2007 Fishing Reports

2007 Fishing Reports

9-12-07 Trout fishing on the Gunnison River is on FIRE! On a scale of 1 to 10, fishing is a 9. We are still floating the river @ 391 cfs. See the previous post from 8-29 to see what flies are working. Come enjoy some of the best fall fishing in the state of Colorado. I have plenty of open dates this month. Attention Boaters: The Divison of Wildlife recently re-worked the previously ugly diversion ditch drop known as "Psycadelic Falls" below Twin Bridges. They created a boat friendly chute along with a fish ladder for the Kokanee Salmon. Big thanks to Dan Brau and the Division for getting it done!

8-29-07  Fishing on the Gunnison River is amazing!  The Gunnison has fished incredibly well all summer and right now is some of the best fishing yet.
Increased BWO activity along with hatches of Flav's, Midges, Caddis and Stoneflies have the fish feeding hard as fall approaches.  Fish are holding and feeding river wide.  Late morning through mid afternoon fish can be found feeding in very shallow water.   Try a small dry (#16-18 Furimsky's BDE, Parachute Adams, ETC.) with a small beadhead nymph (#16-18 BLM, Micro Mayfly, Pheasant Tail, Lighting Bug) dropped 10"-16" below the dry. Short line nymphing is also very productive in deeper water using the same nymph patterns as earlier listed. Flows are 430 cfs at Gunnison. The upper river is getting skinny but still floatable for the time being. Now through early October should continue to be unbelievable fishing. Call to book.

7-17-07  Within in the past week fishing on the Gunnison has become more challenging.  As with most years, in late July the Gunnison River Trout become increasingly selective. This is most likely due to the heavy angling pressure, lower flows, and fewer hatches. This does not mean we don't catch fish. However, it does mean we must use more patience and slightly different tactics.   I still prefer the dry fly/dropper set up, but lean toward double droppers. The first dropper can be a bigger #12-16 beadheaded pattern. The point fly, which is generally tied 6-10" behind your first dropper, is a much smaller #18-22 pattern.   For my point fly I have been successful with #18 micro mayflys, #18 Chocolate Emergers, #18 Bubbleback P.T., #18 Western Coachaman. The first dropper is generally a #12-14 beadhead flashback P-tail, Copper John, or Hot Wire Prince.  The first fly must be able to sink relatively quick in order to deliver the point fly behind it.  Good Luck! Here a some pictures of some recent creek fishing. The backcountry fishing around our valley is amazing! With some effort through hiking you can see some jaw dropping sights, and catch the most beautiful trout in the world!

7-8-07 The Gunnison river continues to fish great! Flows on the river have stabilized around 800 cfs. We haven't seen much rain, but the past week has seen some isolated afternoon showers. The daytime temps range in the 80's on most days. Strong hatches of caddis and PMD's are still happening, stonefly activity has tapered off considerably. Fly patterns I metioned in the last report are still working well.   The dry fly/dropper setup is how I fish almost everyday on the Gunnison. A variety of beadhead droppers sizes #12-16, including flashback pheasant tails, red copper johns, bubbleback pheasant tails. To match the PMD duns try a #16 Furimsky's BDE (available from Montana Fly Company) in olive or rust. Even though the bulk of the Green Drake hatch has moved up valley to the East and Taylor Rivers, fish on the Gunnison opportunistically continue to look for this big maylfy. Try your favorite Green Drake dry fly pattern and you should have some luck.   Happy 4th of July to everyone! Here are a couple pics of Megan from Friday's float.

6-29-07 Floated today with return client Mike Boyd from Kansas. His daughter Katie joined us for the float from Almont to Twin Bridges.  The Gunnison fished great again today.  Mike and Katie landed around 45 fish!  Katie had the hot hand all morning and was out fishing her Dad.  Mike managed to catch up as the day went on.  #6 and #8, high floating dry flies with a 2-3'  dropper has been my top producing rig.  The big dry is easy to see from the boat, makes a good indicator and gets eaten.  Noble Chernobles, Parachute Madam X's, Stimulator's, Bank Robber Stones all fit the bill.  Droppers including BH Flashback Pheasant Tails, Bubbleback Pheasant Tails, Red Copper John's, and Hot Wire Prince Nymphs have been producing lots of fish. Also, try smaller dry flies to match the hatch, Biot Cripple Caddis, BDE's, Parachute Adam's, Green Drake Patterns.

