Tailwater · Mixed · Colorado, US

Gunnison River — Black Canyon & Gunnison Gorge

A narrow river flowing between towering dark canyon walls in the Gunnison Gorge, Colorado.
Today · Not the day for it
Pheasant Tail
Forecast · Today
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
45% projected
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail
Pheasant Tail
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.49 m
Lifting fast
Water temp11.5°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather18°C
WindN 7 km/h
Pressure1016 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.1 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Western Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 54%
Also:Black Midge21%
Peak emergence window5 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Western Blue-Winged Olive (Western Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Western Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Pale Morning DunHatch
2
3
3
2
TricoHatch
2
3
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Colorado licence
  • NPS Black Canyon: flies/lures only, all rainbows C&R, brown limit 4, 200-yard closure below Crystal Dam
  • BLM Gunnison Gorge has its own rules
  • VERIFY NPS + BLM + CPW regs before fishing.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 1
Uncompahgre River (Pa-Co-Chu-Puk / Ridgway)
46 km
84
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A narrow river flowing between towering dark canyon walls in the Gunnison Gorge, Colorado.
    Places to Drop a Line, Gunnison River
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Gunnison River, all tributaries' (COGULG04a_J), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Fully Supporting. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · COGULG04a_J

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 86 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity59 × 12%7.1
Conditions total= 86
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts