CPW lifts voluntary closures on the Colorado, Fraser, and White

Cooler water temperatures prompted Colorado Parks and Wildlife to lift voluntary fishing closures on three Northwest Region rivers, effective immediately. Sky-Hi News reported the agency notice Sept. 20, 2026, from Grand Junction.

On the Colorado River, CPW lifted all voluntary closures from Windy Gap Dam downstream to the Williams Fork confluence near Parshall, and from Red Dirt Creek downstream to the Highway 13 bridge in Rifle. Flows are still low in places. The agency says cold tributaries, deeper water in the narrow canyon reaches, and larger pools are giving fish cooler refuge.

On the Fraser, afternoon voluntary closures are off from County Road 8 in Fraser downstream to the Colorado River confluence outside Granby. That reach includes Fraser Flats, Fraser River Canyon, and public water in Granby. On the White, afternoon voluntary closures are lifted on the North Fork and South Fork from the White River National Forest boundary down to their confluence, and on the mainstem from that confluence downstream to County Road 5.

Other restrictions in the region are still on. Voluntary closures remain on parts of the Eagle, Crystal, Elk, and Yampa. A mandatory closure remains on the Yampa from the Stagecoach State Park dam about 0.6 miles downstream to the park boundary. CPW asked anglers to check the 2026 Weather and Drought Closures list before they travel.

Photo: Sky-Hi News (file photo of an angler fly fishing the Fraser River, attached to the Sept. 20, 2026 story).

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Sky-Hi News — Cooler temperatures prompt CPW to lift fishing closures on Colorado, Fraser and White rivers (Sept. 20, 2026)