6-28-07 Sorry about the delay since the last post. I have been guiding almost every day and have been neglecting the fishing report. The fishing the last 2 weeks has been nothing short of amazing. The 3 weeks post runoff is the best fishing of the year on the Gunnison, I have been telling you this for a long time.  I have seen 60, 70 and a few 80 fish days. Last sunday, 1 angler landed 71 fish in 5 hours of fishing!   The bugs are all hatching in full force. PMD's, Green Drakes, Caddis, Yellow Sallies, Golden Stones and several other species of insects have all been hatching recently.  The Green Drake hatch on the Gunnison has been spotty and inconsistent thus far. The warm, sunny conditions we've had the last few weeks are not condusive to a strong hatch. The Green Drakes are hatching as far up as the Roaring Judy on the East River and also on the Taylor around Almont.  The valley has had no rain in weeks and the flows are dropping quickly. The Gunnison is flowing 898 cfs, the East River is an incredibly low 300 cfs. We need rain badly and none is in the forecast anytime soon. Take advantage of the incredible fishing now!  There's no telling what conditions will be like in a month if we don't get some precip. I will do my best to update the report more frequently, keep checking in!

6-11-07 A friend and I floated the East River today from Crested Butte South to Almont. The fishing was nothing short of spectacular. There was cloud cover most of the day and the water was several shades off color....a recipe for some amazing streamer fishing. The reported flow this morning on the East River was 780 cfs.  If I told you how many fish we caught you would call me a liar! The fishing is very, very good around the valley right now and will stay that way for a while. Green Drakes should start hatching on the Lower Gunnison any day! Now is the time to come fishing. Call or e-mail for availability.

6-10-07  Kalee and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary today by, what else.......fishing. We floated from North Bridge to McCabes. The fishing was good and we landed lots of fish on dry fly/dropper rigs. Not too many fish on the dry, catching most of our fish on droppers. The two hot flies were a #10 chartruse hot wired prince and #16 red copper john. The water clarity was good and the flows were around 1,100 cfs. It got cloudy and windy in the afternoon.

6-9-07 Since I had such a great day there yesterday, I decided to take my clients to the East River today. Gary and Britney, from Dallas, TX, joined me on a beautiful saturday for a half day of fishing. Britney was a never-ever, and Gary had gone fly fishing a couple times before. We had a fun time and caught fish too. Britney was a natural and landed 9 trout including a beautiful 15" brown on her last cast. No bad for her first day ever fly fishing. Trying not to be shown up by his beginner girlfriend, Gary fished hard and claims he landed more fish than Britney. Britney and I weren't so sure! The flows remained around 600 cfs with excellent water clarity.  We caught fish on a variety of patterns including parachute caddis, royal stimulators, and beadhead pheasant tails.  The rest of June is close to booking up.  Don't wait to make reservations if you're thinking about coming.

6-8-07  Olive (my golden retriever) and I fished the East River at Roaring Judy today. What a great day we had! We got a late start showing up around 1:00. The caddis we flying in huge numbers, with blankets of them on the water. The fish were certainly keyed in and I caught fish non-stop for 3 hours. A #16 yellow stimulator with a #16 flashback pheasant tail dropper were the only patterns I fished the entire time. The water was virtually gin clear and the flow on the East had dropped to just over 600 cfs. The air temps were in the low 70's. I had the river to myself and had a great time!

6-7-07 Today I fished a half day with Ken and his 12 year old son Luke, from Lawrence, KS. We drove down valley and fished the East River. Luke landed his first trout ever on a fly. He didn't stop at just one, Luke landed 9 more trout after the first. He also had plenty of long distance releases. Ken was the photographer and in between snapping photos of Luke, managed to catch some fish himself. Air temps were in the upper 40's and we even saw a few snowflakes. Around 1:00pm a BWO hatch came off bringing fish to the surface. We caught fish mostly on big stonefly nymphs. Great day!   We have had snow and cold temps the last two days. The weather forecast is calling for a warming trend starting tommorow and the forecast looks good for the weekend and early next week. The Gunnison is flowing 1,280 cfs at time of this report. Clarity has improved greatly in the past two days.

