South Fork Little Colorado River

Type
Freestone river, Arizona (West)
Designation
Catch and release · Special-regulation trout water
USGS gauges
None listed
Guides
None listed
Shops
1 nearby

Today on the South Fork Little Colorado River

No live reading for this water
Why there is no reading

Nothing live is published for this water, so there is no reading or verdict today. The readings section below says what we checked.

Regulations & access Guides & shops

The South Fork Little Colorado River is a freestone river in Arizona, listed as Catch and release by Arizona Game and Fish Department / Arizona Game and Fish Commission (2025-2026 Arizona Fishing Regulations, official eRegulations edition).

More about the South Fork Little Colorado River

Arizona Game and Fish Department / Arizona Game and Fish Commission (2025-2026 Arizona Fishing Regulations, official eRegulations edition) lists 1 species. 1 shop nearby are listed here.

Updated · Sources: Commission Order 40 special regulations: catch-and-release only for trout (artificial fly and lure only, barbless hooks; some seasonal), Commission Order 40 special regulations: catch-and-release only for trout (artificial fly and lure only, barbless hooks; some seasonal)

Representative photograph of similar water; not a photograph of this place.
Representative photograph, not this water.
Where it is

South Fork Little Colorado River is a freestone river in Arizona.

No real-time gauge

No real-time gauge on this water. We found no active USGS gauge on South Fork Little Colorado River or on its stream system within about 25 miles, and no dam operator publishes data for it. A missing gauge says nothing about the water itself. Find the gauges nearest South Fork Little Colorado River

About these readings

Nothing live is published for this water; the note below says what we checked.

Where to fish

About this

Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Restrooms near South Fork Little Colorado River

Restrooms near South Fork Little Colorado River

Restrooms within 2 miles of South Fork Little Colorado River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.

Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near South Fork Little Colorado River

  • The Colorado River at Lees Ferry flowing past a rocky shore beneath red sandstone cliffsCatch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Little Colorado River
    Photo credit

    The Colorado River at Lees Ferry, Arizona. Photo: Denny Armstrong, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Little Colorado River.

    Little Colorado River

    Arizona · about 3 mi

    Brown trout

  • Navajo Lake's blue water and mesa shoreline seen through juniper from Navajo Lake State ParkCatch and releaseRepresentative photo · not River Reservoir
    Photo credit

    Navajo Lake from Navajo Lake State Park, New Mexico. Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not River Reservoir.

    River Reservoir

    Arizona · about 3 mi

    Rainbow trout, brown trout & panfish

  • Crowley Lake below a mountain ridge of the Long Valley Caldera, under evening cloudsFeatured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Tunnel Reservoir
    Photo credit

    Crowley Lake and the Long Valley Caldera from US 395. Photo: Clinton Steeds, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Tunnel Reservoir.

    Tunnel Reservoir

    Arizona · about 3 mi

    Rainbow & brown trout

  • Marshy shallows at the edge of Henrys Lake, with the Henrys Lake Mountains behindFeatured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Bunch Reservoir
    Photo credit

    Henrys Lake from Henrys Lake State Park, Idaho. Photo: James Postema, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bunch Reservoir.

    Bunch Reservoir

    Arizona · about 4 mi

    Rainbow & brown trout

  • Aerial view of Eagle Lake beyond the dry bed of Horse LakeFeatured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Crescent Lake
    Photo credit

    Eagle Lake, Lassen County, California, with dry Horse Lake in the foreground (aerial). Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Crescent Lake.

    Crescent Lake

    Arizona · about 6 mi

    Rainbow & brook trout

  • Ennis Lake partly iced over in early spring, with the snow-covered Madison Range across the waterSpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Lee Valley Reservoir
    Photo credit

    Ennis Lake, Montana, in March, with the Madison Range beyond. Photo: Gloria Cabada-Leman, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr Not Lee Valley Reservoir.

    Lee Valley Reservoir

    Arizona · about 6 mi

    Arctic grayling

Sources Arizona where to fish (not verified by us)Overture Maps places (guide map points)

Where the map point comes from

Position: the Commission Order 40 special regulations: catch-and-release only for trout (artificial fly and lure only, barbless hooks; some seasonal) published by Arizona Game and Fish Department / Arizona Game and Fish Commission (2025-2026 Arizona Fishing Regulations, official eRegulations edition).

The map shows shops and guides within 40 miles that publish a street address on their own website. Everyone else is in the lists below.

Regulations

About this

Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.

2 official designations

Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Length
13.3 mi (12.3 in AZ)
Drains
25.3 sq mi
Drop
1,895 ft · 142.3 ft/mi
Flows into
Little Colorado River
Watershed
Little Colorado Headwaters

Public land along it

About this

Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

11.7 of 12.3 mi on public land

  • Apache National ForestForest Service · 11.7 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near South Fork Little Colorado River

About this

Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

Guides

No guide within 40 miles yet.

1 shop nearby

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Shops: fly shops first. A distance is shown when the shop’s website gives its location (within 60 miles); otherwise the shop is in one of the towns within 25 miles of the water.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species and hatches

About this

The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.

Listed by the state agency

  • Apache Trout

When the bugs come off

Regional hatch months: Southwest and Colorado
About this chart

1 hatch charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

  1. January: no charted hatch
  2. February: no charted hatch
  3. March: no charted hatch
  4. April: no charted hatch
  5. May: no charted hatch
  6. June: 1 charted hatch
  7. July: 1 charted hatch
  8. August: no charted hatch
  9. September: no charted hatch
  10. October: no charted hatch
  11. November: no charted hatch
  12. December: no charted hatch

Green drake (June to July)

Plan a trip here

About this

None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.

No hub within 40 miles

Gear checklist

About this

A wade-fishing checklist for big western trout rivers: a 9 ft 5–6 weight outfit, nymph, dry and streamer setups, waders, boots and a wading staff, with estimated prices by tier and where to buy.

A woman in waders and a sun hat wades a broad river and casts, bluffs on the far bank

Big western rivers (wade fishing)

9′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating line · Rainbow and brown trout, whitefish

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with South Fork Little Colorado River.

No stories from here yet.

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 7 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the Commission Order 40 special regulations: catch-and-release only for trout (artificial fly and lure only, barbless hooks; some seasonal) published by Arizona Game and Fish Department / Arizona Game and Fish Commission (2025-2026 Arizona Fishing Regulations, official eRegulations edition). Water type is our own classification.