Report courtesy of Lees Ferry Anglers at https://leesferry.com/river-report/. Water temperature was 51.62-53.96 F and discharge rate 7,250-10,300 cfs on 5/20/2024. April 16 report from guide Kevin Campbell:

Fly Fishing Report: Fishing success is picking up. A combination of techniques has been working. Swinging streamers on long sinking tips continues to produce. After a slower than usual March, the midges have returned and the fish are taking notice. Drifting from the boat, a trusted method, is reliable. Nymphing deep runs with eggs, and midges is always working well with a 9- to 11-foot heavy rig. Additionally, a mid-depth setup of 5 to 8 feet with scuds or double midge patterns had proven successful. Shallow fish are showing up in riffle seams and tailouts. Dry/ dropper rigs with a single bead-headed midge are easy to cast and are productive. Rainbows are spawning in limited numbers and started later than a typical year.

Wading: Dry/ dropper rigs and shallow double nymph rigs are both working. Midge hatches have been heavy one day and very sparse the next. During heavy hatch days, the fish will definitely take a midge dropper below a dry fly and might even take the dry. Recent success on dries has been on Parachute Adams and stimulators. On days where the midge hatches are stingy, a double nymph rig of combinations of scuds, worms, eggs and midges is the ticket. In addition to nymphs, swinging and/or casting and retrieving streamers like Wooly Buggers, muddlers and leaches is working very well. This is done with a sink-tip fly line or sinking leader depending on depth and current speed. Favorite buggers include olive, black/ wine and peacock/ black and brown.

Boat drifting: Drifting from the boat has been about bigger flies with large orange, pink or ginger scuds and red, tan, and brown San Juan worms. A-9 foot 4X leader, with flies tied on 4X tippet about 16 inches apart does the trick. Weight can vary from 1/2 gram to 2 grams depending on depth and current speed. Depth, like weight, varies on conditions; typically, from 6-9 feet from weight to strike indicator.