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Colorado River Winter Bite: Trout, Warmwater, and Tactics for a Wintry Mix
Mornin’ folks, Artificial Lure here with your Colorado River, Colorado fishing report.
According to the National Weather Service Grand Junction office, the central Colorado River basin’s under a wintry mix today: light snow and rain showers, highs in the 30s, west winds 10 to 20 with gusts pushing 30. That’s a layers-and-gloves kind of day, but the fish don’t mind it nearly as much as we do.
Sunrise around the Grand Junction stretch is right about 7:20, with sunset near 4:50, so your real window is that late‑morning to mid‑afternoon warmup. No tides to worry about on this upper river, just flows and temps. Snoflo’s gauges show the Colorado near Cameo running in the mid‑1000 cfs range, and near the Colorado–Utah line just under 3,000 cfs, a nice winter level with decent clarity.
Recent reports from local anglers along the Fruita and Connected Lakes section say the trout bite has picked up on the softer edges and tailouts, with mostly 12–16 inch browns and rainbows and the odd 18‑plus pushing up out of the deeper buckets. Folks bouncing nymph rigs are putting a half‑dozen to a dozen fish in the net on a half‑day if they stick with it, fewer but bigger fish coming to those swinging streamers tight to structure.
Best winter producers right now:
- For trout: small pheasant tails, RS2s, and midges in 18–22 under an indicator, or a stonefly with a tiny midge dropper. Keep it deep and dead‑drifted.
- Hardware: 1/8 to 1/4‑ounce spoons in silver or copper, and small brown or olive marabou jigs.
- If you’re after warmwater in the Connected Lakes, Snoflo notes good populations of largemouth, crappie, bluegill, and cats. This time of year it’s slow, but a small underspin or swimbait crawled painfully slow can still tempt a cold‑stunned bass.
Baitwise, where it’s allowed, nightcrawlers and salmon eggs drifted near bottom will out‑fish just about anything for numbers. For strictly artificial stretches, think tiny midges and mayfly nymphs on light tippet, or a sculpin‑style streamer when the clouds roll in.
Couple of local hot spots for you:
- The **Cameo to Palisade** reach: deeper bends and shelf drop‑offs are holding pods of browns; work the inside seams and slower side channels.
- The **Fruita / Colorado River State Park** area: good public access, plus those Connected Lakes nearby if you want to mix in a little warmwater action between trout runs.
Fish activity will be slow at first light, then noticeably better from late morning through early afternoon as the water bumps a degree or two. Short, precise drifts and a good mend matter more than fly pattern right now. Move your feet, change depth often, and once you tag a fish, work that lane hard—winter trout stack up.
That’s it from the banks of the big river. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss tomorrow’s update.
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Published on 2 weeks, 5 days ago