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Fryingpan River

Type
Tailwater, Colorado (West)
Designation
Gold Medal Water · Special-regulation trout water
USGS gauges
1 live
Guides
1 name it
Shops
4 nearby

Today on the Fryingpan River

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & access Guides & shops

The Fryingpan River is a tailwater in Colorado, listed as Gold Medal Water by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

More about the Fryingpan River

1 USGS gauge on the water reports flow. 7 guides and 4 shops nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Basalt, the Roaring Fork & the Fryingpan.

Updated · Sources: Gold Medal Streams, USGS Water Data

The Fryingpan River just below Ruedi Dam, with the dam's outlet works upstream and a dry, grassy slope
Photo credit

The Fryingpan River below Ruedi Dam at the Rocky Fork day-use area. Photo: Klambpatten (with Bureau of Reclamation), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Where it is

Fryingpan River is a tailwater in Colorado. Our destination hub Basalt, the Roaring Fork & the Fryingpan is 1 mi away in a straight line and lists it among its waters.

Flow now at the gauge
Reading the gauges…

Check any river's flow

Follow Fryingpan River for flow alerts

Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.

Follow this water

Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.

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.

Colorado Fishing Atlas (access map)

Fryingpan River on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Fryingpan River: gauges, shops and guides

RestroomsAccess map

Map of Fryingpan River with 1 USGS gauge, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near Fryingpan River

Restrooms near Fryingpan River

Restrooms within 2 miles of Fryingpan 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 Fryingpan River

  • The Roaring Fork River in Basalt in autumn, with golden cottonwoods along the bankGold Medal Water
    Photo credit

    The Roaring Fork River in Basalt, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Roaring Fork River

    Colorado · about 14 mi

    Rainbow & brown trout

  • The Arkansas River running past the river walk in downtown SalidaGold Medal Water
    Photo credit

    The Arkansas River in downtown Salida, Colorado. Photo: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Arkansas River

    Colorado · about 214 mi

  • The young Colorado River meandering through meadow and spruce in the Kawuneeche Valley, with mountains behindFeatured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Eagle River
    Photo credit

    The Colorado River and Onahu Creek in the Kawuneeche Valley, Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo: KimonBerlin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Eagle River.

    Eagle River

    Colorado · about 24 mi

  • The South Platte River curving past a gravel bar under green trees in Waterton CanyonGold Medal WaterRepresentative photo · not Gore Creek
    Photo credit

    The South Platte River in Waterton Canyon, southwest of Denver. Photo: mark byzewski, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Gore Creek.

    Gore Creek

    Colorado · about 34 mi

  • Navajo Lake's blue water and mesa shoreline seen through juniper from Navajo Lake State ParkFeatured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Taylor Park Reservoir
    Photo credit

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

    Taylor Park Reservoir

    Colorado · about 39 mi

  • The Big Thompson River tumbling over boulders under leafy trees in Big Thompson CanyonGold Medal WaterRepresentative photo · not Blue River
    Photo credit

    The Big Thompson River at Viestenz-Smith Park in Big Thompson Canyon. Photo: Wusel007, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Blue River.

    Blue River

    Colorado · about 44 mi

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
42.2 mi (40.8 in CO)
Drains
296 sq mi
Drop
5,597 ft · 132.5 ft/mi
Flows into
Roaring Fork River
Watershed
Roaring Fork

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.

20.1 of 40.8 mi on public land

  • White River National ForestForest Service · 17.4 mi
  • Basalt State Wildlife AreaState Fish and Wildlife · 2.7 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near Fryingpan 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.

1 guide name it on their website

Guides

All Colorado guides

4 shops nearby

All Colorado shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. After them, fly-focused guides within 40 miles whose website does not name it. 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

What 4 nearby guide websites mention: what guides advertise, not a survey or a promise of what you will catch.

Named on 4 nearby guide websites

  • Cutthroat trout3
  • Brown trout2
  • Rainbow trout2
  • Smallmouth bass2
  • Steelhead2
  • Bass1
  • Brook trout1
  • Crappie1

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)

How we put this together

Named by guides nearby (within 40 miles), counted from the species each guide lists on its own site. No agency page we hold lists species for this water.

Basalt, the Roaring Fork & the Fryingpan

About this

Basalt sits where the Fryingpan River joins the Roaring Fork, between Aspen and Glenwood Springs; Ruedi Reservoir is up the Fryingpan, the Roaring Fork meets the Colorado River at Glenwood Springs, and the Eagle River valley lies to the north-east.

Destination hub · 1 mi away in a straight line

Open the hubPlan a trip here

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 Fryingpan River.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 12 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 USGS gauge FRYINGPAN RIVER NEAR RUEDI, CO.. Water type is our own classification.