Colorado River — Lees Ferry, Arizona

The walk-in water

Lees Ferry is the end of the road: the launch ramp, campground and a mile or so of wadeable shoreline just above the ramp make up the walk-in water, the only part of the fishery you can reach without a boat. Drive to the river near the ramp or cross the big gravel bar to the water around the Big Rock. It gets crowded in spring and fall, fish run smaller on average than upriver, and the current along the walk-in bars can sweep you off your feet, so wade with care.

Upriver by boat

Everything above the walk-in water, roughly 15 miles up to Glen Canyon Dam, is reached by powerboat from the Lees Ferry ramp. Guides run upriver and either fish from the boat or drop anglers on gravel bars to wade, and the etiquette is that an occupied bar is left alone. Below the ferry the Paria River comes in and the water turns muddy; from there down is Grand Canyon National Park and the walk-in trails from Cathedral Wash and Jackass Creek reach water that is outside the main trout fishery.

Rainbow trout

Lees Ferry rainbows are wild, self-sustaining fish that live on scuds, midges and worms in water that comes out of the dam cold all year. Nymphing with scuds, San Juan worms and tiny midges is the daily routine, and the dry fly window is the cicada fall in July, when the fish look up for big bugs. Midges hatch year-round with the heaviest emergences in spring.

Brown trout

Brown trout are present in small numbers and are treated as a problem, because they prey on native fish downstream in Grand Canyon. The National Park Service runs an incentivized harvest program that pays anglers for browns caught at Lees Ferry, and there is no bag limit on them. Rainbows are the fishery; browns are bycatch you are encouraged to keep.

Season and regulations

Bureau of Reclamation releases set the flow and they swing daily with hydropower demand. Lees Ferry Anglers' current reports describe daily ranges of roughly 7,500 to 14,000 cfs as good fishing, RiverReports calls 8,000 to 10,000 cfs normal operations and 10,000 to 15,000 cfs fishable with more weight, and the occasional low steady bug flow weekends in the 3,000 to 8,000 cfs range fish very well. This page treats 8,000 to 13,000 cfs as in range; above 15,000 cfs wading gets dangerous.

The fishery is open year-round. From Glen Canyon Dam to the Paria riffle the Arizona rules are artificial fly and lure only, barbless hooks only, and a limit of 2 rainbow trout, which must be kept or released immediately. There is no limit on brown trout or other sport fish. An Arizona fishing license and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area entrance fee are required. Confirm the details in the current Arizona Game and Fish Commission Order 40 before you launch.