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Home › Waters › Utah › Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam
Tailwater · Southwest Utah, Washington County, the red rock canyon below Gunlock Reservoir between Gunlock and Santa Clara · Utah

Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam Fishing Guides

The release below Winsor Dam at Gunlock Reservoir, running red rock canyon country toward Santa Clara, with a gauge reading discharge and stage on a desert tailwater.

A river meandering through open sage flats under big sky in the Northern Rockies
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam

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About the Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam

Winsor Dam impounds Gunlock Reservoir on the Santa Clara River in Washington County, and the river below it runs through red rock canyon and desert bench country on its way toward Santa Clara, Ivins and eventually the Virgin River at St. George. This is desert tailwater in the true sense. Flow below the dam is governed by irrigation demand and by storage rather than by the weather, and the river can go from a usable stream to a trickle on a schedule that has nothing to do with the sky.

That makes the gauge below the dam the single most important thing to check before driving out. It reads discharge and stage, and the discharge number tells you directly whether there is water in the river. A release means fishable water through the canyon. A closed gate means a series of disconnected pools. There is no way to guess this from a weather forecast, and a trip planned without looking is a trip likely wasted.

When water is being released the river holds trout below the dam, where the reservoir releases keep temperatures down, grading into warmwater species as the canyon opens out and the water warms downstream. Rainbows are stocked and browns are present, and the transition zone where trout and bass overlap is the interesting water. Gunlock Reservoir above holds largemouth, crappie and catfish and fishes as a destination in its own right.

The setting is the other half of the appeal. This is Snow Canyon country, red Navajo sandstone against black lava, and the canyon below the dam is spectacular on any day of the year. St. George is twenty minutes away with everything a trip needs, and the whole area is a short drive from Zion.

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Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

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5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

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Posting to Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam.

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam cfs

Now: 1.5 cfs, read 6:00 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 09410100, SANTA CLARA RIV BLW WINSOR DAM, NR SANTA CLARA, UT).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Santa Clara - the town downstream of the canyon, with basic services and the nearest river access.
Gunlock State Park - on the reservoir immediately above the dam, with a ramp, camping and lake fishing.
St. George - twenty minutes southeast, with tackle, groceries, lodging and the regional airport.
Snow Canyon State Park - the red rock country alongside, with camping, trails and developed facilities.
Ivins - between the canyon and St. George, with services and further access to the lower river.
Gunlock - the small community above the reservoir at the head of the canyon.
Zion National Park - about an hour northeast, the obvious addition to any trip out here.

Seasons

Spring: runoff and early irrigation releases give the most reliable water of the year and the best trout fishing below the dam.
Summer: hot and heavily managed, with flow entirely dependent on irrigation demand and the lower river too warm for trout.
Fall: releases taper off and the river often runs low, so check the gauge before committing to the drive.
Winter: cold, quiet and low, with the reservoir above usually the better bet and the canyon at its most spectacular.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam?

As of Oct 18, 6:00 pm, the USGS gauge SANTA CLARA RIV BLW WINSOR DAM, NR SANTA CLARA, UT reads 1 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Brown Trout, Bullhead, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Green Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout on the Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam in Utah.

Where can you access the Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam?

Santa Clara - the town downstream of the canyon, with basic services and the nearest river access. Gunlock State Park - on the reservoir immediately above the dam, with a ramp, camping and lake fishing. St. George - twenty minutes southeast, with tackle, groceries, lodging and the regional airport. Snow Canyon State Park - the red rock country alongside, with camping, trails and developed facilities. Ivins - between the canyon and St. George, with services and further access to the lower river. Gunlock - the small community above the reservoir at the head of the canyon. Zion National Park - ab...

When is the best time to fish the Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam?

Spring: runoff and early irrigation releases give the most reliable water of the year and the best trout fishing below the dam. Summer: hot and heavily managed, with flow entirely dependent on irrigation demand and the lower river too warm for trout. Fall: releases taper off and the river often runs low, so check the gauge before committing to the drive. Winter: cold, quiet and low, with the reservoir above usually the better bet and the canyon at its most spectacular.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Santa Clara River below Winsor Dam?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Utah agency site: https://wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks.html