Fly Fishing Gunnison River Colorado Includes a Gunnison River fishing report
Type: Tailwater and Freestone
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Cutthroats
Kokanee Salmon
(Wild Trout)
Size
Medium
Location
Central Colorado
Nearest Towns
Gunnison
Season
Year-round
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of Colorado
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
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Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Gunnison River Fishing Report – May 01, 2024
The stream level in the canyon tailwater is flowing a little below a normal level. The upper freestone section is flowing a little above a normal level and lightly stained. Good Skwala Stonefly, Blue-winged olives and Midge hatches are taking place. Keep checking back with us. We update the Gunnison River fishing report weekly.
Stream Conditions: Upper Gunnison:
Rate: 735 cfs
Level: 1.66 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 52
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data Near Gunnison
Lower Gunnison (Black Canyon):
Rate: 619 cfs
Level: 2.72 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 48
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data Below Gunnison Tunnel
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the link below for more detailed information)
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Light green and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Skwala stoneflies, size 10, nymphs and adults
Little Black Caddis, size 18, pupa and adults
March Browns, 12/14, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Fly Fishing On The Gunnison River. Gunnison River is seventy-eight miles long including the lakes it flows through. The river drains a huge part of the state of Colorado. It’s formed by two major streams, the Taylor River and the East River, both of which are fine trout streams themselves. It’s one of the most diversified trout streams in the state of Colorado. Fly fishing the Gunnison River is a truly unique experience all avid anglers should experience. The river starts at Almont, Colorado. It gets larger the closer to the Blue Mesa Reservoir you get. The upper section is referred to as the section above the Blue Mesa Reservoir, upstream to its beginning. The lower section of the river generally refers to the section starting below Blue Mesa Reservoir at East Portal down to the rivers junction with the North Fork of the Gunnison. This section consist mostly of what is usually called the Black Canyon. These two sections of the river, the upper and lower, are completely different. The upper section is affected by the spring runoff more than the lower section. It usually gets high and stained around the middle of May and stays that way until the middle of June or even later depending on the weather and snow pack. The Gunnison River fishing report includes both sections of the river.
The Gunnison River is affected by the flows from the East River, a freestone stream draining from Emerald Lake high in the Rockies near Crested Butte. It is also affected by water released from Taylor Reservoir, or the Taylor River. The above links describe its two sources of water in detail.The Gunnison River can be waded and fished from drift boats. During times of high water, a drift boat is by far the best option. There are several public access points where anglers can wade the river.The river consist of long runs and riffles and many large and some very deep pools. Aquatic insects are plentiful. The Gunnison River is probably best known for its Salmonfly hatch. There’s a “catch-and-release” season for the kokanee that extends from August 1st to October 31st. The Gunnison River is one of Colorado’s best trout streams, and that’s saying a lot. It offers year-round, versatile fly fishing opportunities with various species of trout and other fish species. It is both a freestone stream and a tailwater and almost always provides an opportunity for anglers to catch fish.If you haven’t fished the Gunnison River, your missing one of the best trout streams in the nation.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Gunnison River: The methods and techniques used for fly fishing the Gunnison River vary depending on the section and of course, the time of year. The upper Gunnison is a freestone looking stream although one of the two streams that form it, the Taylor, is a tailwater. It has several tributary streams including the Ohio Creek, Tomichi Creek and Antelope Creek. Although you can catch trout on nymphs and midge larvae imitations before the runoff, it is usually near the end of June before the better fishing starts on the upper section. The salmonfly hatch, which usually starts from around the middle of June to the first of July, is the first big event to occur. Much better fishing gets underway in the month of July and you may be able to start catching trout on the dry fly.In the middle of August, the Kokanee salmon start their run up the river from the Blue Mesa Reservoir to spawn. This event last through October. It provides some exciting fishing because the salmon will usually readily take streamers and even nymphs at times. The salmon must all be released back into the stream. October is also the spawning time for the big brown trout that reside in Blue Mesa Reservoir. They move out of the lake and up into the river to spawn and anglers have the opportunity to catch some large trout. The lower section of the Gunnison, or the Black Canyon, is a beautiful, wild and almost untouched wilderness area. It is a tailwater and the flows are controlled by the dam. It has a lot of large brown trout as well as some rainbows. Water from the upstream boundary of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument, downstream to the North Fork of the Gunnison River, is classified as Gold Medal Water. This simply means the state rates this part of the river among the best of the state’s trout waters.The lower section consist mostly of pocket water with deep pool, riffles and runs. Many anglers prefer to float this section. You can fish it by hiking down into the canyon and by camping along the river in one of its designated camp sites. Access to the canyon is controlled by strict rules established to help maintain the wilderness as it should be. Browns average around fifteen inches with many are over eighteen inches. The rainbows have suffered loses from whirling disease but are still present and average an even larger size than the brown trout. The highlight of the canyon section each year is the Salmonfly hatch although there are many other aquatic insects that hatch in the canyon. The Gunnison River fishing reports keep you updated as these hatches change.
Gunnison River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Gunnison River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726. The hatches on the Gunnison River varies some from the canyon section (tailwater) and the freestone section of the stream. We are going to include both together in this section although the dates of the hatches can vary some. The hatch charts separate them. Midges exist throughout the stream and hatch throughout the year. Most anglers consider them important only when there are no other insects hatching. Imitations of the larvae, pupae and of the adults will catch trout anytime during the year. Blue-winged Olives are probably the most plentiful species of aquatic insects in the river, other than the midges. The first hatches start about the middle of April and last until around the middle of May. These insects are bi-brooded and have another hatch from about the middle of July through October. The exact time of the hatch varies depending on the location. Brachycentrus caddisflies, or American Grannoms, start hatching around the middle of April and last for about a month depending on the particular section of the stream. This can be a great hatch to fish if you catch it just right. Western March Browns are present in most of the stream. They hatch from about the first of April through the first week or two in May. Pale Morning Duns, or PMDs, start hatching around the last week of June. The hatch can last as late as the first week or two of September, again, depending on the particular location on the stream. Green Drakes are present in some areas of the Gunnison River. The hatch starts from about the first of July and last until near the middle of August. Again, this greatly depends on the particular section of the river. It can be affected by the runoff in the freestone section. Red Quills hatch during July and August. Several species of Stoneflies are included on the list of most important insects. The Giant Salmonflies are present especially in the Canyon section of the river. They hatch from about the first of June through the first week or two in July. Little Yellow Stoneflies, called Yellow Sallies, are also present. They hatch from about the middle of July through most of August. Golden Stoneflies are also present in the stream. They hatch from around the last of June through the month of July and into the first week or two of August, depending on the location. Little Green Stoneflies are also present in parts of the stream. They hatch from near the end of July through August.LIttle Short-horned Sedges, or Glossosoma species, hatch from May through the month of June. There’s also some Great Gray Spotted Wing Sedges that hatch during July and August. Spotted Sedges are present from June through the month of September. Terrestrial insects become important in the month of July, August and September. These include grasshopper, ants and beetles. Streamers are also very popular with the locals. Don’t forget to carry them if you plan on fishing the fall salmon run. These fish don’t eat during the spawning run but they will attack attractor type streamers. Imitations of Sculpin and various baitfish will take their share of trout, especially during the fall brown trout spawning season.We recommend our “Perfect Fly” trout flies for the Gunnison River simply because we have the most realistic and effective trout flies you can purchase. Our stonefly imitations have proven to be very effective on this stream. If you haven’t done so already, we hope you will give them a try. Thanks for checking out our Gunnison River fishing report.