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Dillon Reservoir Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Dillon Reservoir: Denver Water's largest reservoir, at 9,017 feet in Summit County, with brown trout, rainbows, kokanee and Arctic char.

Closed now: The Blue River and Tenmile Creek inlets above the reservoir. Reopens December 2, 2026. Colorado prohibits fishing on the Blue River from Summit County Road 3 down to the reservoir, and on Tenmile Creek from West Tenmile Creek down to the reservoir, from September 15 to December 1 (CPW Chapter W-1, as amended in November 2025). Source, read October 12, 2026.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
65 cfs
Air / High
52 / 58 F
Wind
SW 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09050700, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Dillon Reservoir asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The nearest gauge is running 65 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SW around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1008 hPa and a high of 58. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:42 AM-11:42 AM and 10:11 PM-12:11 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 48 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Colorado requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $57.63 for residents. What a Colorado licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with CPW before you keep anything. The season dates for Colorado, read off the agency, are on the Colorado seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Blue River below Dillon.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09050700.

56606565 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 66 years of October 23

At 65 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 09050700 (Blue River below Dillon) is at the 21st percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 66 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 104 cfs; the highest was 359 cfs and the lowest 0 cfs.

p10 53median 104p90 189

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 09050700; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp52 F
High / Low58 / 37 F
WindSW 8-24 mph
Pressure1007.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 49%
Sunrise / Sunset07:22 / 18:13
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)44 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Dillon Reservoir this week

The best day on Dillon Reservoir this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:42 AM-11:42 AM and 10:11 PM-12:11 AM
Minor period
4:05 AM-5:05 AM
Sun
07:22 to 18:13
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 17 mph
Rain chance
49%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Dillon Reservoir: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Dillon Reservoir calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Dillon Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 57 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 62 F, wind to 15 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 57 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Colorado requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Colorado fishing license. CPW W-1: Arctic char 1 a day, 20-in. minimum; brown trout over 14 in. released. Blue River and Tenmile Creek above the reservoir closed Sept. 15-Dec. 1. No kokanee snagging season is listed for Dillon.

Access

Trailered launching only at Dillon Marina and Frisco Bay Marina (ANS inspection); hand-launch ramps closed. No fishing from the dam, bridges or boat ramps. Recreation area open year-round, 24 hours (Denver Water).

About this water

3,233 acres, spillway at 9,017 ft, completed 1963, owned and operated by Denver Water, Summit County, CO. The USGS gauge on this page is the Blue River below Dillon Dam (outflow), not a lake-level gauge.

Fishing Dillon Reservoir: the full guide

The reservoir

Denver Water completed Dillon Reservoir in 1963, relocating the entire town of Dillon and a hydroelectric plant to build the earth-fill dam, 5,888 feet long and 231 feet above the Blue River streambed. The reservoir holds 257,304 acre-feet and covers 3,233 surface acres with 26.8 miles of shoreline at a spillway elevation of 9,017 feet; its water goes through the Roberts Tunnel under the Continental Divide to the South Platte basin.

Fish

The Town of Dillon's marina page lists brown trout, rainbow trout, kokanee salmon and Arctic char. It says Mysis shrimp, introduced in 1970 to feed trout and salmon, ate the zooplankton instead, and that Colorado's wildlife agency stocked Arctic char in 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998 and from 2008 to 2011.

Rules

CPW's Chapter W-1 (approved Nov. 13, 2025) allows one Arctic char a day, at least 20 inches long, and requires every brown trout over 14 inches to be released. The Blue River above the reservoir and Tenmile Creek from West Tenmile Creek down to the reservoir are closed to fishing from Sept. 15 to Dec. 1 to protect brown trout running up from Dillon to spawn. W-1 lists no kokanee snagging season for Dillon.

Boats, shore and ice

Trailered boats may launch only at Dillon Marina and Frisco Bay Marina, after mandatory aquatic nuisance species inspections, and Denver Water says all hand-launch ramps are closed. The Dillon Marina ramp becomes unusable for most motorized boats when the water falls to 8,971 feet, and the Frisco Bay ramp at 9,009 feet. Fishing from the dam, bridges, boat ramps and closed areas is prohibited, motor vehicles are banned on the ice, and Denver Water allows ice fishing when conditions permit.

Common questions

Are there Arctic char in Dillon Reservoir?

Yes: CPW sets a one-fish, 20-inch minimum rule for them here, and the Town of Dillon lists them among the reservoir's fish.

Can I snag kokanee at Dillon?

No. CPW's W-1 entry for Dillon Reservoir has no kokanee snagging season.

Can I fish from the dam?

No. Denver Water prohibits fishing from the dam structure, bridges, boat ramps and closed areas; most of the shoreline is open.

Is fishing good at Dillon Reservoir right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Blue River (Silverthorne)2 miGore Creek21 miTarryall Reservoir35 miEvergreen Lake39 miTwin Lakes39 miClear Creek (Golden)40 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09050700 — Blue River below Dillon
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 15:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.6000, -106.0600 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.