Fly Fishing the Gunnison River. Oscar Marks

      Gunnison River (South-Central Colorado)

       Location: Western Slope, south-central Colorado about a 4-hour drive from Denver, 3 hours from Colorado Springs, and 2 hours from Grand Junction. Gunnison has an airport with service from Dallas and Denver.

      The Gunnison River system is one of the more complex in the Western U.S. With three dams and numerous tributaries, it has many types of water and topography to fish. The Gunnison River from Almont to Austin is one of the best trout fisheries in the state. The river has rainbow, brown, and cutthroat trout. It flows through high desert, deep canyons, and a beautiful gorge. The trails and routes that allow access to the more remote sections of the river are difficult at best. Warner Route in the Black Canyon National Park is just over 3 miles long and has a

      2,700-foot vertical drop. The river through the national park and gorge is a Gold Medal fishery with special regulations to help the river rebuild the rainbow trout population, decimated by whirling disease in the 1990s.

      The Taylor and East Rivers meet in Almont, Colorado, to form the Gunnison. The river then flows south and west past the town of Gunnison to Blue Mesa Reservoir. Below Blue Mesa Dam is Morrow Point Reservoir. There is great fishing below the dam, where the water flows for a short distance before becoming the reservoir. Morrow Point Dam is the second of the three main dams, and there is no access to fishing below it. The third dam on the Gunnison is Crystal Dam. This is the dam with the best access and the best fishing below it. The waters from Crystal Dam first flow into a long, slow pool with a small, low-head “dam” that backs up enough water for some to flow into the Gunnison Tunnel. Water from the Gunnison Tunnel flows into the Uncompahgre Valley.