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Uncompahgre River Fishing Report

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

The Uncompahgre: Ridgway's tailwater gift, where the San Juans' silt turned to trophy water below the dam at Pa-Co-Chu-Puk.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
442 cfs
Air / High
61 / 61 F
Wind
SSW 11 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09147500, 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.

Uncompahgre River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 442 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 61. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:49 AM-11:49 AM and 10:17 PM-12:17 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 56 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 Uncompahgre at Colona.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09147500.

126251375442 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 114 years of October 23

At 442 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 09147500 (Uncompahgre at Colona) is above the highest daily mean on record for the date: much above normal. In half of the 114 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 110 cfs; the highest was 379 cfs and the lowest 38 cfs.

p10 59median 110p90 208

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 09147500; 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 temp61 F
High / Low61 / 45 F
WindSSW 11-20 mph
Pressure1009.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain9% cloud, 30%
Sunrise / Sunset07:28 / 18:22
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)53 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 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Uncompahgre River this week

The best day on Uncompahgre 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
9:49 AM-11:49 AM and 10:17 PM-12:17 AM
Minor period
4:12 AM-5:12 AM
Sun
07:28 to 18:22
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 13 mph
Rain chance
30%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Uncompahgre 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 Uncompahgre 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 Uncompahgre 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 58 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 58 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 63 F, wind to 9 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. Pa-Co-Chu-Puk: catch-and-release, artificials: check CPW/park signage.

Access

Ridgway SP (Pa-Co-Chu-Puk units), Billy Creek accesses, Montrose town water.

About this water

The tailwater below Ridgway Dam, Ouray County, CO. The San Juans' reclaimed trophy stretch.

Fishing Uncompahgre River: the full guide

The reclaimed river

The Uncompahgre ran orange with mine silt for a century: then Ridgway Dam settled it and the tailwater below (the Pa-Co-Chu-Puk stretch through the state park) became one of Colorado's finest short trout waters: big rainbows and browns in constructed pools, framed by the Sneffels range's postcard wall.

Pa-Co-Chu-Puk program

The park's catch-and-release miles fish like a manicured spring creek: pods of large fish in the engineered pools (eggs, sowbugs, small streamers), winter fishing that stays open and productive, and family infrastructure (paths, camping) that makes it the San Juans' easiest quality water. Downstream toward Montrose, stocked reaches relax the rules.

The valley beyond

Above the reservoir, the river runs freestone through Ouray's canyon (small wild fish, big scenery): the reservoir itself adds stillwater rainbows: and the valley's position (Ridgway to Ouray to the Sneffels trailheads) makes fishing one thread of the San Juan tapestry: ice climbing and hot springs share the calendar.

San Juan practicalities

Ridgway State Park anchors everything (fees, ramps, the tailwater trail): flows run irrigation-driven (300-plus CFS fishes big, winter's 40-80 fishes technical: our Colona gauge tracks it): and altitude weather flips fast. Montrose supplies: Ouray charms: the river rewards both directions.

Common questions

What does Pa-Co-Chu-Puk mean for anglers?

The state park's tailwater stretch: catch-and-release pools full of large rainbows, open and fishable all winter. Colorado's friendliest trophy water.

When should I fish the Uncompahgre?

October-April for solitude and pods (the tailwater shines in winter): summer adds the freestone canyon above. Irrigation season swells flows: adjust weights, not plans.

Is fishing good at Uncompahgre 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 Reservoir8 miSan Miguel River26 miBlue Mesa Reservoir31 miTaylor River54 miVallecito Reservoir66 miGunnison River67 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09147500 β€” Uncompahgre at Colona
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:35 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.3300, -107.7600 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.