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Gore Creek Fishing Report

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

Vail's home creek, with a CPW Gold Medal reach from Red Sandstone Creek to the Eagle River under a flies-and-lures, two-fish, 16-inch rule.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
16 cfs
Air / High
62 / 63 F
Wind
W 11 mph

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

Satellite view
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.

Gore Creek fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 16 cfs, on the rise. Today brings a mixed sky, wind W around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1006 hPa and a high of 63. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:43 AM-11:43 AM and 10:12 PM-12:12 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 50Β°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 58 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

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 β†’

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 Gore Creek at mouth near Minturn.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09066510.

13141516 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 31 years of October 23

At 16 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 09066510 (Gore Creek at mouth near Minturn) is at the 6th percentile for the date: much below normal. In half of the 31 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 30 cfs; the highest was 59 cfs and the lowest 13 cfs.

p10 20median 30p90 47

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 09066510; 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 temp62 F
High / Low63 / 40 F
WindW 11-23 mph
Pressure1006.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain30% cloud, 47%
Sunrise / Sunset07:24 / 18:15
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)48 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 Gore Creek this week

Today is the pick of the week on Gore Creek, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:43 AM-11:43 AM and 10:12 PM-12:12 AM
Minor period
4:07 AM-5:07 AM
Sun
07:24 to 18:15
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 14 mph
Rain chance
47%

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

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

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 50Β°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 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 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 Gore Creek 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 54 F, wind to 10 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 60 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 59 F, wind to 11 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

CPW Chapter W-1 (as approved Nov. 13, 2025, read 2026-10-05): from the Red Sandstone Creek confluence to the Eagle River, artificial flies and lures only; trout bag, possession limit and minimum size two fish, 16 inches. Statewide rules apply above Red Sandstone Creek. Confirm in the current CPW fishing brochure.

Access

The creek runs through the Town of Vail. Respect posted private property, and check Town of Vail notices for restoration work that may close short sections.

About this water

A tributary of the Eagle River through Vail, Eagle County, Colorado, with a CPW Gold Medal designation from Red Sandstone Creek to the Eagle River.

Fishing Gore Creek: the full guide

The Gold Medal reach in Vail

Gore Creek runs down the Vail valley to the Eagle River near Minturn. CPW's Gold Medal stream list designates the reach from the Red Sandstone Creek confluence to the Eagle River, and that reach carries special rules: artificial flies and lures only, and a two-trout bag and possession limit with a 16-inch minimum.

A creek under restoration

Gore Creek has had water-quality problems the town and the state are working on. In 2021 an accidental release from Vail Resorts' snowmaking operations killed fish and damaged 1.5 miles of Mill and Gore creeks; the state's 2023 settlement put $249,000 toward restoration in the Gore Creek basin. Trout Unlimited and the Town of Vail are using it for in-stream and riparian work between the Ford Amphitheater and the Vail Nature Center, aimed at water quality and better angler access.

Flows

The USGS gauge 'Gore Creek at mouth near Minturn' (09066510) reports discharge near the confluence with the Eagle River and is the reference for conditions on the Gold Medal reach. Early October flows are low, around 13 cfs on October 5, 2026.

Common questions

Is Gore Creek really Gold Medal water?

Yes, from the Red Sandstone Creek confluence down to the Eagle River, according to CPW's Gold Medal stream list.

Can I keep fish on the Gold Medal reach?

CPW allows two trout, each at least 16 inches, taken on artificial flies or lures only. It is not a mandatory catch-and-release reach.

What happened to Gore Creek in 2021?

An accidental release from Vail Resorts' snowmaking killed fish across 1.5 miles of Mill and Gore creeks. Colorado settled with the company in 2023, and most of the $275,000 is going to restoration work in the Gore Creek basin.

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

Nearby waters

Blue River (Silverthorne)20 miDillon Reservoir21 miRuedi Reservoir25 miEagle River32 miTwin Lakes37 miRoaring Fork River38 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09066510 β€” Gore Creek at mouth near Minturn
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.6089, -106.4492 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 5, 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 5, 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.