors: Yellow, Tan
Sizes: #8 - #14
Yellow Sally Stonefly: Mid June to August
Colors: Yellow, Tan
Sizes: #12 - #18
Salmonfly: Mid May to Mid July
Colors: Orange, Red, Brown
Sizes: #6 - #14
Terrestrial Activity
Terrestrials don't hatch since they are out of the water, but they can have importance starting in Mid April and ending in September.
These are the the top flies we sell for this river. Use the hatch chart above to know what flies you will want to have in your fly box during your adventure on the river and then select the flies here 30 days before your trip to get them at a great price. All of our flies are hand tied to each order to ensure quality and to keep our prices low for you.
Click on a fly below to select a size and color for purchase.
Our fly assortments make fly selection easy. We take our entomology knowledge and years of fly fishing experience on these rivers to bring you the right fly patterns, including the correct colors, sizes and quantities to set you up for success. A good selection of flies will prepare you properly for anything the trout may be eating on the river and our fly assortments are specifically curated to maximize your success. Take a look at the assortments we provide below and add one to your box today. Use coupon code AST50 for $50 off and free shipping on these as well, just to help make fly fishing a little more affordable!
Click on any of the pictures to see what flies, colors and sizes we recommend in each assortment.
View our access map for the Rio Grande River and learn public and private access points as well as other notable features around fly fishing this river. We include headwater and confluence data and in an effort to not "hotspot" river access points that are better than others, we list every access point available. This serves two purposes. First, it keeps us from hotspotting, which is just showing the best spots and bringing unwanted and harmful attention to the specific access point. The second reason is while we want to help you catch fish and find great places to explore, we don't want to spell it all out for you. If you get it all spelled out, we're doing the exploring, not you. Missing out on the journey of exploring places to fly fish is one of the more enjoyable aspects of fly fishing. While not everyone has time to go explore everything in person, we provide some of the top level data to help you know if something is worth your time, then pass it off to you to explore and find your own adventure. Now enjoy the info, if you're on this page then this river is worth exploring! Go out and find some memories.
Rio Grande River Tips & Resources
Use these epic resources to get ready for your adventure. Whether you're planning your trip, learning your insects, improving your fishing with expert tips or getting detailed resources from the USGS streamflows or DoW, we got you covered to help you find the river and find the success you want.
