Animas River Fishing Report, Week of September 28, 2026

Animas at Durango is 611 cfs and 10.8 C at 10:30 a.m., provisional, so I would go for the river and not a swim (USGS 09361500).

Animas River at Durango, week of September 28

Update, Oct. 1: the river is dropping. The Durango gage fell from a peak near 2,440 cfs on the morning of Sept. 29 to about 1,520 cfs this evening. That is still well above the roughly 1,000 cfs in last week's report. CPW lifted the afternoon closure through town on Sept. 30.

Conditions

• Flow: USGS 09361500, Animas River at Durango, read 1,520 cfs at 5:30 p.m. MDT on Oct. 1. It has been falling since the Sept. 29 peak. Provisional.
• Water temp: 11.0 C (52 F) at the same gage at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 1, up from 9.5 C (49 F) on Sept. 29.
• Weather: The NWS Flood Watch for the Animas River Basin has ended. NWS Grand Junction has sunny, dry days in Durango through Sunday, with highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 40s.
• Closures: CPW lifted the voluntary noon-to-midnight closure from 32nd Street to Rivera Bridge on Sept. 30. It was one of 11 Southwest Region river closures CPW rescinded that day. See CPW's Sept. 30 release.
• CPW reports: No Animas entry on the current CPW trout stocking report, and no new CPW conditions report for this river.

How to fish it

The river is falling. Watch the gage trend before you drive. Fish the soft inside edges, slow tailouts, and bank seams you can reach from dry ground. Stay out of the main current.

Early October is when brown trout start moving toward spawning gravel. If you see clean, pale patches of gravel in shallow riffles, those are redds. Walk around them.

Access

Stick to the public river trail and posted access through town. The canyon above Durango is a different trip. If the path is not clearly public, do not drop in.

Safety

At about 1,500 cfs, town water is still fast and cold. Wade only where you can see bottom, or fish from the bank, and keep kids back from the bank rocks. See our Colorado safety page and the cold-water checklist.

Regs

Check CPW fishing regulations and Colorado eRegulations for the exact water you plan to fish. We do not print bag limits.

Plan it

Last week: Animas report, week of Sept. 24. Background: Animas at Durango prep. Build the day in Trip Builder.

Updated Oct. 1, 2026 (first posted Sept. 29). Sources: USGS 09361500, NWS Grand Junction, CPW Sept. 30 closure release, CPW closures list, CPW stocking report.