Fly fishing report on the Animas River in Colorado
Type of Stream
Freestone
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Species
Brown Trout
Cutthroat Trout
Rainbow Trout
Size
Medium to Large
Location
Southwest Colorado
Nearest Towns
Durango
Season
Year-round
Access:
Fair to Good
Non-Resident License
State of Colorado
Seasons:
Except for the Spring runoff, fly fishing the Animas River is mostly good all year. The water become questionable during August in the town of Dunango – yes, the Gold Metal Water. The stream can become warm and low.
Spring:
March into April before the Spring runoff is a good time to fish the river. Runoff is from late April or early May until sometime in early June.
Summer:
Summer is a very good time to fish but the water can get quite warm during the hottest part of the summer.
Fall:
In the early fall the river is low and can be waded easily.
Winter:
Late winter the river is normally low enough to wade and fishing can be good.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Animas River, Colorado Fly Fishing Report – 05/01/24 The stream is flowing a little above a normal level and lightly stained. Fish the lower sections of water in town or downstream of that. Good light green and red, or blood midge hatches are still taking place as well as Little Black Caddis and Skwala stoneflies. Check back with us. We update the fly fishing report on the Animas River in Colorado often.
Stream Conditions: Rate: 1350 cfs
Level: 3.73 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 46 (lower sections)
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow at Durango
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the link below for more detailed information)
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Light Green and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
nymphs
adults
Fly Fishing On The Animas River In Colorado: The Animas River flows through steep canyons, beautiful mountains, the town of Durango and down into the state of New Mexico. It starts out small in its headwaters and ends up large before it flows into the San Juan River. It is the states newest Gold Metal water as of the date this was written. Twice ruined by runoff from mines, the Animas River is again a fine fishery. The Animas starts near the historic mining town of Silverton in the mountains north of Durango. There are several small tributaries in the headwaters. The stream can only be accessed above Hermosa via train. The river flows through a very steep canyon. Some anglers take the train from Durango to fish the section above Hermosa. I am not suggesting this, but it is a method to fish the canyon. The river is basically pocket water with long runs and riffles and some pools. In the lower section, large boulders and log jams provide cover for some huge brown trout. Below Durango the Animas River has some fairly deep water that doesn’t permit wading in certain areas. The best water is just south of Durango. There’s also some fairly good fishing in the town of Durango. About two and a half miles of the river in Durango is public water. About seven miles south of Durango the river flows through the Ute Indian Reservation. Permits are required to fish that section. Fly fishing the Animas River is best in the reservation area. The Animas River is quite wide in some areas. It’s mostly pocket water full of large rocks. There are some deep pockets and pools. Some areas have long stretches of riffles mixed in the pocket water. Cobble stones from about fist size down along with gravel cover most of the stream’s bottom.
The river has a fairly high pH and the bottom is relatively slick, so you do have to exercise caution when wading. The trout consist of rainbows and browns. The average size of the trout is probably about twelve inches but there are much larger ones in the river. Brown trout can grow especially large and fish over 20 inches are not rare. The larger size browns feed mostly in low light conditions and are not easy to catch but the opportunity exist for those willing to put forth the effort. A very large amount of public access makes the Animas different from most Colorado trout streams. Miles of public access is one of the best features of this stream. You can choose from fishing the rugged canyon sections to fishing in town the fast and easy way.
Animas River Fly Fishing Guide: The fast pocket water is fairly easy to fish but the smoother sections that hold the nice browns is far more difficult. The smoother flows allow the trout a much better opportunity to closely examine your fly. They also can create some difficult to manage conflicting currents, making it difficult to get a drag-free drift. The fast, pocket water sections should always be fished in an upstream directions. Short cast that allow you to keep most of the fly line off of the water work much better than long cast. High sticking the runs and riffles is a very effective method to fish nymphs. This is mostly done in the headwaters but will work anywhere there’s a deeper run. Although the Animas can have some very good dry fly fishing, most of the time you will find that nymphs outperform dry flies. Although they are more fun to fish, you will usually do better limiting your dry fly fishing to those times you actually observe trout feeding on the surface. In other words, you will usually end up catching more trout if you stick to nymph fishing most of the time. Most of the dry fly fishing opportunities come from the BWOs and PMDs. These two groups of little mayflies, along with several different species of caddisflies, provide most of the dry fly action. Late afternoon caddisfly egg laying activity provides some great dry fly fishing during much of the warmer weather season.Don’t overlook streamers. They will consistently catch larger trout. Brown trout that stay wedged up under the rocks and banks most of the time, will take sculpin streamer patterns when they are out roaming around looking for food.Downstream of the Rivera Bridge, the Animas flows through mostly private land and the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. You can obtain a Southern Ute Tribal fishing permit for this area. There are plenty of access points along La Posta Road. In addition to the Animas River, there are many alpine meadow streams in the area near Durango. They can provide a wonderful fly fishing experience.
Animas River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Animas River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726. The aquatic insect populations varies depending on the section of the river you are fishing but those listed below are plentiful throughout most of the stream from its headwaters to its lower section. Prior to the runoff, the main hatches consist of Western March Browns and Blue-winged Olives. The March Browns can get caught up in the high runoff water depending on the exact time. The BWOs can start as early as late February and early March but April usually is the most consistent time for the hatches to begin. About six different species, mostly Baetis, species make up what is called BWOs.There’s also a Fall hatch of the Blue-winged Olives. It usually takes place from late September through the month of October.Midges are very plentiful in the Animas. Imitations will work well anytime and become more important when the water is too cold for most other insects. There’s also a population of small black winter stoneflies that hatch in the early season, even when there’s snow on the ground. These are mostly found in the fast pocket water.You will find some hatches of Golden Stoneflies become to come off in late June to early July. Sometimes the runoff effects the fishing conditions during the hatch and on other years it misses it. It all depends on the snow pack. These are found only in the fast pocket water sections. The hatches can last into the first of August. LIttle Yellow Stoneflies are plentiful in some areas in late July and early August. Look for these stoneflies in the fast water sections of the Animas. In June you will find hatches of the large Salmonflies in some parts of the Animas. Like the other stoneflies, these will mostly exist in the fast water sections. This hatch last about three weeks but usually not over a week at any one point.The first caddisflies to hatch are the Little Black Caddis, called the Mothers Day hatch in most places in the West. This hatch starts in late April and last about a month. In is a sparse hatch but can be important. In late June and early July, there’s three or four different species of caddisflies called Spotted Sedges that begin to hatch. These are the most plentiful of the caddisflies and the different species hatch throughout most of the Summer. The next most important caddisfly hatch are the Green Sedges. They hatch from May through September, depending on the species. Imitations of the Green Rock Worms, or their larvae, work year-round.In late June, usually before the runoff ends, Pale Morning Duns will start hatching. The PMD hatch will last most of the summer and other than BWOs is the most consistent mayfly hatch. In some areas of the fast water you will find a few Pink Ladies that hatch in late August and September.Late Summer, August and September, terrestrials can play an important role in the trout’s diet. Imitations of grasshoppers, ants and beetles will become important flies. Sculpin are very plentiful throughout the Animas River. There are some other types of baitfish and minnows but sculpin are by far the most important in the food supply for the trout. Streamers that imitate sculpin, such as our Perfect Fly Brown Sculpin, will take trout year-round. It is best to fish streamers in low light situations such as early and late in the day and during heavy overcast situations. The are especially good for taking larger, pre-spawn brown trout.