In this report
Flow is Below Par — Fish Tight and Pick Your Water
We’re sitting at 97 CFS this week, which is well south of Eleven Mile’s typical 50–150 range and miles away from the 150–250 window where this canyon really opens up and fishes easy. That’s not a crisis — the water stays cold enough off the dam that low flows don’t kill the fishery — but it does change how you need to work. Fish are concentrated in the deeper pockets and main-current slots. The shallower banks and tail-outs that usually hold feeders in higher water are thin and spooky. Wading is easier than ever, but careless footsteps carry farther. Water temps should still be reasonable for July (the dam releases cool water), but don’t linger or handle fish longer than needed; even tailwater trout stress faster when they’re crowded into fewer holding lies.
The upside: you don’t need to cover five miles to find fish. Work the obvious deep runs and the pockets along the canyon walls where current stays steady. Pass the flats. This is a week to be precise rather than ambitious.
Midges and Small Mayflies Hold the Day; Caddis Blooms in Evening
July’s hatch sheet for this water is still built on midges — they run year-round here and are the first thing trout look for, especially when flows tighten and food availability narrows. Black Beauty, Mercury Midge, and Zebra Midge in #22–24 are your base patterns. Keep at least two on the bench: one in black or dark gray for morning and cloudy windows, one in olive or tan for midday.
PMDs (#16–18) are still active this time of year. They usually show in afternoon windows (1–4 p.m.) and trail off by early evening, but they’re not a reliable crush at Eleven Mile in July the way they can be on freestone water. Use them as a secondary confidence pattern — if you’re seeing rises or the water is slightly off-color, tie one on. An emerger is often more productive than a dun.
The real evening story is caddis. As the sun drops and temps stay warm, look for a fluttering rise form starting around 7 p.m. Fish are often more aggressive on caddis than on the smaller mayflies, and the rises are easier to read. Tan and olive caddis dries in #14–16 work; if you don’t see obvious surface takes, try an emerger pattern a foot or two under an indicator first.
Trico spinner falls theoretically can happen in the mornings (they’re on the hatch table for July), but on a low-flow tailwater like Eleven Mile they’re easy to miss unless you’re there at first light and the water is calm. Don’t plan the morning around them, but if you’re present and see the spinners in the air, switch to a #22–24 Trico spinner and work the slower seams.
Rig for the Pocket Water and the Depth It Demands
At 97 CFS, the deep pockets don’t need much searching — they’re obvious and they hold fish. The trick is reaching the bottom without snagging or spooking what’s there.
Your core rig: a Barr’s Buggy or similar stout nymph anchor (dark, substantial, weighted) on the point with a #20–22 midge emerger or small nymph 16–18 inches above it on a dropper. Split-shot two to four feet up the leader from your point fly, placed in pairs so they sink steady. Most days here you’re not running a tight-line rig; an indicator is your friend in low water because it lets you fish slower and detect subtle takes without the rod feel. Use a small foam indicator (pencil-sized) set 1.5× the water depth above your flies — in the pockets that’s maybe 3–4 feet.
Tippet: 4X for the dropper, 4X to 5X on the point. At this flow and with these fly sizes, you don’t need hair-thin stuff; you’re fishing pocket water where the current is tight and fish don’t have much time to inspect. 4X is plenty fine and will save you knots on split-shot and snags.
If the evening caddis hatch materializes and you see surface rises, switch the rig: drop the indicator, fish a dry-dropper with a foam caddis (or hair-wing foam caddis) on top and a caddis emerger on a 12-inch dropper below. Keep the point fly moving gently under the dry — that’s where most takes come.
Where to Spend Your Hours
The canyon road access is your advantage here. Use it. Walk to the obvious deep runs — the tight slots where the current braids around boulders, the plunge pools below small drops, anywhere you see darker, slower water pressed against the canyon wall. These are your money water at 97 CFS. Fish them methodically from upstream, quartering your cast so the flies sink and drift into the sweet zone.
The broader, slower tail-outs and the thin edges in between these pockets are low-probability water right now. A trout might be there, but it’s spooked easy and won’t hold long. Save your energy for the hard structure.
Avoid the shallowest banks and open gravel bars entirely. At this flow, trout using those zones are usually on edge and will bolt at a shadow. You’ll waste time and risk spooking fish that might venture into better water later as light changes.
One Logistical Note: That $11 Fee and Water Temp Reality
The entrance fee ($11 per vehicle; $100 annual pass) is a US Forest Service charge, not waived by a Colorado State Parks pass. Budget it in. The canyon is roadside-accessible and beautiful, but entry costs.
At 97 CFS in July, water temps are likely in the high 50s to low 60s off the dam — fine for trout and good for the fishery — but they can climb a few degrees by late afternoon if the air temp is hot and the sun is strong. Fish the morning and evening windows first. Midday is not dead, but it’s less reliable. Hydrate, wear sunscreen, and don’t heroize the afternoon hours.