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Gore Creek Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Gold Medal water through a world-famous ski town: Gore Creek fishes better than any river running past this many hotel rooms deserves to.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
15 cfs
Air / High
78 / 80 F
Wind
NW 11 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09066510, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Gore Creek is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 15 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1005 hPa and a high of 80. Water sits around 54 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutGood

Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown troutGood

Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

Tomorrow: Similar at 79 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Gore Creek at mouth near Minturn.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09066510.

15202415 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp78 F
High / Low80 / 48 F
WindNW 11-16 mph
Pressure1005.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain13% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset06:37 / 19:32
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~54 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 80/48 F, wind 15 mph, rain 6%

Fair or better. A 15 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

When to come: the Gore Creek 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 54 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~54 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 Gore Creek today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 79 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 73 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 70 F, wind to 12 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

Gold Medal reach (Red Sandstone Creek to the Eagle River): artificial flies and lures only, and all trout released. Standard rules above: confirm with CPW.

Access

Vail recreation path corridor, East Vail trailheads, Stephens Park, and Dowd Junction pullouts at the confluence.

About this water

A Gold Medal trout creek through the Vail valley, Eagle County, Colorado, from the Eagles Nest Wilderness to the Eagle River.

Fishing Gore Creek: the full guide

Vail’s trout street

Gore Creek rises in the Eagles Nest Wilderness and runs straight down the Vail valley floor to the Eagle River at Dowd Junction, and its lower four miles carry Colorado Gold Medal status: a density of sizable trout rare for a creek you can reach from a bus stop. Browns dominate, with rainbows, brookies up high and the odd cutthroat, and the fish see enough flies to grade your drift honestly.

Fishing between the bridges

In town, the creek is a series of pools and drops shaped by decades of habitat work: fish them like a technical spring creek, with long leaders, small mayflies and precise drifts, especially by late summer. Above town toward the wilderness boundary the water steepens into attractor-dry pocket fishing. The Gold Medal reach from Red Sandstone Creek down to the Eagle rewards nymphing the deeper slots: stoneflies year-round, baetis spring and fall, caddis all summer.

Season and flows

Runoff peaks in June: the mouth gauge often tops 400 cfs before dropping into the sweet 60-to-200 range by mid-July. July’s evening caddis, August hopper-droppers along the grassy banks and September blue-winged olives are the calendar’s spine. Winter fishing continues in town where warm inflow keeps water open: midges at noon, and you might have the whole famous creek to yourself.

Access and etiquette

The recreation path parallels nearly the whole creek: parking at Vail’s free lots, East Vail trailheads, and Stephens Park on the lower end. Everything between the streambanks in town is effectively public: stay in the corridor and mind private-property signage on a few stretches. Fish early or late in high summer: the creek is busiest when the golf carts are out.

Common questions

Is Gore Creek really Gold Medal quality?

The lower reach earned the designation on measured trout biomass: the fish are there. They are also educated: bring your best drifts, not your biggest flies.

When is the best time to fish Vail?

Mid-July through September: settled flows, hoppers on the banks and evening caddis. Winter midging in town is the connoisseur’s secret.

Do I need a guide?

No: access is the easiest in Colorado. A guide accelerates the technical learning curve on the in-town pools if your time is short.

Is fishing good at Gore Creek right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Blue River (Silverthorne)20 miDillon Reservoir21 miRuedi Reservoir27 miEagle River32 miTwin Lakes37 miRoaring Fork River38 mi
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