Blue River
near Dillon, Colorado · USGS gauge 09046600
For October 18, flow is lower than usual.
The last October 18 it ran this low was 2020, at 35 ft³/s.
These readings do not say whether fish are biting, whether there is parking, or whether the season is open. The shop reports below cover what is biting.
Blue River reports from local shops
Our summary, in our own words, of the two reports local shops have posted in the last two weeks. Each report is linked below with its date; read it for the detail.
Both shops describe demanding tailwater fishing where small midge and mayfly patterns, mostly in the low 20s, do most of the work. Cutthroat Anglers recommends 5x tippet, nymphs hung beneath a discreet indicator, and picking out fish visually before casting. It adds that pockets can produce on tiny BWO or midge dries, with leeches or a bigger attractor dry as backups. Fly Fish Food reports flow at 150 CFS, up from 54 only days earlier, which should tint the water somewhat and push trout into slower seams, eddies and inside bends. For that, it suggests heavy Perdigon or Zebra Midge flies on a Euro rig. It lists midges in the morning, BWOs from midday, and possibly another BWO flurry late in the afternoon if showers arrive.
Before you drive
| Overnight | 28°F, wind 5 mph Mostly Clear |
|---|---|
| Sunday | 59°F, wind 2 to 6 mph Mostly Sunny |
| Sunday Night | 33°F, wind 6 mph Partly Cloudy |
| Monday | 55°F, wind 5 mph Mostly Sunny then Chance Rain Showers |
How this water changes through the year
Over 22 years of record, flow on Blue River peaks in June, when the median runs about 294 ft³/s, and falls to its lowest in February at around 23 ft³/s. Today's 36 sits between the two. The band on the chart is where the middle 60% of years fall, so a reading inside it is ordinary for the date and one outside it is not.
Nearby monitored waters
No water here is recommended over another. Same measurements, three closest waters.
Species
Listed by Colorado CPW for Blue River #3: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout.
The agency's list covers CPW's Fishing Atlas reach, water code 19251; the atlas lists species per reach, not per river. CPW's own stream-gage layer joins USGS 09046600 near Dillon to water code 19251. The reach above Dillon Reservoir near Breckenridge. The tailwater below Dillon Dam is water code 19249 and lists kokanee as well; it is not this reach. The agency prints no date on the list; read 2026-09-08.
Access points
| Coordinates | To gauge |
|---|---|
| 39.5667, -106.0495 · near Dillon USGS gauge location. Not a listed public access point; check access before you travel. | 0.0 mi |
Sources and method
- Live
- USGS gauge 09046600, BLUE RIVER NEAR DILLON, CO, 0.0 mi from the listed access point. Fetched 2026-10-18 07:19 UTC.
- History
- USGS daily values: flow 2005–2026, 7,940 daily values; water temperature 2022–2026, 1,170 daily values. Percentile is the share of readings within 7 days of this calendar date, across all years, below the current one (flow n=315 over 21 years).
- Rules
- Seasons, limits and licences are not on this site and are not copied from the agency that publishes them: Colorado CPW.
- Species
- Colorado CPW, Blue River #3, undated, read 2026-09-08.
- Heat
- Colorado CPW: voluntary or mandatory closures once water reaches 71 °F or flow falls below half of average (published 2025-08-15, checked 2026-09-08). The water temperature card compares today's reading with that figure and says nothing about whether a restriction applies.
- Shop reports
- Chosen from the organic search results for “blue river fishing report” (Ahrefs, read 2026-10-01), keeping shops and guides and dropping social media, forums and other aggregators. Linked, not quoted, and not endorsed. Report dates, hatches and fly names read from each page 2026-10-18, by matching a fixed list of insects and patterns: a name not on the list is not shown, and a report older than 30 days shows its date only. The summary is written by a language model (claude-sonnet-5-5) from the text of the reports dated in the last 14 days, told to use only what they state. It is checked before it is printed: no six-word run may match a report, and no number, insect or fly may appear that no report names. A summary that fails is not shown.
- Forecast
- NOAA National Weather Service, api.weather.gov, for the coordinates of the nearest access point.
Independent presentation of public data. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the USGS, NOAA or Colorado CPW.