Winter Wonderland: Fishing the Frozen Colorado River

This is Artificial Lure with your Colorado River, Colorado fishing report.

We’re locked in a classic mid‑winter pattern on the Upper Colorado. An abnormally warm early winter left snowpack below normal basin‑wide, and the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center is calling for well‑below‑average runoff, so flows are on the low, clear side and very stable. Aspen Public Radio reports snow‑water equivalent around three‑quarters of median, which lines up with what we’re seeing on the river: skinny, clear water and very spooky trout.

No tides to worry about up here, just dam‑controlled releases and natural winter baseflows. Expect gentle, steady flows from the headwaters down through Kremmling and on toward Glenwood, with only small daily bumps tied to upstream operations.

Weather along the middle river today is true shoulder‑season weirdness: cold overnight, glazing the edges with shelf ice, then pushing into the 30s and low 40s by afternoon under mostly clear skies and light winds. A passing system has already moved through, and high pressure is settling in for several dry, bluebird days.

Sunrise is right around 7:30 in the high country and sunset just after 5:00, so your prime window is the late‑morning warm‑up through mid‑afternoon. Once that sun gets on the water and bumps temps a degree or two, the fish wake up.

Trout activity is classic winter: slow early, then a solid nymph bite in the deeper walking‑speed runs and soft inside seams. Recent chatter from guides running the stretch from Pumphouse to State Bridge is that anglers are picking up mostly **brown trout** with a decent mix of **rainbows**, plenty in the 12–16 inch class and enough 18–20s to keep things interesting. Expect a handful of whitefish in the mix when you’re on the bottom.

Best producers right now:

- **Flies**: small **midge** and **baetis nymphs** (sizes 18–22) under a small indicator or tight‑line rig. Red or black midges, dark olive mayflies, and tiny pheasant tails are doing work. Add a small tungsten stonefly or leech as your anchor in the heavier slots.
- **Spinning gear**: tiny **silver or gold spoons**, 1/16‑oz **marabou jigs**, and little **brown or rainbow‑patterned crankbaits** fished painfully slow. In the deeper holes, a small tungsten jig tipped with a waxworm or piece of crawler under a float is putting fish in the net.

Natural bait where legal: salmon eggs and small bits of nightcrawler drifted close to bottom are still reliable, but check regs on each reach before you send anything organic.

Two local hot spots to consider:

- **Pumphouse to Radium**: Classic winter float if flows allow, or you can walk‑wade a lot of prime water from the Pumphouse access. Focus on the deeper buckets below riffles and the inside bends; fish are packed in tight.
- **Parshall / Byers Canyon area**: Tailwater‑influenced and usually a touch warmer. The Parshall bridge and public water upstream and down have been quietly consistent, especially from late morning to about 3 p.m.

Tactics: Think small, slow, and subtle. 5X–6X fluorocarbon, long leaders, and light indicators. Make a few good drifts, then move; fish are podded up, and when you find one, you usually find several. Afternoons have seen the best bite; mornings are more of a grind unless you’re nymphing the deepest winter holes.

Bundle up, watch for thin shelf ice on the edges, and keep an eye on quick weather changes, but overall it’s a very fishable stretch of winter on the Colorado.

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