Gunnison River Fishing Guides and Conditions, Colorado

About the Gunnison River

The Gunnison runs west from the Gunnison valley through three reservoirs of the Curecanti National Recreation Area, drops through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and comes out below the Gunnison Tunnel into the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area. That gorge reach, from the Chukar Trail down to Pleasure Park, is Colorado Gold Medal water and one of the best trout floats in the state.

Getting there is part of the story. The gorge has no road access at the top; boats are packed in by horse or hand-carried down the Chukar Trail, which keeps traffic low and the fishing quality high. Wade anglers hike in on the Chukar, Bobcat, Duncan and Ute trails. Below the gorge the river opens up through the North Fork confluence at Pleasure Park and runs to Delta and eventually the Colorado at Grand Junction. Upstream, the Black Canyon itself is a serious hike-in fishery for anglers willing to descend the canyon walls.

Salmonflies in late spring and early summer are the famous event here, followed by strong caddis and then a long, excellent fall of blue-winged olives and streamer fishing for big browns. The rainbows are wild and the population has rebounded well from whirling disease.

The Gunnison Tunnel gauge reads the release below the Black Canyon and above the gorge. Guides look for something in the several-hundred to low-thousand cfs range for comfortable floating; big spring releases from Blue Mesa push the gorge into expert-only water and can close it to fishing traffic entirely.

Montrose, Delta and Gunnison are the towns; Montrose is the base for gorge trips.

Access

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park: East Portal road access and the canyon hike-in routes.
Gunnison Tunnel and the Chukar Trail: the top of the gorge float, boats packed in.
Bobcat, Duncan and Ute trails: BLM hiking access into the Gunnison Gorge.
Pleasure Park at the North Fork confluence: the standard gorge takeout and a ramp.
Austin and Escalante: lower river accesses toward Delta.
Blue Mesa, Morrow Point and Crystal reservoirs: Curecanti access upstream.

Seasons

April and May: pre-runoff fishing, then rising water; salmonflies begin in the lower canyon.
June: salmonflies move upstream, high water, the most famous weeks of the year.
July through September: prime float and wade season, caddis and terrestrials, warm days and cold nights.
October and November: blue-winged olives and streamers for big browns, very few people.