Colorado

Animas River

Colorado·San Juan·37.28° N, 107.88° W

Solunar · next 7 days

About Animas River

The Animas is really two rivers. It drops out of the San Juans above Silverton and runs south through Durango to New Mexico, and the fishing splits hard at the geography. Up high the water is beautiful and largely dead — a century of hardrock mining and acid drainage (the Bonita Peak Superfund district covers 48 sites in the upper tributaries) scoured roughly 60 miles of headwater of most trout. Fifty miles downstream through Durango it's a completely different fishery: a Gold Medal stretch of wide, boulder-strewn pocket water holding wild browns and rainbows that average 12–16 inches with fish to 20. This is city-limits fishing — the Gold Medal reach runs past a Home Depot and a Harley dealership with a paved bike path the whole way — but the trout don't care.

It fishes like a freestone, not a spring creek. The through-town water is nearly 100 feet wide with deep buckets, slick rock, and heavy current; the default game is weighted nymphs (caddis larva, stoneflies, midges) and sculpin streamers dredged through the seams, not delicate dry-fly work. It runs big and off-color during June snowmelt — high water out of a deep alpine snowpack blows it out most years into late June — then drops into shape by July and stays good through October. Winter is a legitimate season here: at 6,500 feet the in-town water rarely locks up, and midges plus the odd BWO carry December through February.

The elephant in the room is the August 2015 Gold King Mine spill — three million gallons of orange mine water that went viral worldwide. Worth being straight about it: there was no fish kill, not that day and not since. Metal concentrations spiked briefly in three non-game species and were back to pre-spill levels by the next sampling. Through Durango the plume was diluted and the trout came through it; the fishery today is healthy and CPW keeps the Gold Medal designation current. The real, ongoing constraint is the legacy acid mine drainage up top near Silverton, not the one-time spill — a headwaters problem, not a Durango one.

Species

Brown Trout
Primary · Sep-Nov · 12-18"
The dominant fish through town — wild, aggressive sculpin-eaters. Best on streamers in the fall pre-spawn.
Rainbow Trout
Common · Jun-Oct · 10-16"
Wild and supplemented, recovering from 1990s whirling disease via CPW's Hofer-strain genetic-resistance program.
Brook Trout
Present · Jul-Sep · 6-12"
Small-stream fish up high near Silverton and in feeder creeks.
Colorado River Cutthroat Trout
Rare · Jul-Sep · 8-14"
Native but very limited — persists in an unmined upper tributary, not a mainstem target.
Smallmouth Bass
Present · Jul-Aug · 8-14"
Shows up in the warmer, slower water below Durango toward the New Mexico line.

Species	Abundance	Best Season	Size
Brown Trout	Primary	Sep-Nov	12-18"
Rainbow Trout	Common	Jun-Oct	10-16"
Brook Trout	Present	Jul-Sep	6-12"
Colorado River Cutthroat Trout	Rare	Jul-Sep	8-14"
Smallmouth Bass	Present	Jul-Aug	8-14"

Sections

5 reaches

Upper Animas — Silverton Headwaters (Howardsville to Silverton)

WadeCutthroat · Brook Trout · Rainbow Trout

High alpine water above 9,000 feet — the historically mine-degraded reach. Water quality is improving slowly under Bonita Peak Superfund remediation, but this is a marginal fishery: small brook trout up high and the occasional Colorado River cutthroat trout in an unmined tributary. Included for completeness and to flag the recovery story, not as a destination reach yet.

Best for: Small brook trout; exploratory fishing only — low fish density.

Animas Canyon / Gorge — Train-Access Wilderness (Needleton to Tacoma)

WadeBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Remote canyon freestone in the Weminuche Wilderness. From Rockwood to Silverton there is no motorized access — you reach it by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (May-Oct, flag stops at Needleton and Elk Park) or a long hike-in. Wild big-water pocket fishing with willing brown trout and rainbow trout and real solitude.

Best for: Wild brown trout and rainbow trout; opportunistic dry/dropper and nymphing. The whitewater gorge itself is a Class IV-V rafting run, not a fishing float.

Bakers Bridge / Upper Animas Valley

WadeBrook Trout · Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Freestone through the broad Animas Valley above town — riffles, runs, and undercut banks, smaller and more intimate than the in-town water. Bakers Bridge is the well-known landmark (the Butch Cassidy cliff-jump scene). Much of the valley is private ranch land, so respect boundaries; Bakers Bridge and scattered county-road pullouts give public reach.

Best for: Brown trout, rainbow trout, and some brook trout; wade nymphing and dries.

Gold Medal Water — Through Durango (32nd Street to Rivera Bridge)

WadeBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Big freestone pocket water, nearly 100 feet wide — boulders, deep holes, and riffle-drop transitions with slick rock underfoot. This is the Gold Medal reach, holding wild brown trout and rainbow trout that average 12-16 inches with fish to 20. It's urban fishing (paved bike path the whole way) but the trout to 20 inches don't care.

Best for: Wild brown trout and rainbow trout; heavy nymphing with caddis larva, stoneflies, and midges, plus sculpin streamers through the seams.

