Fishing Season: April through October

Upper Gunnison River - CO

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Water Temp:

46

Willowfly Anglers's Tip of the Week

The Gunnison River is current at 340 CFS in Gunnison. These flows close to our winter flow, so running a boat will be tough. Wading access opens up with the lower flows making some of those hard to reach spots open up! With most of our major hatches wrapped up for the year, the fishing has mostly shifted to nymphing and throwing streamers. Spanish Bullet’s, French Nymph’s, Blowtorch, along with Sparkle Wing RS2’s, Zebra Midges, Glow Bug, Pegged Eggs and Bling Midges in 16 – 22 have been our mainstays. Morningwood Hopper, Chubby Chernobyl, and Amy’s Ants have been our go to terrestrial patterns if you wish to fish an ‘edible indicator.’ For the dry fly anglers – Missing Link Caddis, BWO, CDC Comparadun’s, and Mole Flies are great options to fish behind a hopper. Streamer fishing has been very productive! Larger articulated patterns have been moving the most fish, with Double Gonga’s, Thrasher’s, and Agent Scully’s being some of our favorites especially in black and olive. There is also great opportunity to fish the inlet of the Blue Mesa Reservoir! Fish down below Wilson’s Landing and the Lake City Bridge can provide some strong lake fish that have moved into the lower reaches of the Gunnison River; Be ready to adjust the drag on those fishing rods as there is some large fish in these zones. Salmon fishing has is still happening but is slowing down, we are still seeing some pods of Salmon here in Almont so get it while you can! If you’re targeting these fish you’ll need to upsize your leaders and tippet and consider fishing a heavier rod. A 6 wt rod paired with a 2x or 3x leader is a great combination. These toothy critters tend to chew through lighter tippet so consider upsizing your tippet as well, 2x tends to be a popular choice. In order to get your rig down to the depths where these fish are holding you’ll need some weight in addition to some heavier beaded attractor flies. Popular choices among our guides are size 12 Red Copper Johns, and Red Worms below an indicator. Keep in mind, as per the Colorado Fishing Regulations, Kokanee salmon must be released so they can make their way up the East River and into the Roaring Judy fish hatchery. Please be respectful of this resource and enjoy some Rocky Mountain salmon fishing!

Directions open in app

Map of Upper Gunnison River

Water Flow Data

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby

Willowfly Anglers
RIGS Fly Shop & Guide Service

5-Day Outlook as of 10/21/25

Overnight temps are dropping, fishing should improve though the day.

Techniques & Tips as of 10/21/25

Nymphing and Streamers.

Local Species Available April through October

  • Fish Icon

    Trout

Willowfly Anglers's Recommended Fly Patterns

"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:

Name: Colors: Size(s):
Tunghead Pheasant Tail Natural 14-20
Flashback Baetis Nymph Peacock 16-22
Troutmaster Nymph - Hare's Ear Green 14-20
TH 20 Incher Green 14-20
HDA Varient Natural 14-20
20 Incher Peacock 08-14
GD SculpSnack Natural 4-8
Elk Wing Caddis Natural 16-22
Blowtorch Black 14-20
Two Bit Hooker Dark Olive 16-20

Tunghead Pheasant Tail

Adding tungsten beads to mayfly patterns is relatively new.

2.99

Item #144J

Buy Now

Willowfly Anglers's Recommended Gear

Description: About Upper Gunnison River

The Gunnison River begins at Almont, Colorado, where the Taylor River and East River merge to form its headwaters. The river grows in size as it flows down through the Gunnison Valley and into Blue Mesa Reservoir. This is the first of several dams as the Gunnison continues its flow through the Black Canyon and eventually into the Colorado River. Our section of the Gunnison River, the upper Gunnison, is from the headwaters in Almont to Blue Mesa Reservoir. The East River is a freestone river which drains out of Emerald Lake, which is located at 10,500 feet in the Rockies near Crested Butte. So the upper Gunnison is impacted by both snow-melt and the controlled releases from Taylor Reservoir. The Gunnison is best fished from a boat in the early season during high water. There are also plenty of public access points for wading the river during summer and fall. The Gunnison River contains a very high density of trout, including browns, rainbows, and cutthroat. There are long riffles and runs, and deep pools which hold large trout. There are good hatches of stoneflies, caddis, and mayflies during the season. The peak season is from mid June to late September, and fall fishing can be spectacular on the Gunnison. The fall kokanee salmon run brings hard-fighting kokanee salmon up the Gunnison River from Blue Mesa as they run to the Roaring Judy fish hatchery on the East River. There is a catch-and-release season for kokanee from August 1 to October 31. Big trout will follow the salmon up to feed on their eggs. A 9-foot 5-weight fly rod is a good all purpose choice for the Gunnison River. A 6-weight rod can also be used for heavier nymph rigs and/or for streamers.

Nearest Airport:

Gunnison-Crested Butte Airport

Hatches:

PMD's.

Best Time to Fish:

10am - 4pm

Best Stretch:

Shady Island River Park to Wilsons Landing

Best Access:

Curecanti National Recreation Area