Gunnison River Salmon Run

Every year, Kokanee Salmon make their way out of Blue Mesa Reservoir and move  into the Gunnison river to spawn. The annual run usually lasts from early September to late October, and fish can be found from the inlet of Blue Mesa all the way to Crested Butte. Although uncrowded spots can be hard to find this time of the year, there are literally Salmon in just about every hole.
The Salmon tend to be found in the deeper holes in the earlier months of the run, during the pre-spawn. Later in the Fall, the Kokanee move to the shallow gravel bars and sand, as they begin to fully spawn. I suggest searching for the “crimson beasts” while they are in the deeper holes and not quite spawning in full force. This helps to protect the future of the Kokanee Salmon in this river and is beneficial to you as an angler. The salmon caught earlier in the run will fight ten times harder and will impress an angler of any skill level.

This year, the Kokanee were thick in the Gunnison and were willing to feed. We found salmon in just about every hole, with a few spots being more productive than others. Assuming the fish were hugging the bottom, we fished deep nymph rigs about 12 feet under an indicator using 3x tippets to ensure more fish. This, along with the right fly choices seemed to do the trick. The Kokanee were willing to take any bright colored fly presented to them. We found most success with flashy red San Juan worms (#10-12), yellow Psycho Prince nymphs (#12-18), and Rainbow Warriors (#14-20). A few bigger fish were taken on leeches, but the strikes were few and far between. The average Kokanee on the Gunnison ranges anywhere from 15-20″, with a few smaller and larger coming to the net.

When hooked, these fish exhibit some of the best fights in Colroado. Each fish has the potential to, and probably will, launch into the air a few times, tailwalk like a Steelhead, and run you 60 yards down any given section of the river.  A six or seven weight rod is probably the weapon of choice, but you can get away with a five weight if necessary. I have heard many Coloradoans mention the annual Kokanee run on the Gunnison as being the most prolific display in the “lower forty eight”, and I must agree.  There seem to be countless salmon in the river this time of year, and the changing colors of the Aspens sure make the experience unforgettable.

While you are in the area, check out the Taylor River’s “catch and release” section late in the night. It can be spectacular with Mysis during the Fall.