Green River tailwaters fish steady as fall cooling sets in

What's biting

What's next

Expect little change over the next two or three days unless a cold front drops temperatures. A night or two of hard cold would push the 55°F stretches toward the 50°F reading already showing on the upper gauge, and fish would then slow and hold tighter to deeper, slower water.

Plan around midday to mid-afternoon, when the sun has had time to lift water temperature a couple of degrees. Fishing the Midwest notes October is a good month to be on the water, with less boat traffic and a hot bite when weather cools. Its fall walleye advice is a plain snell rig with a nightcrawler fished near the bottom, a method worth trying for Walleye where they hold.

With a waxing gibbous moon, evening and early night light can help low-light feeding. Flows of 2,300 to 2,800 cfs are substantial, so wade carefully and favor eddies, seams and slower edges over the main current.

Context

Late October is typically the tail end of the open-water bite in this part of the Intermountain West. Cooling water usually pulls fish out of summer haunts and concentrates them on baitfish and deeper structure. Water in the low-to-mid 50s is on schedule for the season, and the trend is downward from here. Check state regulations and any seasonal flow or closure notices before heading out.