November 14, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Snow, pike and more trout action!
Water Temp: 49
Inflow (cfs): 681
Outflow (cfs): 554
Lake Elevation: 7497′
Boat Ramp Hours: 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. by appointment. Must call 970-209-2335
Marinas: ClosedThe high country is starting load up with snow and smaller bodies of water are beginning to get safe ice! Pike fishing at Taylor this fall was decent for numbers of fish, but quality fish were a lot harder to come by or even see. Blue mesa still has 48-50 degree water on the main lake, with a major temperature transition at all the inlets. There is ice forming at all the inlets with water temps ranging from 30-34 degrees. Trout fishing is still good with some quality rainbows and browns coming out! The rush is on to get fat before the winter! The brown at the bottom of this report spit up several perch when I caught it and still had five inside of its stomach. Match the hatch! ***Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Dec 3rd ice fishing seminar at Sportsmans Warehouse in Colorado Springs at 12 noon!!!!!
November 4, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Snagging is on, come and get um’!
Water Temp: 51
Inflow (cfs): 570
Outflow (cfs): 1347
Lake Elevation: 7499′
Boat Ramp Hours: 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Marinas: ClosedAfter seeing one of the best trolling years in a long time, we are now seeing some incredible salmon numbers on the lake and at the Roaring Judy hatchery! The all-time egg take record of 9.3 million eggs set in 1993 has been broken!!!! At the beginning of this week the count was close to 9.5 million eggs and there are still at least 1-2 spawning sessions left! This is incredible news for all salmon fisheries across the state as well as Blue Mesa! Snagging season opened on Nov 1st for Blue Mesa and good schools of fish are being snagged at the Lake Fork Marina, the Bay of Chickens, and several other little coves around the lake as seen in the video below! If snagging isn’t your thing, there is one more salmon give away at the Roaring Judy hatchery next Friday. The trout action is hot as well so get up here and take advantage of the good fishing before it starts to freeze in a month!
October 23, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Hot fall trout fishing!
Water Temp: 55
Inflow (cfs): 570
Outflow (cfs): 1347
Lake Elevation: 7499′
Boat Ramp Hours: 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek Open WeekendsThe trout fishing is consistently good along rip rap shorelines! This party of five came up from Georgia for their annual Gunnison fishing trip and boated well over thirty fish! Good job guys! Fish are running 12-18″ with a 20″+ fish showing up occasionally. As the water temps continue to cool we will start to see some bigger fish!
October 20, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: More trout action and a wet Yote!
Water Temp: 55
Inflow (cfs): 709
Outflow (cfs): 1846
Lake Elevation: 7504′
Boat Ramp Hours: 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek Open WeekendsThe lake is vacant of boats and full of hungry fish! Wildlife is showing up all over, including in the water! The mornings are cold, but after 9 a.m. the warm fall sun makes it comfortable enough to enjoy the great fall fishing! Come fish Colorado’s largest reservoir, Blue Mesa!!!
October 16, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Two brown trout on one cast!
Water Temp: 56-58
Inflow (cfs): 630
Outflow (cfs): 1371
Lake Elevation: 7500′
Boat Ramp Hours: 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Marinas: Open weekends until Nov.The brown and rainbow trout bite is starting to turn on at Blue Mesa. The trout have moved shallow again with cooler water temps. As the water temps continue to drop, the trout fishing will get better and opportunities for bigger fish will present themselves! Three of us boated 30 fish in about 4.5 hours with lots of fish that followed and wouldn’t commit. The last picture in this report is of two fish that hit the same lure on one cast! The little fish was the first victim and then the bigger brown trout got competitive and tried to take it out of the little brown’s mouth. This happed right in front of the boat and was very cool to see! If you have fish follow, but aren’t getting bit, tweek your presentation (speed, color, action, size) until you figure out what combination is going to trigger bites. A wide variety of lures have been working including jigs, jerk baits, spoons, and flies. Stay tuned for more fall action!
October 10, 2011 Western Slope Fishing Report: Taylor and more!
We have been chasing pike and trout with the cooler temperatures and even snow. Fishing has been fair for pike and good for trout depending on the weather pattern! More action to come as we target Antero, Taylor, Blue Mesa, and some other bodies of water!
October 3, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: More of the same & Lund for sale!
Water Temp: 61-64
Inflow (cfs): 709
Outflow (cfs): 1846
Lake Elevation: 7504′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 5 Fri-SunThe fishing remains the same with some trout action picking up! There are still a lot of salmon in the Gunnison River as well.
September 30, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: There are still Kokanee to be caught!
