Time: 11:30AM – 3:00PM
Location: One to two miles above Gunnison Forks River Access
Gunnison River 09/27/2016 Photo Album
In August 2007 my son, Dan, and I floated the Gunnison Gorge from the Chukar Trail to the Pleasure Park takeout. It was a three day and two night adventure, and we had a great time; however, the fishing was slow and difficult. During this trip I noticed that quite a bit of the lower portion of the canyon was accessible via a hiking trail along the north side of the river.
Since I targeted this area as a fishing destination on Tuesday, September 27 with Jane’s reluctant approval, I did some reading and discovered that the trail was accessed from a parking lot next to the private Pleasure Park, and it was called Gunnson Forks National Recreation Area. Furthermore I learned that hiking fishermen were required to wade across the North Fork of the Gunnison in order to gain access to the trail on the opposite bank.
Jane and I pulled into the aforementioned trailhead parking lot at 11AM on Tuesday, September 27. It was cool, but one sensed that the weather forecast that predicted high temperatures in the eighties with blue skies and minimal probability of precipitation was likely accurate. I pulled on my waders and boots, assembled my Sage One five weight rod, stuffed my backpack with lunch goodies and kissed Jane goodbye. The North Fork was quite discolored from weekend rain, and it was difficult to gauge the depth at the primitive boat launch next to the parking lot. I decided to wade along the edge for thirty yards, until I reached a point where the river spread out in a shallow riffle. On the return I discovered that this was unnecessary, as the the river was quite shallow directly across from the gravel boat ramp.
Grandeur
Once I was safely positioned on the east side of the North Fork, I found a well worn trail, and I sauntered at a brisk pace for twenty minutes. Once I crested the high bluff on the north side of the main Gunnison, I was treated to a spectacular panorama, and I paused to snap a landscape photo. I passed three or four wade fisherman, and then I found a spot where the slope seemed gradual enough to allow a cautious descent. This was true, until I reached a rim rock section that was fifteen feet above the river. I strode along the top of the rim rock for fifty feet until I found a break, and here I slowly lowered myself on to a worn path. The river here looked very appealing with some nice deep shelf pockets bordering the steep rock ledge wall.
Near My Starting Point
I tied a gray body pool toy to my line and then added a beadhead hares ear and salvation nymph to begin my quest for Gunnison River trout. The river was quite wide and imposing even at the late season flows that were present, but I intended to confine my casting to the edge. I worked my way upstream with casts fairly tight to the rocky bank, and within fifteen minutes I hooked and landed a small seven inch brown trout that grabbed the tumbling salvation nymph. This buoyed my spirits and within another couple casts, a larger brown flashed from a position next to a rock, but turned away at the last instant. One fish landed and a look from another caused my optimism to surge, but it would be misplaced.
The first half hour that I just described proved to be the highlight of the day. I continued fishing for another .75 mile along the northern shore of the Gunnison River, and I added two more small brown trout to my count. I snapped a photo of the largest fish, and it was not more than ten inches. After an hour of futile casting with the dry/dropper, I decided to go deep. I reconfigured my line with a strike indicator, split shot, 20 incher, and WD40; and I cast this system to the deep runs and current seams. I was certain that this combination would be irresistible to the denizens of the cold Gunnison River, but I was proven wrong. I did trigger one temporary hook up on a trout that felt like it might have been larger than my three small netted fish.
By 12:30 I spotted a rare size 22 blue winged olive, and this observance prompted me to add the WD40 to my line. After an hour of fruitless slinging of the nymph rig, I reverted back to a dry/dropper approach, although this time I opted for a yellow Letort hopper, beadhead hares ear, and beadhead soft hackle emerger. The willows and bushes along the bank were flush with grasshoppers with light greenish-yellow bodies, thus the choice of the yellow Letort hopper. The hopper/dropper combination enabled me to land two additional fish in the afternoon heat, and both snared the soft hackle emerger in fairly shallow riffles below rocky spillovers.
Better Light Angle
The action stalled again so I paused to catch and examine one of the hoppers. In addition I startled two into ill advised suicidal leaps into the slow moving water along the bank, but the hoppers just sat there and wiggled, and amazingly this did not attract the appetite of a neighboring trout. As I watched the forlorn grasshoppers struggle, I concluded that a fat Albert with a light yellow body would more closely imitate the natural hoppers, so I made the substitution. It was all for naught, and I never managed to solicit even a look at the fat Albert before I wearily ended my day at 3PM.
Better Focus
My Imitation
It took me forty-five minutes to return to the parking lot, after I ascended the fairly steep bank to find the well worn trail. Jane reappeared at her shaded picnic table shortly thereafter, and I removed my waders and packed my gear for the drive back to Denver.
Being present in the Gunnison Canyon once again was an exciting experience, and the wide open canyon and desert environment reminded me of the beauty that surrounds us in Colorado. The fishing on the other hand was disappointing, and inferior to what I remembered from our float trip. Once again I blamed the abnormally warm weather that suggested late summer doldrums and not pre-spawn active feeders. Some day I will return and hopefully unravel the puzzle of the Gunnison River.
Fish Landed: 3
My Return Route
Focused