Lower Animas — Below Durango to New Mexico (Southern Ute lands)

Wade & FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Smallmouth

The river warms and slows below Durango. Dozens of miles of publicly fishable water cross Southern Ute tribal land; brown trout dominate, with smallmouth bass appearing as the water warms toward the New Mexico line at Cedar Hill and Aztec. Fishing the reservation reaches requires a separate Southern Ute tribal permit.

Best for: Brown trout on streamers and summer smallmouth bass.

At a glance

Ideal wading flow: 200–600 cfs
Blow-out: >1,800 cfs
Ideal water temp: 48–62°F

Best seasons

Fall (Sep-Oct) is prime — brown pre-spawn aggression, BWOs, and low clear flows. July-August is reliable once runoff drops. Winter (Dec-Feb) is a real, underrated season on the through-town water with midges. Spring fishes well until snowmelt blows it out in late May and June.

Regulations

The Gold Medal reach through Durango is artificial-flies-and-lures-only with a 2-fish, 16-inch minimum. Standard statewide Colorado trout rules apply elsewhere. Reservation reaches require a separate tribal permit.

Gold Medal reach (Lightner Creek confluence to Rivera Crossing Bridge): artificial flies and lures only; bag/possession limit 2 trout 16 inches or longer.
Outside the Gold Medal reach, standard statewide Colorado trout regulations apply (generally 4 trout, 8 in possession) unless posted otherwise.
A Colorado fishing license is required statewide.
Southern Ute Indian Reservation waters (lower Animas below Durango) require a separate Southern Ute tribal fishing permit in addition to a Colorado license.

Regulations change annually — verify against the current CPW fishing brochure before a trip, and confirm current tribal rules before fishing any reservation reach.

Source: Colorado Parks & Wildlife. Regulations change annually. Verify before fishing.

Getting there

Durango, CO

~6 hrs from Denver, ~3.5 hrs from Albuquerque

Fly shops

Camping: Abundant lodging in Durango; national forest campgrounds up the Animas Valley (CR 250) and along US-550 toward Silverton.

The Gold Medal water is literally in town, paralleled for ~7 miles by the paved Animas River Trail (access at 32nd Street Bridge, Memorial Park, Cundiff Park, and Dallabetta City Park). The wilderness canyon reach above Rockwood has no motorized access — reach it via the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (May-Oct) or a long hike-in. A Southern Ute tribal permit is required for the lower reservation reaches.

More in Colorado

View all 24 rivers

San Juan

Dolores River

5.4 cfs

Fair

Other regions

Arkansas River

13.4 cfs43°F water

Fair

Big Thompson River

13.1 cfs38°F water

Fair

Blue River

13 cfs44°F water

Good

Cache la Poudre River

12.2 cfs

Fair

Clear Creek

60.5 cfs

Good

Colorado River

90.9 cfs48°F water

Good

About Animas River

Species

Brown Trout

Primary · Sep-Nov · 12-18"

The dominant fish through town — wild, aggressive sculpin-eaters. Best on streamers in the fall pre-spawn.

Rainbow Trout

Common · Jun-Oct · 10-16"

Wild and supplemented, recovering from 1990s whirling disease via CPW's Hofer-strain genetic-resistance program.

Brook Trout

Present · Jul-Sep · 6-12"

Small-stream fish up high near Silverton and in feeder creeks.

Colorado River Cutthroat Trout

Rare · Jul-Sep · 8-14"

Native but very limited — persists in an unmined upper tributary, not a mainstem target.

Smallmouth Bass

Present · Jul-Aug · 8-14"

Shows up in the warmer, slower water below Durango toward the New Mexico line.

Species	Abundance	Best Season	Size
Brown Trout	Primary	Sep-Nov	12-18"
Rainbow Trout	Common	Jun-Oct	10-16"
Brook Trout	Present	Jul-Sep	6-12"
Colorado River Cutthroat Trout	Rare	Jul-Sep	8-14"
Smallmouth Bass	Present	Jul-Aug	8-14"

At a glance

Ideal wading flow

200–600 cfs

Blow-out

>1,800 cfs

Ideal water temp

48–62°F

Best seasons

Regulations

Gold Medal reach (Lightner Creek confluence to Rivera Crossing Bridge): artificial flies and lures only; bag/possession limit 2 trout 16 inches or longer.
Outside the Gold Medal reach, standard statewide Colorado trout regulations apply (generally 4 trout, 8 in possession) unless posted otherwise.
A Colorado fishing license is required statewide.
Southern Ute Indian Reservation waters (lower Animas below Durango) require a separate Southern Ute tribal fishing permit in addition to a Colorado license.

Regulations change annually — verify against the current CPW fishing brochure before a trip, and confirm current tribal rules before fishing any reservation reach.

Source: Colorado Parks & Wildlife. Regulations change annually. Verify before fishing.

Getting there

Durango, CO

~6 hrs from Denver, ~3.5 hrs from Albuquerque

Camping: Abundant lodging in Durango; national forest campgrounds up the Animas Valley (CR 250) and along US-550 toward Silverton.

Animas River

About Animas River

Species