The Gunnison River is one of Colorado’s most sought after rivers.  A good majority of the river flows through the famous black canyon which is difficult but rewarding access boasting over 20 miles of Gold Medal Waters within its canyon walls.  The Gunnison can be divided into the upper reaches which is above Blue Mesa Reservoir up to the headwaters of the Gunnison in Almont (Taylor and East rivers create the Gunnison) including the lake fork, and the lower section which includes the black canyon, north fork , smith fork and confluence of the Gunnison forks and the final confluence it has with the Colorado river.  There are miles of fishable water, and even more in it’s tributaries and sub-tributaries.

The Gunnison river holds all kinds of trout within it’s forks, but most of the fish caught will be rainbows and browns.  The upper reaches of most rivers including the Gunny can begin to hold brook trout and/or cutthroat when the elevation gets high enough to keep cool water temps.  The Gunny is a large river and most of it can be floated when the flows are high enough.  Ample wade fishing is available as well throughout the year.  Fishing varies from easy to moderate and most anglers will be able to find some fish on the sections they choose to explore.  Though it is dammed up in several areas, it fishes most like a freestone and contains a ton of stoneflies, mayflies, midges and caddis to keep trout rising and feeding 24/7.

The Upper section of the Gunnison begins at the confluence and ends when it flows into Blue Mesa Reservoir.  The Lake fork is an entire river and is mentioned as it’s own page on our river explorer.  Please refer to it here to learn more.  The upper section has the most wading and can be divided into a couple smaller sections.  The upper reaches is anything from Almont down to the town of Gunnison and the lower stretches is anything from Gunnison down to Blue Mesa.  Both areas hold a bunch of trout and even some Kokanee in the fall during their spawn.

Upper Reaches

The upper reaches have several pull outs along the road to park and fish the river with easy access.  There is some excellent dry fly fishing on these reaches and the river is a little steeper gradient.  It is still a large river here and casting across it in most places is not feasible.  It is easily wadeable when the flows are not during run off and you can have a great time throwing dry dropper rigs from rock to rock and run to run finding fish willing to eat.  When in doubt, throw a stonefly.

Lower Reaches

The lower reaches below Gunnison have a few primary access points.  There is a white water rafting area right in town that has structures that create good holding water for trout and then there are some access easements down further through ranches that can be found easily on our map.  There are parking spots and a short hike to the river to find some good fishing.  Tons of hatches happen down here as well and dry flies, nymphs and streamers all work well in their given time.  Kokanee can be found near the mouth of the reservoir when they spawn in the fall.  Talk to a local or a fly shop to hear when the run starts as it’s a little different every year.  September to November is the range in which this happens and you can throw any red or pink nymph at the kokes and often get some success.  There are some really large trout that come up in the lower reaches from Blue Mesa Reservoir throughout the year, so it pays to have patience and hunt for them if you’re looking for a fish of a lifetime.