The Colorado River winding through Ruby Canyon west of Grand Junction

Photo: Bureau of Land Management, public domain

VCO hats, shirts and tumblers

The Trucker Hat is $38, the Ringer Shirt is $44, and the Tumbler is $36. Choose an individual item or all three in the $99 Valley Pack. Made to order, ships from Grand Junction.

Valley Pack $99. Made to order, ships from Grand Junction.
Grand Junction, Colorado · Western Slope Outfitter

Who we are

Viral Cast Outfitters is a small shop in Grand Junction. Ryan Stahl started it for people who fish the Western Slope.

In 2007, at 22, Ryan was hurt in a forklift accident at work. It left him with a traumatic brain injury, and years later, short-term memory loss. After rehab, he built something of his own around the thing that has always steadied him: fishing out here.

Made to order, ships from Grand Junction. Our first own-brand fishing gear is open for pre-order. No ship date yet. Full refund any time before it ships.

The rest is free: fishing reports for each lake, Fish Kitchen recipes for what you catch, and a daily safety note.

We want honest gear and honest information, and we back CPW habitat work. We don't resell random gear. More about us.

Start here

Fishing notes

New Interactive Colorado Angler Toolkit

Colorado Water Map, Lake Hubs & Interactive Gear Tools

Click a pin for that water's elevation, species, and report, or load it in the Trip Builder.

Filter Map by Elevation:
San JuanSouth PlatteS. Fork RepublicanNorth PlatteGreenColoradoRio GrandeArkansasGunnison River (USGS NHDPlus)USGS 3DEP · US Census · GNIS · USGS NWIS · USBR RISE · NHDPlus · Natural Earth · official GNIS/USGS/USBR points · Regions approx.WESTERN SLOPEGUNNISON BASINSW COLORADOFRONT RANGE Highline / Mack (4,700 ft) CO River · GJ (4,590 ft) Rifle Gap (5,960 ft) Harvey Gap (6,400 ft) Grand Mesa (10,000+ ft) Vega Res (7,990 ft) Ruedi Res (7,766 ft) Blue Mesa (7,519 ft) Gunnison Gorge (5,300 ft) Lake Nighthorse (6,800 ft) Cheesman Canyon (6,842 ft)

USGS 3DEP · US Census · GNIS · USGS NWIS · USBR RISE · NHDPlus · Natural Earth · Regions approximate

Gunnison Basin · 7,519 ft

Blue Mesa Reservoir

Colorado's largest body of water across Sapinero, Cebolla, and Iola basins. Prime late-fall shore casting for rainbow and brown trout, deep lake trout jigging, and winter hardwater.

Target Species: Kokanee Salmon, Lake Trout (Mackinaw), Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Yellow Perch
All fishing reports

Pick a water

Pick the water, then the fish. The note for that water follows.

Fishing style
Red rock canyons of Colorado National Monument

Photo: National Park Service, public domain

High desert above Grand Junction

Safety tip for today

Stay sober on the boat

CPW says alcohol is the leading contributing factor in recreational boating deaths. The drink waits until the boat is on the trailer and you are off the ramp. If you have already had one, you do not drive the boat. That limit is ours.

Today's safety note

Colorado river flows

Colorado at Cameo: current flow on the USGS site page.

Gunnison near Grand Junction: current flow on the USGS site page.

Colorado near the state line: current flow on the USGS site page.

Animas at Durango: current flow on the USGS site page.

USGS provisional data. A reading is not a ramp, a bag limit, or a forecast.

All river flows
No purchase necessary Fill the gauge, win a VCO rod and reel combo.

The gauge0 of 20 pre-orders

Enter free
Blue Mesa Reservoir in winter, frozen under evening clouds

Photo: National Park Service, public domain

Ice season on Blue Mesa

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