Green River — Flaming Gorge Tailwater

On Utah's Green River below Flaming Gorge, choose the river section, check changing releases, then match the feeding stage and size. Spring and fall BWOs are not one shopping list: local guides often describe #16–18 spring adults and smaller #20–24 fall flies. This guide keeps those size differences—and the gaps in our catalog—visible.

This is the Flaming Gorge tailwater

This page covers the Green below Flaming Gorge Dam through the Utah tailwater sections. It is not a guide to the Upper Green in Wyoming, the water below Fontenelle, or the Green near the town of Green River, Utah. Those places require different reports and access planning.

These boundaries follow the BLM recreation map. A map identifies the reach; current facility information controls today's access.

Conditions can differ between sections. Red Creek enters downstream from the dam and can change the water below its confluence. Clear water observed above that tributary does not establish that B or C is equally clear. Check the relevant section after local storms rather than transferring one photograph or report to the whole river. Spinner Fall's Red Creek guide locates that distinction in B; it is not a claim that the tributary is muddy today.

Spring BWO sizes versus fall BWO sizes

Spinner Fall Guide Service describes a usual spring BWO size of #16–18, with its strongest typical period from mid-April into early May. It describes smaller #20–22 BWOs in September and October. These are useful planning ranges, not identical insects on every date.

Dated reports can differ from the annual summary. TB2's April and May 2026 reports included #18–22 BWO dries, while Trout Creek Flies' September 3 report listed fall baetis nymphs and dries in #20–24. Keep the season, stage and report date attached to the number. TB2 spring entries; Trout Creek, September 3.

Our Blue Wing Olive - BWO is carried in #14, #16 and #18. Our Parachute BWO is carried in #16 and #18. Neither product supplies the #20–24 adult sizes in those fall reports. An RS2 Emerger in #22 can be a small emerger comparison; it is not an adult BWO dry relabeled to close that gap. If your trip calls for a smaller adult, obtain the correct fly instead of treating a larger stocked option as an exact match.

A month-by-month planning calendar

Calendar evidence: Spinner Fall's individually dated January–April 2026 entries, TB2's May/July 2026 reports, Trout Creek's June 2, 2026 cicada observation, Spinner Fall's August 4 narrative and its annual seasonal guide. The August narrative retains that date even though its page also contains a newer conditions widget. Autumn/winter rows describe seasonal expectations, not future visits.

Midges, scuds and sowbugs can remain useful subsurface food outside a calendar's main hatch. Scuds and sowbugs do not emerge into winged adults. Terrestrials such as ants and hoppers enter the river from land; their presence in a seasonal guide is not a guaranteed aquatic hatch.

Exact fly choices, with the limits stated

When adult caddis are the actual food, compare the carried Elk Hair Caddis colors and sizes: Brown #12/#14/#16, Olive #16/#18, Black #14/#16/#18 and tan #14/#18. Check the insect and stage before choosing. These adult dries do not cover smaller #20–22 caddis recommendations or replace a larva or pupa. The caddis lesson explains the comparison.

For small subsurface comparisons, use the exact midge, emerger and sowbug options identified in this guide. The Middle Provo Small-Fly Guide gives separate subsurface and surface starting rigs. Add seasonal adult patterns only when your observations call for them; this is not an all-hatch selection.

Dated conditions and what to check next

Sources reviewed September 19, 2026. Trout Creek's September 3 report described variable flows, patchy surface fishing and fall baetis/pseudos in #20–24. TB2's September 12 report emphasized small pseudos/tricos, continuing terrestrial opportunities and subsurface scuds, sowbugs and midges. These are attributed reports, not Floating Feather trip observations. Trout Creek's report; TB2's September 12 entry.

Starting comparison: without surface feeding, compare Zebra Midge - Black, Silver Bead #22 or Rainbow Sow Bug #18 at an appropriate feeding level. If fish rise, inspect the food before deciding between a small emerger, an adult mayfly or an ant. Our #18 BWO dry does not cover the #20–24 adult recommendation. Do not let a product card hide that missing size.

Flow and clarity: use USGS 09234500 near Greendale for the latest observed near-dam reading and Reclamation's Flaming Gorge operations page for the release schedule. No same-day numeric reading is asserted here; the schedule and the river observation have different meanings and timestamps. A dated report about clear water is not a trip-day clarity measurement. Check conditions for the section you plan to fish, particularly below Red Creek after storms.

Watch the water as the release changes

A changing release can alter your presentation even if you keep the same fly. Note the bank edge, current lane and where your indicator or dry travels. Reassess your position and return route as water rises; a place reached at one level may be different later. A daily average release cannot tell you what the river will do during each hour of your trip.

For subsurface fishing, make a few comparable drifts before changing the pattern. If you lose contact with the useful lane, fix positioning and line management first. Then adjust depth deliberately. If you switch from a nymph to an emerger or dry, do so because the fish and insects suggest a different stage, not because a clock says the hatch should have begun.

For surface refusals, watch the fly alongside nearby foam in the same current lane. Check whether the imitation drifts naturally, then compare its size and posture with the food being taken. A different color cannot fix a dragging #18 fly when the fish are feeding selectively on much smaller insects. Use Trout Are Rising but Refusing My Fly for that diagnostic sequence.

A streamer is a separate presentation to test, not an excuse to fish over spawning redds. Compare the same lane and retrieve before changing color. The Woolly Bugger retrieves lesson explains repeatable movements and countdowns without pretending a countdown proves depth.

Access, launches and fishing rules

For a walk-in plan around A, start with the official Little Hole trail and river facilities information. A trail alongside the river does not guarantee easy wading at the day's release level. For a float, identify the actual launch, takeout and shuttle before leaving; do not assume every B or C location is reachable by road.

BLM's Indian Crossing information says personal-use floats on this reach do not require a private river permit. That does not waive recreation passes, camping arrangements, fishing licenses, required boating equipment or closures. Commercial use has separate requirements. Check the official float-in campsite listing for an overnight plan and the applicable facility requirements.

Use the current Utah Fishing Guidebook and revisions for the dam-to-Colorado-line fishing rules. Recreation pages can retain older fishing summaries. Do not assume “fly fishing only,” universal catch-and-release or reservoir license reciprocity from this page's tailwater location. Moving beyond the covered reach requires a new rules and permit check.

Continue to the Elk Hair Caddis lesson, or return to Rivers, Lakes & Seasons for the other water guides.