Wade32/100
Wading is the most sensitive plan today. Use protected edges only, avoid crossings, and downgrade quickly if clarity or current feels wrong.
All Arizona reports
Fly fishing report · Southwest
Little Colorado River
Is Little Colorado River worth the trip today? Check flow, weather, hatches, access, and rules for Arizona before you go.
Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA Opens in a new tab. · CC BY-SA 2.0
Good day to fish?Latest river check
Caution
Maybe. Read the cautions first.
52
Best option: Float. A float can fit better than wading only if launches, shuttle, boat skill, wind, and local rules all check out.
See update time and confidence
Live data checkHighHow much of the live flow, weather, and alert data came back.
Today's callMediumWater temperature not verified; do not use this score to clear warm-water risk.
Score calculated Aug 15, 10:09 PM UTCUsually checks again about every 45 minutes
Best way to fishFloat
These scores compare the risks of wading, bank fishing, and floating.
Bank / edge44/100
Bank and edge fishing is the safer default when water is high, pushy, or not fully verified.
Float · Best fit56/100
A float can fit better than wading only if launches, shuttle, boat skill, wind, and local rules all check out.
Your plan
Keep today simple.
Fish it like a small, clear mountain stream.
This page covers the Greer area of the Little Colorado River, not the entire long river system downstream. The useful plan starts with the Greer gauge, current special rules, and whether the stream has enough cold water for careful trout fishing.
- Use RiverReports and USGS 09383400 before driving to the Greer reach.
- When the gauge is very low, fish light, move slowly, and be ready to switch to nearby lakes or another water if trout are stressed.
- Check Arizona special fishing rules because the Greer reach, East Fork, and South Fork can have different seasons and tackle rules.
- Summer monsoon storms can raise or stain small water quickly, even when the morning looks calm.
- 1Start here
Walk first and cast second. On skinny meadow water, one careless step can move every fish in the pool.
- 2Watch the water
Start with a dry-dropper or a single small dry in broken current. Add weight only when you need to reach a deeper pool.
- 3Make one change
Fish upstream or quartering upstream when possible so your leader reaches the fish before your shadow or fly line.
More fishing tips
- In low water, cover the best lies with one or two good casts instead of repeatedly lining the pool.
- Use shade, undercut banks, pool tails, and small plunge pools as priority targets.
- If you see stressed trout in warm or shallow water, stop targeting them. A helpful report is not worth harming the fishery.
Live river check
What the river is doing
Check the latest flow and weather before you go. A quick change can make the river harder or less safe to fish.
Showing the latest stored river check while current readings load.
- Flow
- 14 cfs
From the latest stored river check. Open the official source for the newest reading.
- Air
- 72°F
Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
- Rain chance
- 24%
For this forecast period
Latest stored weather check
Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
- Wind
- 7 mph
- Weather checked
Recent flow chart is loading
The latest stored reading is shown above. Check the official source below if you need the newest value now.
More forecast and source details
National Weather Service
Greer forecast point
The National Weather Service forecast is temporarily unavailable.
Live data
Where these readings come from
RiverReports gauge: Little Colorado River at Greer
How to fish it
Start with the water in front of you.
Expect small-water trout fishing where approach, shade, and water temperature matter more than long casts. The best windows are usually cool mornings, stable flows, and periods when trout can feed without being pushed by heat, skinny water, or runoff.
Very low and clear
Use longer leaders, small flies, and short careful casts. Skip obvious spawning or stressed fish and avoid walking through shallow holding water.
Stable cool flow
This is the best small-stream window. Fish dry-droppers, slim nymphs, and small dries through pools, riffle tails, and undercut banks.
After monsoon rain
Watch for quick color and flow changes. Fish soft edges only if safe, and avoid creek crossings when storms are nearby.
Warm afternoon
Carry a thermometer. If water feels warm or fish look stressed, stop trout fishing and use the time to scout access or fish a lake where legal.
Fishing words used on this page
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gauge
- A USGS gauge is an official river station that measures flow or water height.
- Cubic feet per second (cfs)
- Cubic feet per second, or cfs, shows how much water passes the gauge each second.
- Nymph
- A nymph is a young water insect. Anglers also use the word for a fly that copies it.
- Riffle
- A riffle is shallow, fast water broken by rocks.
- Tailout
- A tailout is the shallow, slower water at the lower end of a pool.
- Blue-winged olive (BWO)
- Blue-winged olives, or BWOs, are small mayflies that often hatch in cool or cloudy weather.
- Caddis
- Caddis are small water insects. The adults look a little like tiny moths.
- Dry-dropper
- A dry-dropper rig has a floating fly with an underwater fly tied below it.
- Emerger
- An emerger copies an insect as it rises from below the water toward the surface.
- Midge
- Midges are tiny flies and a common trout food, especially in cold water.
Why the score changed
FlowUse caution
USGS shows 14 cfs with a stable over about 6 hours trend. same-date USGS history (1960-2025, 41 readings) puts normal around 11 cfs and the upper quartile near 14 cfs; today's flow is high for the date. Fishable water may exist, but do not rate it highly without a safe access, clarity, and wading or boat plan.
Short-term weatherUse caution
The forecast has storm or heavy-precipitation risk, so timing and access matter more than the score alone.
Best mode nowUse caution
Float: A float can fit better than wading only if launches, shuttle, boat skill, wind, and local rules all check out.
SeasonHelps
Early summer: Often the most useful small-stream window when flows settle and trout feed on mayflies, caddis, and small nymphs.
WeatherHelps
The NWS forecast is about 72F with Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms.
Trip notes
Check these before you choose a reach.
Use the Greer gauge trend and water condition together. Stable, cool, clear flow is the best small-stream window. Very low, warm, rising, or stained water should move the day to a lighter plan, a lake, or another legal water.
