The Many Faces of the Gunnison

A wilderness canyon, a Kokanee salmon run, and a technical tailwater tributary make the Gunnison one of the most complex and fascinating trout rivers in Colorado.

by BILL FOWLER

Destination Article | Gunnison River | Swimming Prince | Gunnison Green Drake Para-Drake

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Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Below Blue Mesa Reservoir the Gunnison is restrained in a long series of impoundments, then set free near the boundary of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. You can drive to the river here by taking East Portal Road from the Park. At East Portal you can camp and have foot access to a little less than a mile of water before the canyon cliffs block your downstream movement. The next car access to the river is 28 river miles downstream at Pleasure Park outside of Austin, Colorado, where the North Fork of the Gunnison and the Gunnison meet. You can bring a float tube or pontoon boat to cross the river and fish the far bank at East Portal, but you cannot float downstream. The river below East Portal is impassable and at one point completely disappears under the broken rubble of the surrounding cliffs.

Inside the Park six foot routes lead to the river: three along South Rim Road and three along North Rim Road. The Park Service issues a limited number of free permits for these routes to ensure a quality wilderness experience. The permits are available daily on a first-come, first-served basis. These routes are not maintained trails. They are extremely steep with unstable footing and dangerous precipices. You must be in good physical condition to attempt the descent. The Gunnison Route into the canyon from the visitor’s center drops 1,800 feet in .75 miles and it’s considered the easiest trail in the Park. The solitude, scenery, and spectacular fishing make the hike worth the effort. No guided angling is permitted in the Park.

Below the National Park is the Gunnison Gorge, a public-use wilderness operated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The most comfortable and productive way to fish this stretch is to hire an outfitter with pack mules to take you and your gear into the Gorge for a 14-mile float down to the confluence of the North Fork of the Gunnison with the Gunnison. A three-day float provides time to absorb the beauty of the canyon and work the riffles and pockets. Call Larry Franks (970-323-0115) to pack your gear for a self-guided float trip. Call Gunnison River Expeditions or Black Canyon Anglers for a guided trip.

The Gunnison Gorge from the boundary of the National Park to the confluence with the Smith Fork was recently designated as one of the few BLM wilderness areas. Together with the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, this new designation protects about 18 miles of water from development.

There are four foot trails (Chukar, Duncan, Ute, and Bobcat trails) into the Gunnison River Gorge accessed from Peach Valley Road outside of Montrose. You need a four-wheel-drive vehicle just to get to the trailheads, but the hike down to the river is much easier than in the Park. There are campsites by the river both in the Park and on BLM land. Be sure to reserve your campsite before you start your hike.

The Gunnison Gorge was hit hard by whirling disease in the 1990s, but brown trout are filling in the gaps and the Colorado Division of Wildlife is stocking rainbow fingerlings in the river to maintain the fishery. The fishing may not be what it used to be, but it is still great.

Hank Holtze, who has owned Gunnison River Expeditions for more than 20 years, told me after the 2001 season, “The Gunnison Gorge fished better this year because the browns have gotten bigger and have taken the place of many of the rainbows. We just had to start trying new tactics, such as fishing a lot of big streamers. The rainbows are still there; it just takes more time and experience to find them now.”

Fly Patterns

I like a bigger, more easily seen fly with a smaller or more realistic dry 24 inches behind. A great example is my Green Drake hatch combination of a #12 Colorado Green Drake with a #14 Gunnison River Para-emerger behind it. For the last three years it has proven to be a great tandem for my eyes and the fish alike.

During the summer, dry and dropper rigs are effective for about 80 percent of the fishing on the Gunnison. Royal Wulffs, Stimulators, and Humpies have taken fish for years and show no signs of becoming outdated. Attach the dropper nymph to the bend of the dry-fly hook with an improved clinch knot and 18 to 36 inches of monofilament. Bead-heads such as Copper Johns, Pheasant Tails, Princes, Flashback Caddis, and Bloody Mari nymphs consistently take fish.

Early and late in the season, deepnymphing rigs are the most consistent way to catch fish. Pair a small bead-head nymph such as a caddis larva or Baetis imitation with an attractor nymph such as a Prince Nymph, 20 Incher, or Glo-Bug.

I have become a fanatical streamer fisherman in recent years and the Gunnison has excellent streamer fishing. I use my Swimming Prince for small streams or as a chaser streamer for double-streamer rigs. I cast the fly across and upstream for a short dead-drift and then twitch it slowly on the retrieve as it swings across down below.

Big trout love big sculpin streamers such as Nervous Minnows, Zoo Cougars, and Conehead Woolly Sculpins on fast sinking-tip or full-sinking lines. From a boat, cast these flies against the bank and swim them along the shore. On foot, work the riffles and the tailouts of deeper pools. Try to mix your retrieves and find what works best for you on each day; as conditions change, so should your tactics.

Bill Fowler managed and guided for the High Mountain Outdoors fly shop in Gunnison for six years. He is a contract tier for Umpqua Feather Merchants.

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