The first time we visited the Gunnison region, I knew I wanted to come back to fish the Gunnison River. The main fork of the Gunnison starts in Almont CO, where the Taylor and East River meet, and continues west several hundred miles into the Curecantai national recreation area, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and flows into the Colorado River in Grand Junction.
The We booked a float fishing trip on the Gunnison through Three Rivers Outfitters in Almont CO, just a few miles north of the town of Gunnison. TRO offers fishing, rafting, and other adventure trips in the region. If you are looking for a great place to hang out with friends and family, TRO is a great base-camp for local activates. The facilities were nice, and the staff were friendly and professional. TRO also offers trailer spots with hook-ups for a reasonable price. After we got set up, we headed north to Crested Butte, a quaint ski/snowboard hamlet nestled below Mt. Crested Butte. There, we met David Chu for dinner. David is an old friend, who now works for Los Alamos National Laboratory. He is running all kinds of atmospheric experiments for the Department of Energy in the remote mountains in the region.
The following morning, It was really nice to stumble out of the campsite into a boat and head out for a 15 mile float down the river. Our guide, Skyler was excellent! He had been fishing the river since he was a kid, and he knew every hole and riffle. If you casted where and when he said, you usually got a fish. I think Eli and I ended the trip with about 30 brown and rainbow trout for our efforts. Most fish were 12-14 inches, which made for a nice fight on light tackle while floating down the river. The combination of river rafting and fishing made for a really fun day. Eli said it was the most fun he ever had fishing! We got off the river just as a strong thunderstorm hit the region. We were glad to be off the water with all the lightning around! If you are looking for a great float fishing trip, check out TRO.