6-6-07 Due to the warm temps yesterday, the Gunnison was flowing 1,800 cfs this morning.  Up nearly 400 cfs from yesterday! The water was considerably off color, visibility was 6" or less.   An approaching cold front changed the weather signficantly today from yesterday, bringing plenty of strong wind, cooler temps, and dark skies . I floated with 2 friends today. We put-in at Almont and floated to North Bridge. Compared to the recent good fishing, the fishing today was tough. Despite the unfriendly conditions, we did manage to put some fish in the net mostly on big dark streamers. The forecast is calling for cool weather the next two days. Watch for the river to clear and drop for the weekend.

6-5-07 I spent the last couple days in the Gunnison Gorge fishing the Salmonfly hatch. I hiked down the Duncan Trail and had 2 good days of fishing big dries. Most people I saw were indicator fishing during this prolific hatch. I'm not sure why because the fish were definitely eating adult stones. The bugs are as high as Chuckar, but from reports seem to be most concentrated around Duncan and Bobcat.  It is very crowded in the Gorge right now.  Don't be afraid to wade, swim, climb, and scramble to leave the crowds behind. Also, Dragonfly Anglers has some dates left for multi-day trips into the Gorge. I hope everyone is having good luck.

6-3-07 Another beautiful early summer day on the Gunnison River. Today, Kalee and I floated from Almont to North Bridge. Kalee was in the mood to row and I fished quite a bit. The flows remain around 1,400 cfs, with a slight bit less clarity today than yesterday. Water temps and hatches were similar to the report from 6-1. The fishing was again good, we caught fish using the same setup as the last couple reports. We did catch several fish on a #8 Peacock Parachute Madam X, proving the fish are looking up more every day. Here are pics from today.

6-1-07 Cousins Steve and Jake from Chatanooga, TN floated with me today. Steve and Jake had a good day and each landed several fish that were 16" or larger. We floated from Almont to Twin Bridges and caught fish all day on a short-line nymph setup. Productive patterns: #10 BH Pheasant Tail, #10 Prince, #10-#12 Twenty Incher, #12 Western Coachman. When we put in at 10 am the water temp was 43 degrees, when we took out at 5 pm the water temp was 53 degrees. Best fishing was through the mid part of the day. Some fish were staging in shallow riffle water mid-day. Flows this morning were around 1,250 cfs. More mayflies hatching today than I've seen yet and some caddis flying as well. However there were very few fish surface feeding on naturals. There is good caddis activity on the lower Gunnison and evening fishing can be good on dries. Salmonflies are hatching in the Canyon now! Last I heard the leading edge of the Hatch could be as high as Bobcat. It's happening very early this year. Here are pics from todays trip.

5-29-07 The flows on the Gunnison River today are again starting to increase due to warm weather this weekend. Flows this afternoon are near 1,500 cfs. The water color however is not horrible and the river is still fishable. The upper river should have more clarity than the lower. I floated the lower river yesterday, Mcabes to the lake, the fishing was mediocre. I think the recent fluctuations in flows have turned the fish off slightly. We caught most of our fish on streamers. There was about a foot of visiblity. If I had to make a guess, run-off is near done and we should see flows decline and stabilize sooner than later. This means that some of the best fishing we'll have on the Gunnison River all summer is around the corner. Book now!

5-25-07 Another day of clear water and good fishing on the Gunnison. The weather was mostly sunny with a slight breeze and high in the upper 60's. The flows dropped slightly overnight to around 1,000 cfs. For now the river is fishing more like late june than late may, however forecasted warm temps look to increase flows and decrease water clarity soon. I guided return client and part-time Crested Buttian Mike Boyd from Kansas. We floated from Almont to Northbridge and Mike had a good day putting 25-30 fish in the net.  Most fish today were caught using a short line nymph set up. Two flies, no split shot, fished 2-4 feet under an indicator.  The hot flies were a #12 tungsten Ronald Mcdonald (curved shank hook, flash back, peacock thorax, yellow and orange wire abdomen) and a #14 copper, Copper John.   Sporadic hatch of BWO's again today, not many caddis, and very few fish rising to naturals.  However the two biggest fish we saw today were the ones trying to eat Mike's indicator. Try a big dry!  June is booking up fast and should be great fishing. I still have plenty of late may and early june dates open.   Pic's from the trip with Mike.