Skip or scale back when the stream is very low and warm, monsoon storms are building, special-rule or fork boundaries are unclear, East Fork crossings are unsafe, or private-property access is uncertain.
Start around the Greer/River Reservoir area only where access is legal, then decide whether Rolfe C. Hoyer, East Fork Trail, or a nearby lake makes more sense after checking rules and flow.
If the Greer reach is too low, warm, stormy, or rule-limited, compare Black River, Canyon Creek, Lees Ferry, or nearby lakes only after checking current access and rules.
What to try
Start small. Change with the river.
Match the time of year, then let rising fish and current speed guide the next change.
SpringMidges, blue-winged olives, small mayflies
Zebra midges, BWO dries, pheasant tails, RS2-style emergers
Early summerCaddis, small mayflies, midges
Elk hair caddis, x-caddis, pheasant tails, hare's ears
This time of year · SummerTerrestrials, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, sporadic caddis
Foam ants, beetles, small hoppers, dry-dropper attractors
Fly group to try · Foam antsAnt PatternsAnt patterns can be foam, fur-bodied, winged, or sunken. The narrow waist and paired body lobes matter more than one material recipe.Open the fly guide ↗
Fly group to try · beetlesBeetle PatternsBeetle flies range from simple foam shells to hair-bodied and sunken forms. A rounded back and compact profile distinguish the family from ants and hoppers.Open the fly guide ↗
Fly group to try · small hoppersGrasshopper PatternsHopper patterns share a substantial body and long rear-leg impression, but foam, deer hair, wing construction, and waterline differ widely among named patterns.Open the fly guide ↗FallBlue-winged olives, midges, small baitfish or sculpin opportunity
BWO dries, zebra midges, soft hackles, small buggers
Cold or low waterMostly midges and small subsurface food
Tiny midges, perdigons, micro mayflies, unweighted nymphs
Start with one change at a time. The river will tell you more than a crowded fly box.
Access and safety
Check access before you go.
Use these places as starting points. Open the access link below and check posted signs before you park or enter. Verify the current Arizona rules before fishing. Arizona's special fishing rule table lists the Little Colorado River (Greer), upstream of River Reservoir to the meeting point of the East and West Forks, as catch-and-release only for trout with no trout kept. Artificial fly and lure only applies Oct. 1 through April 30, and general statewide rules apply May 1 through Sept. 30. The East Fork and South Fork Little Colorado entries have their own seasonal closures and single-pointed barbless-hook rules, so do not treat every fork the same.
Greer and River Reservoir area
The Greer reach and Greer Lakes area are the main practical base for this report. Confirm whether you are on public access before stepping off roads or campground areas.
Rolfe C. Hoyer Campground area
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest says Greer Lakes and the Little Colorado River are within walking distance of the campground.
Highway 261 to River Reservoir
Arizona conservation planning identifies this area as a coldwater sportfishery planning area with wild trout value.
East Fork Trail 95
The Forest Service says the trail immediately crosses the West Fork of the Little Colorado River and there is no bridge, so stream crossing conditions matter.
East Fork and South Fork planning areas
Useful for advanced trip planning, but both can carry special seasons, closures, and barbless-hook rules. Check the current rule table before fishing.
Greer has a mix of public land, campgrounds, cabins, roads, and private property. Use marked public access and do not assume every open-looking meadow is legal access.
The Forest Service notes heavy rain is common in July and August and that nighttime temperatures can be cool or cold. Pack layers even on a warm day.
East Fork Trail 95 includes an immediate stream crossing with no bridge. Skip that plan when flows, ice, or storms make the crossing unsafe.
Small streams show impact quickly. Stay on durable paths, avoid trampling banks, and keep fish wet during release.
For food, fuel, and basic supplies, Greer is the closest trip base, but remote forest roads still deserve a full tank and offline maps.
Official river links
Check before you fish.
Open the official rules, closures, river readings, weather, and access links before you go. The agency has the final say.
Trip notes checked . Live flow and weather update above. Open each link for the latest details.
Checked by BlueStreamFly. How we check river reports
Rules and closures
Check what is allowed, where the rule applies, and whether the river is open.
About this link
Open the current rules and check the river section, season, and special limits.
About this link
Open the current rules and check the river section, season, and special limits.
Flow and weather
Check the latest river reading and forecast before you leave.
About this link
Open this river reading to check the latest level, flow, and update time.
About this link
Open this river reading to check the latest level, flow, and update time.
About this link
Open this page and check the latest safety advice before your trip.
Access and land
Check public entry points, land rules, and seasonal access changes.
About this link
Open the land or access page, then check signs before you park or enter.
About this link
Open the land or access page, then check signs before you park or enter.
More helpful links
Use these links for stocking, safety, and other local details.
About this link
Open this page for more river information and check when it was last updated.
About this link
Open this page for more river information and check when it was last updated.
About this link
Open this page for more river information and check when it was last updated.
Quick answers
Before you leave.
Is the Little Colorado River near Greer good for fly fishing?
Yes, but it is a small, condition-sensitive trout stream. It is best when flows are stable, water is cold, and you use careful small-stream tactics instead of big-river methods.
What gauge should I check?
Use RiverReports for the quick Greer chart and USGS 09383400, Little Colorado River at Greer, for the official streamflow and gage-height data.
Can I keep trout?
Check the current Arizona rules before fishing. The special fishing rule table lists the Greer reach above River Reservoir to the East and West Fork place where streams meet as catch-and-release only for trout.
What flies should I bring?
Bring small dries, caddis, blue-winged olives, terrestrials, zebra midges, pheasant tails, hare's ears, small perdigons, soft hackles, and a few mini streamers.