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Yampa River Fishing Report

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

Northwestern Colorado's free-flowing Green River tributary: trout water through Steamboat Springs under CPW special rules, with no limit on pike and bass downstream.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
97 cfs
Air / High
60 / 62 F
Wind
W 19 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09239500, 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.

Yampa River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 97 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 19 mph, rising pressure near 1009 hPa and a high of 62. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:45 AM-11:45 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 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: Similar at 59 F. 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 Yampa River at Steamboat Springs.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09239500.

679512297 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 118 years of October 23

At 97 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 09239500 (Yampa River at Steamboat Springs) is at the 27th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 118 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 127 cfs; the highest was 374 cfs and the lowest 60 cfs.

p10 75median 127p90 222

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 09239500; 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 temp60 F
High / Low62 / 42 F
WindW 19-27 mph
Pressure1009.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain21% cloud, 31%
Sunrise / Sunset07:27 / 18:15
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)51 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 Yampa River this week

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

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

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:45 AM-11:45 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 AM
Minor period
4:08 AM-5:08 AM
Sun
07:27 to 18:15
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 20 mph
Rain chance
31%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Yampa 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 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 Yampa 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 Yampa 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 63 F, wind to 9 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 65 F, wind to 7 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 7 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 rules (as approved Nov. 13, 2025, read 2026-10-05): see the section rules above for Stagecoach Dam to Craig; fishing is prohibited Oct. 1 through Nov. 15 from 100 feet above to 200 feet below the Fish Creek confluence in Steamboat Springs. No bag limit on pike, bass, walleye and listed warmwater species river-wide. Check CPW and the City of Steamboat Springs for current closures.

Access

CPW's Chuck Lewis State Wildlife Area lies on the river near Steamboat Springs, and the catch-and-release town reach runs through Steamboat Springs. Downstream, the last 47 miles flow through Dinosaur National Monument, where the NPS says the river is essentially unnavigable outside the brief spring high water.

About this water

A river of nearly 250 miles across northwestern Colorado to the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument; the page's gauge is USGS 09239500, Yampa River at Steamboat Springs.

Fishing Yampa River: the full guide

The Colorado system's free-flowing tributary

The National Park Service describes the Yampa as running nearly 250 miles from its source in the Colorado mountains to the Green River at Echo Park, the last 47 of them inside Dinosaur National Monument. It calls the Yampa the only remaining free-flowing tributary in the Colorado River system and the major drainage of northwestern Colorado, with spring high water lasting only a few weeks in late May and June. CPW includes the Yampa on its list of Quality Waters for the Northwest Region.

Trout rules from Stagecoach to Craig

CPW splits the upper river into rule sections. The first 0.6 mile below Stagecoach Dam is flies and lures only with all trout released; from there to Walton Creek it is flies and lures with a two-trout limit. Through Steamboat Springs, from the Walton Creek confluence 4.8 miles down to the James Brown (Soul Center of the Universe) bridge, it is again flies and lures only and catch-and-release. Below that bridge to the Colorado 394 bridge near Craig, the trout limit is two.

Warmwater fish and low-flow closures

From the headwaters to the Green River, CPW sets no bag or possession limit on northern pike, smallmouth and largemouth bass, walleye, channel catfish and several other warmwater species. Late-summer flows are the limiting factor: when the river at Steamboat dropped below 85 cfs, the city enacted commercial and voluntary recreational closures on July 1, 2026 and asked anglers to stay out, and CPW has set its own full-day closures between Stagecoach and Steamboat in recent seasons. The USGS gauge 'Yampa River at Steamboat Springs' tracks those flows.

Common questions

Is the Yampa a Gold Medal river?

No. CPW's Gold Medal stream list does not include it; the Yampa is on CPW's Quality Waters list for the Northwest Region.

Can I fish in town?

Yes, under CPW's rules for the 4.8 miles from the Walton Creek confluence to the James Brown bridge: flies and lures only, all trout released. Respect any voluntary closure the city or CPW has in place.

Why are there closures in summer?

Low flows and warm water stress trout. In 2026 the City of Steamboat Springs enacted a commercial and voluntary recreational closure on July 1 when flows dropped below 85 cfs, and CPW has issued its own full-day voluntary closures on reaches upstream of town.

Is fishing good at Yampa 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

Steamboat Lake23 miLake Granby56 miEagle River59 miGore Creek63 miBlue River (Silverthorne)71 miDillon Reservoir73 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09239500 — Yampa River at Steamboat Springs
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 17:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 40.4800, -106.8300 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.