5-24-07 Due to the recent cold weather the Gunnison was clear today and flows dropped to around 1,100 cfs. Air temps were in the 50's, I didn't take a water temp. I floated from Almont to North Bridge with friend and guide Jason White. We had a pretty good day, managing to land fish on nymphs, dry's and streamers. Look for tight bank water and slower moving medium depth runs to hold the most fish. Productive flies were dark colored, heavy streamers stripped slowly in almost a jigging motion. Big, beadhead pheasant tails and western coachman were productive nymphs and one really nice cutbow ate a #8 peacock PMX (pictured below).   The fishing should continue to improve until the next round of warm weather brings down more run-off from the high country. Pic's below.

5-23-07 I have not fished much the last few days. A cold front settled in on Monday night, there has been some snow and considerably cooler temperatures. This cold should help clear the rivers and creeks in the valley that were previously tough fishing. The Gunnison is 1,550 cfs this morning and there was already improved visibilty yesterday. Look for the river to get clearer the next couple days before warmer temps forecasted this weekend ramp flows in the near future. People who have fished recently on the Gunnisonn report average streamer fishing and nymphing. Patterns with big dark profiles should produce best. The Taylor is slightly tinted, especially downsteam of Spring Creek, but the fishing is good and continue to see increased bug activity. The forecast for the valley this weekend is upper 60's and 70's. I have plenty of available dates in the next few weeks.

5-18-07 Pike fishing at Taylor Reservoir today. Saw some fish in the shallows around Willow Bay, they were not happy and not interested in the fly.

5-17-07 Run off continues. Gunnison 1,550 cfs and dirty at time of this report. If this cycle continues, run off looks to be over earlier than normal and early June could be some of the best fishing on the Gunnison all summer. Call now to book your float! Taylor is clear and fishing good for this time of year. Floating the lower Taylor is an option with flows at Almont nearly 400 cfs! I was going to fish Pleasure Park today, but my friend Austin blew me off for his girlfriend!  I think I'm going tommorow. I heard fishing is good.

5-14-07 Fished today on Cochetopa Creek with part-time Crested Butte resident Clyde Wyant from Blanco, TX.  We ran into some difficult conditions. The water was high and dirty, only about 6" of visibilty. Despite Clyde hooking and landing fish on 2 of his first 5 presentations, (black #14 AP Puyrans dropper) the dry/dropper fishing was tough. In order to try and bend the rod, we went to the streamer. The streamer fishing was semi-productive. Clyde rolled 20 or so fish, but had an unlucky day and only managed to land a few of those. It was one of those days where the fish kept coming unbuttoned! Clyde is a good angler and did well for the conditions he was given. The bright side is we were the only anglers there today!

5-13-07 Waded the Taylor today in a couple different spots below 5 mile bridge.  The fishing was average with 12+ fish hooked. I fished only dry-fly/dropper rigs. Several fish came up for a #14 stimulator with the rest coming on an assortment of beadheads. No one pattern really worked better than another, #14 chartruse copper john's and flashback pheastant tails seemed to be best producers. Sparse hatches of both caddis and bwo's came off mid-afternoon, very little surface activity. Lots of fish seem to be holding extremely tight along the bank. With the Gunnison being blown out, there was lots of wading traffic on the Taylor, almost every pull-off along the road taken. Weekdays are must less crowded!

5-12-07  Did not fish today, so nothing to report. The Gunnison and the East are blown out and dirty. The Gunnison is flowing 1,115 cfs in town at the time of this report. The Taylor is still clear and fishing well. The weather forecast is for continued warm weather so this runoff cycle looks to continue for a while longer.

5-11-07 Had a great float today fishing with Kalee. The weather was amazing with highs in the 70's.  We put in just above the post office on the Taylor and floated to North Bridge. Had good fishing from the put-in on the Taylor taking fish on a #12 chart./green Hot Wired Prince fished a couple feet under a #12 Royal Stimulator that also took a couple fish. There was some color coming in from the East River so we switched to streamers once we got to the Gunnison. The streamer fishing was great with #6 & #8 brown and black streamers with flash and coneheads working best. We spotted some caddis and mayfly adults, but few fish rising. I didn't take a water temp but I went without waders and the water is definitely warmer than last week. The increase in water temps will continue to bring increased bug activity. Here are some pic's from today.