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San Miguel River Fishing Report

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

Telluride's river: a free-flowing ribbon dropping from the box canyon through cottonwood gold, wild trout the whole way.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
1,250 cfs
Air / High
54 / 54 F
Wind
SSW 15 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09172500, 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.

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

San Miguel River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 1,250 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 15 mph, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 54. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:50 AM-11:50 AM and 10:19 PM-12:19 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: Similar at 51 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 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 San Miguel near Placerville.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09172500.

3236881,0531,250 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 90 years of October 23

At 1,250 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 09172500 (San Miguel near Placerville) is above the highest daily mean on record for the date: much above normal. In half of the 90 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 95 cfs; the highest was 219 cfs and the lowest 47 cfs.

p10 69median 95p90 160

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 09172500; 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 temp54 F
High / Low54 / 40 F
WindSSW 15-27 mph
Pressure1010.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 31%
Sunrise / Sunset07:28 / 18:23
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
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 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish San Miguel River this week

The best day on San Miguel River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:50 AM-11:50 AM and 10:19 PM-12:19 AM
Minor period
4:13 AM-5:13 AM
Sun
07:28 to 18:23
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 14 mph
Rain chance
31%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on San Miguel River: 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 San Miguel River 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 San Miguel River 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 17 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 54 F, wind to 12 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 58 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 license. Standard trout rules; some private-lease bends: respect signage.

Access

Hwy 145 pull-offs: town water, Placerville, Norwood canyon accesses.

About this water

The free-flowing river below Telluride, San Miguel County, CO. Box-canyon-born wild trout.

Fishing San Miguel River: the full guide

The free river

The San Miguel runs undammed from Telluride's box canyon to the Dolores: a rarity in Colorado: wild browns and rainbows in a freestone that makes its own rules: brief runoff, honest pockets, and September cottonwoods that justify the word golden.

Pocket-water program

The river fishes classic small-freestone: attractor-dropper rigs through the pockets, hoppers along the sage banks (August's game), streamers in the deeper bends below Placerville. Fish run 10-16 inches wild: the canyon stretches add solitude the highway pull-offs can't.

The valley ladder

Town water (Telluride's stretch: fishes better than any resort river should), the Placerville-to-Norwood canyon (the quality middle), and the lower desert reaches toward Naturita (bigger browns, fewer boots): one river, three characters, all wading-friendly.

San Juan practicalities

Highway 145 shadows the river (pull-offs ladder it): runoff clears by late June (our Placerville gauge: under 300 CFS is prime): and afternoon monsoons rule July-August: mornings, then coffee in Telluride. The Dolores' tailwater sits an hour south: the region stacks options.

Common questions

Is the San Miguel worth fishing versus famous neighbors?

For undammed character and solitude, yes: wild fish in honest pocket water without tailwater crowds. September here is Colorado's quiet postcard.

When does the San Miguel fish best?

Late June through September after runoff: hoppers in August, streamers as the cottonwoods turn. Winter sleeps: the freestone's honest trade.

Does the San Miguel have a fly shop?

Telluride's outfitters cover the river daily: honest boards, wade rentals, shuttle beta. The town water fishes before breakfast: ask about the evening caddis before dinner.

Is fishing good at San Miguel River 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

Ridgway Reservoir21 miUncompahgre River26 miVallecito Reservoir52 miBlue Mesa Reservoir55 miGunnison River77 miTaylor River79 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09172500 β€” San Miguel near Placerville
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:05 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.0300, -108.0600 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.
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 guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be 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.