Gunnison River Fishing Report

General Information:

Fishing Conditions (out of 10): 4

Date: 12-8-12—12-9/12

Watershed: Gunnison River (Black Canyon—Ute Trail/Park).

Time/Time on Water:         Day 1: 1245-345pm; Day 2: 9-11am.

Weather Conditions:

         a) Temp—Day 1—Sunny, cool but warm; Day 2—cold.

         b) Sky—Clear, Sunny, then cloudy

         c) Wind—Yes, heavy to moderate at times

         d) Precip—Snow overnight.

H20:

a)   Temp—cold.

b)   Flow—Lower Gunnison at Delta, CO ~444 cfs.

c)   Clarity—Clear (greenish color).

d)   Runoff—None.    

Hatch: Midges (pm) day 1, small mayflies, and some type of caddis/butterfly/moth looking critter late PM (only saw 1).

Directions: “Ute Trailhead off of Peach Valley Rd. Ute Trail General description: Long winding trail from the ridge into the Gorge, then along the river. Type of trip: Out-and-back day or overnight hike. Distance: 4.5 miles from ridge to river Plus up to 3.5 miles of accessible river. Elevation Drop: 1,200 ft. Difficulty: Moderate to difficult. Grades are not steep but it is uphill most of the way. Maps: Trails Illustrated Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park/Gunnison Gorge Recreation Area or USGS “Black Ridge”

Options: Camp for up to 2 nights at one of the 4 designated hiker campsites. You can hike along the river all the way up to the Bobcat Trail if you’re willing to climb over the rock formation across from Buttermilk Rapids. Start point: Take Peach Valley Rd. to Ute Trail turn off. Immediately after passing the BLM sign take the road to the left and follow it up to the ridge. This access road is 2.4 miles over rough dirt and rock and dead ends at the trailhead. A 4-wheel drive vehicle strongly recommended. It’s impassable when wet. Facilities: shaded picnic table, grill, outhouse, fee & trail information signs, trail register & fee pay slot.

The grade is not too steep and the path is clear and easy to follow as you descend through mountain mahogany, sage, juniper, pinyon, and prickly pear cacti. As you descend into the gorge, you’re literally walking down through the geological ages, starting with the most recent softer sedimentary deposits at the ridgeline down to the oldest, the dark, hard metamorphic rock at river level. The trail continues to drop down and parallels the river passing a teepee (in summer, a BLM ranger station) almost to Buttermilk rapid. The Utes used this trail to migrate from their winter camping ground along the Gunnison and Uncompaghre rivers to the high country of the West Elk Mountains for the spring and summer months. For those sure of foot and unaffected by heights, the river is accessible all the way up stream to Bobcat Trail by passing over the rock formation across from Buttermilk rapid.”

Flies/Equipment: 3 fly nymph set up with heavy split shot and bobber indicator on long heavy leader (6wt). Red SJ Worm, BH Princes 12-16, PT’s 16-18, streamers (black wolly buggers/purple leeches). 

Fish (# Hookups/Landed): Total 3/7. KS 1/3 Matt 2/4 (2 browns, first at 14 inches, 2^nd smaller around 11-12 inches.   

Detailed Synopsis:

         Saw lots of Juniper trees (berries), prickly-pear cacti, and yucca. Similar terrain to RG Gorge.  4.5 mile hike (9 mi round trip to campsite #20) from rim to river.  Met Kile at Intercept Lot at 7am Saturday morning.  We decided there would be more room in his truck, especially with all the gear and the two dogs. We drove through Redstone than over McClure Pass, going past the turn for Dean’s Place (Bar ZX Ranch) on the left before getting to Paonia Reservoir (which was mostly dried up).  Then go through small seedy coal mining town called Somerset (est. 1896).  Stopped at the Hotchkiss City Market for some food/drinks. Originally we planned on shooting birds (pheasant/grouse?) but we decided to just fish instead.  Go almost all the way to Delta, CO, and turn off near Olathe to get on Peach Valley Rd (which has access to 4 hiking trails down to river: Ute, Duncan, Bobcat, and Chukar.  Parked at the top of small saddle at nice BLM parking lot on long steep and bumpy dirt road.  Payed $10 camping fee/per person/per night, loaded up the backpacks with clothes, fishing gear, food, and water filter.  Took about 1.5 hours to hike down to river.  It is a long, slow gradual decent with 2 flat top mesas inbetween, with a few steep switchbacks mixed in for fun. Saw 1 older guy running down there on trail, and 1 party of 3 day hikers/fishers on our way out.  There were reel makers for Ross Reels out of Montrose, CO.  Told us about a really good “secret spot” to fish.  This was the classic looking island/boulder pool/run that we stopped and looked at on our way down (See Map 1, Below). Had to walk down a drainage/valley (no trail) to access it on foot, or wade across the river to get there from above. The small trio consisted of an older gentleman (talkative one), older woman, and a younger 30 yr old gentleman and 2 dogs.  He told us that the fishing has been really good down there lately, and that he regularly catches big Lake Trout, Kokanee Salmon, 2 lb Brookies, as well as healthy populations of Brown and Rainbow Trout.

This remote section of the river consists of long smooth runs, shallow riffles over gravel and stone river bottom, wide deep pools with cliffs vertical cliffs dropping in, strong backeddies, large boulder strewn pockets, and slow waist deep flats at the tail ends of pools.  Wading is difficult due to the nature of the river consisting of large, slippery river rocks and boulders, frigid cold knee to chest deep water, and fast and swift currents.  Casting presents another challenge altogether.  We were throwing 6 weight, 9 foot rods with heavy nymph rigs and big black wooly buggers.  Banks were typically lined with tall grass and vegetation. Casts needed to be long 30-50+ feet of line in order to hit the seams or soft spots that might hold fish.  Due to the volume and velocity of water you couldn’t get much closer than this so longer casts were required in order to present the fly effectively.