Colorado River, Colorado

Pumphouse Recreation Area

Pumphouse, a BLM recreation area on Trough Road about ten miles from Kremmling, sits at the bottom of Gore Canyon and is the first practical put-in for float fishing on the upper Colorado. There is a fee to park or camp, concrete ramps, and miles of public bank both upstream toward the canyon mouth and downstream through the braided meadow, so it is also the best wade access on the river.

Radium, Rancho del Rio and State Bridge

Pumphouse to Radium is a little over four miles and nearly all BLM land on river left, which makes it the most popular half-day float. Radium to Rancho del Rio adds about six miles, and Rancho to State Bridge finishes the roughly 14-mile run. Needle's Eye rapid between Pumphouse and Radium is Class II most of the season and gets serious above about 3,000 cfs. Below State Bridge the river continues past Catamount toward Dotsero, and the Gold Medal designation runs from Canyon Creek at Pumphouse down to Rock Creek near McCoy.

Gore Canyon

Gore Canyon, above Pumphouse, is Class V whitewater and not a float fishing option. Anglers reach its lower end on foot from Pumphouse by hiking upstream along the river. The Kremmling gauge this page uses sits at the head of the canyon, so it reads slightly less water than what arrives at Pumphouse after the canyon's side creeks.

Brown and rainbow trout

Brown trout make up the large majority of the fish in the Pumphouse reach today, with rainbows a minority and the occasional cutthroat and whitefish. Salmonflies come off in late May and June, golden stones and PMDs follow, caddis run spring through summer and tricos take over the late summer mornings. Water temperatures on this reach climb into the high 60s in hot summers, and local shops ask anglers to stop fishing at 68 degrees.

Season and regulations

Vail Valley Anglers puts the best floating flows at 800 to 1,200 cfs and says the river still fishes well at 400 to 600 cfs, so this page treats 400 to 1,200 cfs at the Kremmling gauge as in range. The river can top 4,000 cfs for a few weeks in a big runoff year and still fish, but rowing gets demanding.

Colorado has no closed season on the upper Colorado. From Troublesome Creek downstream to Rifle the bag and possession limit for trout is 2, and the Gold Medal segment from Canyon Creek to Rock Creek carries no extra gear restriction. A Colorado fishing license is required; confirm the details in the current CPW fishing regulations before your trip.