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June 22, 2026

Dave Foster — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:06:22 +0000

Well, still no word from the Department of the Interior on cool mix flows from Glen Canyon Dam. The last two years, about this time, releases around the dam through the bypass trunnels have kept water temperatures in the upper 50’s through the hottest part of the summer. These flows were to prevent the spawning of smallmouth bass down in Grand Canyon, where they are considered a threat to the native fish. Our trout in the Lees Ferry stretch have been an incidental beneficiary of these flows. In 2022 the temperatures went to 70 degrees in the Lees Ferry stretch and we lost about half our fish in the winter of 2022-2023 because of that warm water.

The warmer flows effect trout in two ways. First, warmer water gives up it’s dissolved oxygen more easily so dissolved oxygen levels fall. Anything below 4 milligrams per liter is the in the red zone for trout. Secondly, warmer water increases the metabolism of fish. They need to eat more to survive, but the warmer water doesn’t mean there is any more food. Condition of the fish is diminished and they have a harder time surviving the winter months when food availability is low. That is what happened in 2022.

Let’s hope the DOI acknowledges the value of this fishery and implements these flows!

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June 22, 2026

Dave Foster — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 23:42:05 +0000

Report June 22, 2026 Sorry for the long delay since the last post. Had a 10 day Grand Canyon trip in there and have been fishing like crazy. Summer is here, it is hot and the fishing has been good. The fish are in excellent shape and a few are taking cicadas, ants beetles etc. off the top. Typically we have been fishing shallow riffles with dry and dropper rigs from a drifting boat early in the day, switching to a deeper running double midge rig (10 foot leader a small amount of weight and two midges) after that, often going back over the same water and then on to the deeper runs with a longer leader, more weight and a good old San Juan worm and a bead head midge of some type below it. This approach has you fishing the same water alot, but with different rigs fishing at different depths.

The question on everyone’s is whether or not cool mix flows will be implement. We are currently at about 62 degrees F. The fulcrum is around 65, warmer than that water quality (dissolved oxygen) begin to diminish and begins to effect trout health. Hopefully the Department of the Interior will listen to the advisory groups and come through for us this year. What anglers can do is land fish quickly, keep them in the water and make sure to revive them and make sure they swim off.

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May 1, 2026

Dave Foster — Fri, 01 May 2026 19:19:29 +0000

The spawn is coming to a close and the fishing continues to improve. Fish are moving back into the vegetated riffles and are once again accessible to wading anglers. Drifting is also still effective with more fish holding along seams and along talus slopes. San Juan worms and Zebra midge in all their variations are effective. Most anglers are hooking 10 or so fish per rod and they are in great shape. We are still recovering from the poor water quality of 2022 and the lower fish numbers mean that the fish that are here are in top condition. It is also great to see a fair number of small, 5-7 inch fish in the system. Flows changed on May 1 and weekends are 6,000 cfs-8,000 cfs. Weekdays are 6,000 cfs-9,700 cfs. The best part is that during the week the water is again rising during the day instead of at night. Rising water always improves the fishing. A decision about cool mix releases from the dam has yet to be made. Cool mix will insure that water quality is maintained through the hot summer months. We anxiously await this decision.

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