Dam release keeps Green River tailwater running cold and steady

What's next

With a new moon this week, the low-light stretch around dawn and dusk tends to extend feeding windows on tailwater fisheries like this one, worth building a trip around if flows hold where they are. Release rates out of Flaming Gorge Dam are typically adjusted for hydropower and irrigation demand through October, so a shift of a few hundred cfs in either direction over the next few days wouldn't be unusual. Watch the 09234500 gauge for that signal before heading out.

If the current gradient holds, expect the tailwater itself to stay pinned in the low 50s while the river continues to warm gradually on its way downstream to Jensen. Weekend plans should lean toward the cooler morning hours, before the day's warmth pushes surface temps higher at the lower gauge.

Context

Mid-October sits in the fall transition for this tailwater fishery. Reservoir temperatures typically keep sliding through the 50s toward winter lows, while the dam's bottom-release discharge holds the river itself consistently colder than ambient air temperature — the defining trait of this water year-round. It's a fishery that runs on the discharge gauge's clock more than the weather forecast's most weeks of the year.