Water Temp: 61-64
Inflow (cfs): 709
Outflow (cfs): 1846
Lake Elevation: 7504′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 5 Fri-SunJigging is over, but trolling for 2 and 3 year old salmon is still productive. The mornings have been cool and the trout are starting to move up from the depths. Best salmon fishing is from the surface to 35′. The lake has turned over and as a result there is a lot of nasty green slime/algae floating and sticking to lines in parts of the lake. The fall leaves are beautiful right now, the lake traffic is low, and most days are glass calm until mid-afternoon. Come take advantage of this beautiful time of year!
September 26, 2011 Lake Powell!!!
This is not a Colorado fishing report, but I figured some of you might be going to Powell soon or will at least enjoy the pictures! I spent the last 5 days at lake Powell with a good fishing buddy. We launched out of Hite with enough fuel, batteries, ice, and food for 4 days and worked our way down lake. The fishing has been tough over the last few weeks down there and we experienced some tough periods, but overall had a great time and caught plenty of fish. We caught 8 different species, but mostly focused on bass with some striper boils mixed in. The key was to find areas that striper and bass schools were pushing shad from deep holding areas into shallow corrals. There are a TON of shad at all depths right now and the game fish have more than enough to eat with pretty easy access to shad schools at whatever depth they choose so it was important to be at the right place at the right time. An area might be hot one day and dead the next. The weather was beautiful with barely any wind and temps that reached the low 90’s. The last day we started to find more crappie chasing shad imitations in the back of brushy coves. Spinnerbaits, plastics, crankbaits, and topwater all caught fish at one time or another, but no lure specifically was the “hot” lure. Fishing should continue to improve as the water temps continue to drop and the majority of the shad come shallow!
September 20, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Monster Brown Surprise!!!
Water Temp: 63
Inflow (cfs): 873
Outflow (cfs): 1504
Lake Elevation: 7507′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 5Today and I had John and his daughter Annie in an attempt to catch some salmon. We started off getting a lot of hits and having fish on, but we couldn’t get any into the net. About mid morning we finally started putting some smaller salmon in the boat. The action was by no means hot so Annie took a little nap while John and I kept fishing. John kept saying ” I think the big one is going to bite soon.” Well he was right! Around 11:30 we were just finishing up our troll when one of the down riggers popped. John grabbed the rod and right away we could tell it was a good fish. It tried to run over our leadcore line and made several long drag rips. After about a ten minute fight we a good sized fish about 40 feet behind the boat. After several more short runs we finally got a good look at John’s 29″ 10 lbs Blue Mesa trophy Brown Trout!!! We didn’t get very man good pictures of this fish in an attempt to keep it alive. It took a while to revive this fish, but we took our time and this fish looked great swimming away under its own will! Good work John!
September 15, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Trolling and Jigging in the Rain!
Water Temp: 65
Inflow (cfs): 754
Outflow (cfs): 2058
Lake Elevation: 7508′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Hey guys, sorry the site was down for a few days. We had to perform some yearly maintenance. As far as the fishing goes….the weather pattern has really messed with the jigging. We are still finding plenty of fish, but yesterday every school we dropped on ran like scared kittens. Today was a different story. We started off trolling and caught a four year old, a big three year old, and a bunch of two year olds and then we went hunting for jigging schools. We found two good schools and caught some nice fish out of both of them! My friend Royce (in the red jacket) did a great job today trolling and jigging to catch his first kokanee salmon ever!!! Good job Royce!
September 12, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Jigging still good!
Water Temp: 68
Inflow (cfs): 754
Outflow (cfs): 2058
Lake Elevation: 7508′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Jigging is still good most days with plenty of nice salmon being caught. The weather has been cool and rainy and most days you can get plenty of calm water on the lake. We are seeing a mix of fairly red salmon and silvers just starting to turn. The meat on most of the fish is still nice and red, but we have seen some that are turning white. Trolling for 2 and 3 year old fish as well as rainbows is good from the narrows to lake fork from 20-50′ deep on dodgers and popgear followed with squids, arnies, assassins, and tazmanian devils.
