Please feel free to contact me if you need additional information. Good Luck!
7-3-09 Wow! Fishing on the Gunnison River is fantastic.
5-21-09 Snow melt due to consistently warm temperatures continues to contribute to heavy run-off. However there is light at the end of the tunnel. It appears river levels around the valley may have peaked. As of today the graph is showing a slight downturn in flows on the Gunnison River. Wether this really is the case or a reflection of slightly cooler temps today, water levels should allow for good fishing sometime around early June. As I continue to report, June should be particularly good this season so book your guided trip now! If you are interested in coming sooner there is still plenty of rivers and creeks to fish which are less affected by run-off. See you soon! ALO
5-3-09 Full run-off conditions exist on most of our rivers right now! This means dirty, fast moving, and mostly unfishable water. Mostly unfishable!!! There are several good options still available for fishing. The water in the Taylor River is clear to slightly off-color and continues to be productive. Some of the creeks which feed the Taylor Reservoir and their inlets are clear and fishing good. Water releases in the Black Canyon are increasing to 6,500 cfs by May 15. By May 21 the flows in the canyon will have been reduced to 1,900 cfs which is where it will remain throughout June. ALO
Snow continues to melt at a much higher rate than last year. River levels have been ramping consistently over the last week. The Gunnison River flows nearly 3,000 cfs this morning. My prediction is an end to the majority of the run-off sometime in early June. When run-off cooperates, June is incredible fishing! People always want to know the best time of year to fish the Gunnison River. The answer is the last 2 weeks of June when the water is right. June dates are still available. Book now!! ALO
4-3-09 Great things to report today! 4-8" of new snow fell around the valley last night and temps did not dip much lower than freezing. Today was overcast and warm, highs near 50 degrees in Gunnison. There was an amazing midge hatch on the Gunnison River today. Fish were in a frenzy, feeding on adult midges. Fish have begin venturing out from deeper lies. I found fish feeding heavily in SHALLOW water. Take a stealthy approach to these fish and keep your casts short to medium range. Mike Boyd from Kansas was treated to some awesome dry fly action today courtesy of the Gunnison River. The surface activity I witnessed today was comparable to any of the best days I see ALL YEAR!!! Needless to say the fishing around the valley remains good to great. Weather for the upcomig week looks like potential for more warm, overcast days. Recently I have seen fish feed on adult midges on sunny days, but the likelihood of good dry fly action increases on overcast days. When were not dry fly fishing, nymph rigs continue to produce fish on a regular basis. Now is a great time to come fish around the Gunnison Valley. Call or email me to book a trip. ALO
3-19-09 Another solid day on the Gunnison River with Bob and Brian from Oklahoma. An unseasonably warm day with temps in the low 50's. Between the two anglers they landed more than 25 fish in a half day. Spring breakers are in town. If you're in Crested Butte take a day off from skiing an go fishing! ALO
3-18-09 Still great fishing to report around the valley. Caught good numbers and nice sized fish today on the Gunnison River with Barry Johnson from Oklahoma. The air temperatures were in the low 60's, which is unbelievably warm for this time of year! Fish are still concentrated mainly in deeper, slower moving water. I saw a decent number of adult midges flying, but little surface activity. Productive patterns include eggs, midge larvae and pupae, small dark stonefly nymphs. The fish are active and the weather is great to get out and enjoy a day on the river. Weather looks to be changing for the weekend and into early next week. Could slow the fishing some, but should still remain decent. Below are som pictures of Barry from toaday's trip. Tight Lines! ALO
3-5-09 At the time of this report, fishing in the Gunnison Valley is as good as I've ever seen in early March. The last week has seen unseasonably warm temperatures. This warm weather has led to some incredible early season fishing. Increased aquatic insect activity, midges especially, have fish on the feed!! On one particularly warm, overcast day this week I had 2 hours of unbelievable dry fly fishing using midge and midge cluster patterns. The number of trout being hooked in a day of fishing right now might blow you away.
2-26-09 The Gunnison River iced out this week!!!! This is great news for the anglers out there who are feeling the bug to go fishing. There is plenty of open water to fish. Now is the time to experience uncrowded rivers and good fishing. Temperatures have been very warm and quite unseasonable in the past 10 days. The temperature was 51 degrees in Gunnison today! Today was a good example of how active the Gunnison River trout can be in the spring. I landed nearly 25 trout in only 3 hours! Fish are concentrated in their winter holds. Which means deeper, slower runs is where to find them. Let me show where they are! The spring fishing should continue to be great through March. Take a day off from skiing and spend a day on the river. Give me a call to book!!
1-22-09 Today, Dave Hopkins and I guided two couples from Michigan on the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery section of the East River. The fishing was very tough! We spent time fishing the ponds and some open water we found on the river. The air temps were in the mid 30's. No fish were caught today, but we had fun and enjoyed having the river to ourselves.
1-20-09 I celebrated inaguration day by going fishing today. Strapped on the snowshoes and headed out to the East River near Crested Butte South. The fishing was good. Air temps were in the 20's under a perfect Colorado bluebird sky. I caught rainbows and browns, mostly on small stonefly nymphs. I landed 7-8 fish in 2 hours of fishing.
1-19-09 Looking for some mid-winter fly fishing? The Catch and Release section of the Taylor River can accomodate. Fishing on this stretch can be great during the winter. In the past several weeks we have had a couple great days fishing this section. One client landed 20 fish during a half day trip. We are catching fish on egg and midge patterns fished at varying depths in the water column. Call or e-mail to book your winter fishing adventure.