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Lake City/Gunnison Area Waters
September 30, 2008
The fishing is not just good --- it's FANTASTIC! The great fall fishing we predicted after all of the high water in the early season is happening now. Resplendent rainbows and browns are eating voraciously in pareparation for winter. Spawning browns have recently arrived from their summer haunts in Blue Mesa Reservoir, and Kokanee Salmon have made their migration into the Lake Fork with many upstream of Lake City.
The vivid gold of the aspens indicates colder nights, therefore cooler water temperatures and a later start to the fishing day. When fishing for trout before 11 a.m., nymph the deep holes with stone fly patterns like the Twenty-Incher with a Salmon Egg pattern or with Pheasant Tails! On most days, Red Quills and Pale Morning Duns hatch by noon and continue through about 3 p.m. Match the hatch (many of them are large) with the appropriate dry and drop a size 16 Pheasant Tail or Flashback.
If it is the Kokanee you're after, find a pod of them spawning in a deep hole and go down to the bottom with a staight-line technique (no strike indicator) using Egg Patterns, San Juan Worms, or Pheasant Tails. Please note that snagging is not permitted above Red Bridge. And yes, spawning salmon can be caught this month!
Another few words on technique ... the water is gin clear. On bright, sunny afternoons, fish sections with overhanging trees or rock cliffs. Unless you see a spawning fish in the aspen, fish will be in the shade. On overcast days, the fish are less spooky.
Small streams are still fishing well. Hensen Creek and Cebolla Creek, in particular, require some stealth since they are low and exceptionally clear. But, the brookies are into their fall feed and are exceptionally colorful.
A few additional comments:
- The fall colors are as brilliant as I have seen them in years!
- Please do not walk through or even try to catch actively spawning browns.
Disturbing them ruins productivity for future generations.
- Snagging Kokanne is legal in permitted areas, but a terrible means of catching them. Far too many Browns and Rainbows just below them in the stream are destroyed by thoughtless snaggers.
Here's to STUPENDOUS fall fishing,
Andy
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