Southwest and Colorado
Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona: a green drake hatch, spawning runs and the closures that protect them. Each row is charted only for the months its source gives; where a source names an insect but gives no months, it is not charted. Conditions vary by water and year: use this to plan, then ask a local shop.
- 8sourced rows
- 6sources
- 4states
Month by month
- Hatch
- Fish run
- Spawning
- Season or closure
| Event, where, source | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green drakeHatch · Middle Provo River, Utah[1] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources | January: no | February: no | March: no | April: no | May: no | June: yes | July: yes | August: no | September: no | October: no | November: no | December: no |
| Kokanee salmon spawning runFish run · Provo River above Jordanelle Reservoir, Utah[2] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources | January: no | February: no | March: no | April: no | May: no | June: no | July: no | August: no | September: yes | October: no | November: no | December: no |
| Kokanee salmon spawning runFish run · Electric Lake tributaries (Boulger Creek, Upper Huntington Creek), Utah[2] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources | January: no | February: no | March: no | April: no | May: no | June: no | July: no | August: no | September: yes | October: yes | November: no | December: no |
| Brown trout spawning (peak)Spawning · Lees Ferry reach, Colorado River, Arizona[3] U.S. Geological Survey | January: yes | February: no | March: no | April: no | May: no | June: no | July: no | August: no | September: no | October: no | November: yes | December: yes |
| Spring and fall fishing closures at creek confluencesSeason or closure · Colorado River at the Canyon, Elk, Grizzly and No Name Creek confluences, Garfield County, Colorado[4] Colorado Parks and Wildlife | January: no | February: no | March: yes | April: yes | May: yes | June: no | July: no | August: no | September: no | October: yes | November: yes | December: no |
| Upper Strawberry River and tributaries closedSeason or closure · Strawberry River and tributaries upstream of USFS Road 124, Wasatch County, Utah[5] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources | January: no | February: no | March: no | April: no | May: yes | June: yes | July: yes | August: no | September: no | October: no | November: no | December: no |
| Statewide kokanee possession closure (spawning season)Season or closure · Utah (statewide)[5] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources | January: no | February: no | March: no | April: no | May: no | June: no | July: no | August: no | September: yes | October: yes | November: yes | December: no |
| Kokanee spawning closureSeason or closure · Heron Lake, Willow Creek and Navajo Lake no-wake areas, New Mexico[6] New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDOW) | January: no | February: no | March: no | April: no | May: no | June: no | July: no | August: no | September: no | October: yes | November: yes | December: no |
- Green drake June to JulyHatch · Middle Provo River, Utah · [1] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
- Kokanee salmon spawning run SeptemberFish run · Provo River above Jordanelle Reservoir, Utah · [2] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
- Kokanee salmon spawning run September to OctoberFish run · Electric Lake tributaries (Boulger Creek, Upper Huntington Creek), Utah · [2] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
- Brown trout spawning (peak) November to JanuarySpawning · Lees Ferry reach, Colorado River, Arizona · [3] U.S. Geological Survey
- Spring and fall fishing closures at creek confluences March to May, October to NovemberSeason or closure · Colorado River at the Canyon, Elk, Grizzly and No Name Creek confluences, Garfield County, Colorado · [4] Colorado Parks and Wildlife
- Upper Strawberry River and tributaries closed May to JulySeason or closure · Strawberry River and tributaries upstream of USFS Road 124, Wasatch County, Utah · [5] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
- Statewide kokanee possession closure (spawning season) September to NovemberSeason or closure · Utah (statewide) · [5] Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
- Kokanee spawning closure October to NovemberSeason or closure · Heron Lake, Willow Creek and Navajo Lake no-wake areas, New Mexico · [6] New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDOW)
What each source says
The source's own words behind every row, so you can see exactly where the months come from.
- Green drake, Middle Provo River, Utah (June to July):
June and sometimes through July are an ideal time to fish the Middle Provo River, which is when the green drake hatch is happening.
[1] - Kokanee salmon spawning run, Provo River above Jordanelle Reservoir, Utah (September):
The kokanee in Jordanelle Reservoir spawn in the Provo River, above the Rock Cliff recreation area. ... Spawning usually runs through the month of September and peaks about the middle of the month.
[2] - Kokanee salmon spawning run, Electric Lake tributaries (Boulger Creek, Upper Huntington Creek), Utah (September to October):
Salmon run up both creeks starting in early September, and the spawning season lasts until the end of October.
[2] - Brown trout spawning (peak), Lees Ferry reach, Colorado River, Arizona (November to January):
Under Alternative 6, brown trout would be removed from Lees Ferry through a concerted electrofishing effort during the peak of spawning (November–January), targeting the largest and most reproductively successful fish.
[3] - Spring and fall fishing closures at creek confluences, Colorado River at the Canyon, Elk, Grizzly and No Name Creek confluences, Garfield County, Colorado (March to May, October to November):
e. 50 yards upstream and downstream of the confluences with Canyon, Elk, Grizzly and No Name Creeks: 1. The bag and possession limit for trout is two fish. 2. Fishing is prohibited from March 15 through May 31 and from October 1 through November 30.
[4] - Upper Strawberry River and tributaries closed, Strawberry River and tributaries upstream of USFS Road 124, Wasatch County, Utah (May to July):
CLOSED May 15 through 6 a.m. on the second Saturday of July.
[5] - Statewide kokanee possession closure (spawning season), Utah (statewide) (September to November):
Statewide kokanee salmon closure in the fall: Anglers may not possess kokanee salmon at any waterbody statewide from Sept. 10 through Nov. 30 to protect kokanee during the spawning season.
[5] - Kokanee spawning closure, Heron Lake, Willow Creek and Navajo Lake no-wake areas, New Mexico (October to November):
As a result, Heron Lake, Willow Creek and designated no-wake areas at Navajo Lake are closed October 1–November 12, and no kokanee salmon may be in possession while fishing during these closures at Heron Lake and Willow Creek.
[6]
Use it on the water
Pick flies with the fly finder, check an insect with the fly identifier, and read the flow and temperature on each water page before you go.
- Utah watersWater pages
- Colorado watersWater pages
- New Mexico watersWater pages
- Arizona watersWater pages
Sources
Every fact on this page is our paraphrase of the page cited beside it, read on the date shown. Rules and seasons change: check the agency's current regulations before you fish.
- Great places to go fishing on Memorial Day weekend and Free Fishing Day on June 6 (20 May 2026) Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.
- Where to see red kokanee salmon in Utah this fall (1 Sept 2026) Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.
- Brown Trout in the Lees Ferry Reach of the Colorado River - Evaluation of Causal Hypotheses and Potential Interventions (Open-File Report 2018-1069) U.S. Geological Survey, read Oct 24, 2026.
- Final Regulations, Chapter W-1 - Fishing (as approved 11/13/2025) Colorado Parks and Wildlife, read Oct 24, 2026.
- 2026 Utah Fishing Guidebook Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.
- Trout & Salmon Regulations New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDOW), read Oct 24, 2026.
Other regions
- Northern Rockies8 rows
- Pacific Northwest10 rows
- California19 rows
- Alaska8 rows
- Driftless19 rows
- Catskills and the Northeast17 rows
- Southern Appalachians27 rows
- Ozarks3 rows
- Great Lakes10 rows