Fish
Fire
Hike
Bird
Durango sits in the Animas River valley in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, a former mining town turned college town turned outdoor recreation hub. The Animas River flows through the center of it, one of the last free-flowing (undammed) rivers in the state of Colorado, and the section through and below Durango earned Gold Medal Water designation, meaning it sustains at least 60 pounds of trout per acre with a significant percentage of fish over 14 inches.
An hour south, the San Juan River below Navajo Dam in New Mexico is one of the finest tailwater trout fisheries in the world, over 15,000 fish per mile in the quality water, with rainbows and browns that average 16 to 20 inches and grow as large as any tailwater trout in the West.
Between the Animas and the San Juan, Durango offers two world-class fisheries with opposite characters, a wild freestone and a managed tailwater, within an easy drive of each other.
The Animas River, Gold Medal Freestone
The Animas River is Durango's home water and one of the most significant trout streams in Colorado. The river flows from the high mountains above Silverton (10,000+ feet) through a dramatic canyon into the Durango valley, and the section from Trimble Lane downstream through town and beyond is designated Gold Medal Water.
What makes the Animas special is its undammed status. Unlike most Gold Medal waters in Colorado (which are tailwaters below dams), the Animas rises and falls with the weather, high and muddy during spring runoff, clear and wadeable in summer and fall. The trout in the Animas are adapted to these natural rhythms, and the fishing reflects the river's wild character.
Rainbow trout, brown trout, and cuttbow hybrids are the primary species. The Gold Medal section holds fish averaging 14 to 18 inches, with browns over 20 inches in the deeper pools and undercut banks. The river is wadeable in most sections during normal flows, and the through-town stretch is accessible on foot, you can fish the Animas on a downtown lunch break, casting to rising trout with the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad rolling past on the opposite bank.
The hatches drive the dry-fly fishing: Blue Winged Olives in spring and fall, Pale Morning Duns through summer, caddis from May through September, and golden stoneflies in June and July. The stonefly hatch is the most dramatic event, large insects bringing big trout to the surface in the faster water.
Fall (September through November) is the local favorite. The browns move through the system on their pre-spawn migration, the crowds thin after Labor Day, and the cottonwoods and aspens turn the valley gold. Streamer fishing for big browns in the deeper runs during the fall migration produces the largest fish of the year.
The San Juan River, World-Class Tailwater
The San Juan River below Navajo Dam in New Mexico, roughly 60 miles south of Durango, is one of the top tailwater fisheries in the world. The cold, nutrient-rich discharge from the dam creates conditions that support an extraordinary density of trout, the quality water section (the first 3.5 miles below the dam) holds over 15,000 trout per mile, with fish averaging 16 to 20 inches.
Rainbow trout are the dominant species in the quality water, fat, healthy fish feeding on the San Juan's prolific midge and baetis populations. The river also holds brown trout that tend to run larger, holding in the deeper pools and along the cut banks.
The San Juan is a technical fishery. The fish see a lot of flies (it's a popular destination), and success requires matching the hatch precisely, small midges (#20-26) on fine tippet (6X-7X), presented with a dead drift through the feeding lanes. The river's flat, slow water amplifies every flaw in the presentation, which makes it both frustrating for beginners and deeply rewarding for skilled anglers.
The San Juan fishes 365 days a year. The tailwater flows keep water temperatures stable regardless of season, and winter fishing, December through February, produces some of the best catch rates of the year, with fewer anglers and consistent midge activity. Many Durango guides consider winter the best time to fish the San Juan.
Vallecito Reservoir and Lemon Reservoir
In the mountains northeast of Durango, Vallecito Reservoir and Lemon Reservoir offer stillwater fishing for trout and kokanee salmon in scenic mountain settings. Both are stocked regularly and provide accessible lake fishing for visitors who want a less technical experience than the rivers.
Kokanee salmon at Vallecito provide excellent trolling action in summer, and the fall kokanee run into the Los Pinos River (Vallecito's inlet) creates a spectacle similar to Pacific salmon returning upstream.
High-Country Streams
The San Juan Mountains surrounding Durango hold dozens of small, high-altitude streams that carry cutthroat trout, brook trout, and occasionally brown trout in wild, unpressured settings. These are hike-in fisheries, small water, small fish, big scenery, and the solitude is the main draw. The fish are willing (they see few anglers) and the setting, above 10,000 feet in the alpine meadows and spruce forests, is as good as Colorado gets.
When to Go
- April–May: San Juan tailwater fishing well, Animas pre-runoff, early-season opportunities
- June–July: Animas clears after runoff, stonefly and caddis hatches, high-country streams open
- August–September: Peak dry-fly season on the Animas, San Juan consistent, hopper season, the prime window
- October–November: Fall browns on the Animas, San Juan midge fishing, aspens turning, the locals' choice
- December–March: Winter San Juan, the best catch rates of the year with the fewest anglers
