Gunnison falls into shape, San Miguel and Dolores fluttering

Gunnison River falls into shape:  Flows from the Crystal Dam on the Gunnison River have been reduced to 650 cfs, perfect for wade and float fishing.  Water clarity is still marginal, because hot weather continues to dump dirty water into Crystal Reservoir from the Cimarron River, which enters the Gunnison between Crystal and Morrow Point Reservoirs.  The Cimarron will soon complete its runoff cycle, however, at which point the Gunnison will clear in the Black Canyon.  Enter salmonflies.  Water temperatures are already pushing into the mid-50s near the Forks of the Gunnison, at the terminus of the Black Canyon.  Caddis are thick and fish are already active.  When the big bugs start moving, this thing is going to explode.

If you're fishing the Gunnison this week, choose a location downstream from the East Portal (Crystal Dam).  The water coming out of the dam is very dirty and cold, but settles as the river progresses.  We're catching fish on a wide variety of nymphs, especially the large and bright variety.  Throw every stonefly in your box.  Our favorites include the Double Tungsten Red Bitch Creek, WMD Stone, Haden's Black Stone and the wicked Pat's Rubber Legs (aka "Cat Turd" if you're from the Roaring Fork valley).  Caddis and Yellow Sallie stones will mask the Salmonfly hatch near the Gunny Forks, so if you're fishing upstream of Leroy's Pleasure Park, make sure to bring plenty of smaller stonefly and caddis patterns:  Morrish's Iron Sally, Thorax Soft Hackles, Pheasant Tail Soft Hackles, LaFontaine's Emergers, Pulsating Caddis, Stalcup's Yellow Sallie nymph and similar patterns.  Also, though we hate to recommend it, one ought naught fish the Gunnison without a few San Juan Worms in the fly box.

Elsewhere in the western San Juans, rivers are generally high and muddy.  In some cases, such as the San Miguel, they are very high and muddy.  Hot weather is soaking our healthy snow pack, throttling river flows.  The San Miguel is at 1,350 cfs and rising this morning.  The Upper Dolores almost doubled in volume yesterday, leaping up toward 2,000 cfs at the town of Dolores.  Correspondingly, releases from the McPhee Dam increased from 350 cfs to over 1,000 cfs this morning.  The Uncompahgre also doubled in volume this week, with flows below Ridgway Reservoir climbing to over 850 cfs.  This surge in river flows is mostly good for anglers planning to fish our rivers in late June.  The snow has to come down sometime.  Better now than later.  Locally, we're fishing and guiding the small streams and lakes near Telluride.  Trout Lake is fishing exceptionally well with a host of nymph and stream patterns.  In the evening, every fish in the lake rises to midges.  It's a beautiful scene with hundreds of rise forms on a lake reflecting 13,800 foot mountains.  Right time, right place.

Telluride Outside fishing report