September 6 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Hot and cold weather and fishing…
Water Temp: 68
Inflow (cfs): 846
Outflow (cfs): 2058
Lake Elevation: 7510′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Once again sorry for the lack of reports, it was a very busy weekend! Fishing has been hot some days and cold others. Saturday and Sunday were especially slow with far more boats than schools showing up, which makes for very few opportunities. Today, we found lots and lots of schools, but a lot of them were moving too fast to fish. I trolled with some friends Monday morning and four year old fish can still be caught from 45-60′ with plenty of younger fish in the 40-50′ range as well. Fishing is still worth coming for, especially after all of the schools I saw today! Boat ramp hours have changed and will continue to change…Here they are:September 1: Elk Creek, Lake Fork, Iola & Stevens Creek inspection and ramp hours reduce to 6:30a-7p Ponderosa hours continue from 8a-4:30pSeptember 5: Ponderosa and Stevens Creek inspection and launch ramps close for the season at 7p (Stevens Creek campground open)October 1: Elk Creek, Lake Fork, & Iola inspection and ramp hours reduce to 7a-4:30p October 31: Iola inspection and launch ramp close for the season at 4:30p
November 1: Elk Creek and Lake Fork inspection and launch ramps open until iced over. Call-in Inspections begin (970)209-2335 hours 7a-4:30p
August 30 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Mo-kokes.!
Water Temp: 69
Inflow (cfs): 978
Outflow (cfs): 2025
Lake Elevation: 7512′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Another great day of kokanee salmon jigging on Blue Mesa Reservoir! The water has been glass until at least noon every day! Schools are showing up between 60 and 140′.
August 29 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Fishy fishy in a brook…..!
Water Temp: 69
Inflow (cfs): 1123
Outflow (cfs): 1871
Lake Elevation: 7514′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Fishing has been good! Lots of schools showed up today across the lake! Not much else to say other than GET SOME of this action!
August 27 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Hard work pays!
Water Temp: 69
Inflow (cfs): 1123
Outflow (cfs): 1871
Lake Elevation: 7514′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7We have been spending some long days on the water, but it has been paying off!
August 25 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Fish!
Water Temp: 69
Inflow (cfs): 1123
Outflow (cfs): 1871
Lake Elevation: 7515′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The fishing hasn’t been insane, but it has been consistent with lots and lots of fish! Some schools bite and some schools don’t. Don’t waste your time on the schools that don’t bite and you will yield better results! On tuesday I was blessed by two young brothers; Cameron and Logan. Cameron is winning a battle with Leukemia and let me tell you, this young man is living every moment of life to the fullest! Logan is a great support to his brother and I had the best time watching these two catch fish and get excited about all the little things that should make life exciting for all of us! My thoughts and prayers are with you Cameron!
August 22 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: More of the same!
Water Temp: 69
Inflow (cfs): 1123
Outflow (cfs): 1871
Lake Elevation: 7515′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Another great day of fishing for trophy sized salmon with some great clients!
August 21 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Lots of Trips, Pics, & Fish!!!!
Water Temp: 69
Inflow (cfs): 1123
Outflow (cfs): 1871
Lake Elevation: 7515′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The fishing has really turned on over the last four days as we have gotten away from the full moon! Nice four year old fish are running 16-21 inches and some are starting to really change color! There have been several reports of salmon in the Gunnison River as well so fall is right around the corner. Yesterday was my best jigging day of the year with 43 fish landed while today the bite was a little tougher, but still good fishing! Ex NFL player Scott Fulhage and his son Dj as well as Chuck and his two sons Chris and Cameron joined us today and we saw a TON of fish and enticed several to bite. We are finding good numbers of fish from Red Creek island to Iola with every day being a little different on exact location. The weather has been awesome with plenty of calm water and the occasional afternoon thunderstorm. With the awesome number of kokanee salmon showing up this year there seems to be a role reversal as we found this four year old salmon floating the other day after choking on a baby lake trout! 😉
August 17 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Troll Bite Still Good…
Water Temp: 69
Inflow (cfs): 1311
Outflow (cfs): 1971
Lake Elevation: 7515′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Trolling has still been fairly good while jigging has been inconsistent. Still seeing some quality fish coming out as a result of trolling with a few here and there from jigging. This morning we caught several hook jawed male salmon from 35-50′ deep and then jigged schools as deep as 160′!!!!! Use your fish finder to identify the hot spots in the water column!
August 14 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Transition Period …?
Water Temp: 69
Inflow (cfs): 1311
Outflow (cfs): 1971
Lake Elevation: 7515′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7We saw two totally different types of fishing this weekend. Friday and especially Saturday was incredible fishing with big fish everywhere! Sunday was a totally different story with this low pressure system that broke our two week consistent weather pattern. Tomorrow should be better, especially if we can get that sun to shine in the morning! Still lots of big kokanee salmon in the lake ready for the “right” presentation! I want to give a special shout out to Jason and Jason who left Denver at 2 a.m. to make it up for Saturday’s awesome bite and Susie who was adamant that her crew’s picture would be posted on today’s report! I also want to thank Brenda, Brian, and Bob for coming out from Chicago and Kansas, you guys were great! Ya’ll are hard core and SFC thanks you and everyone else for coming up to Blue Mesa to taste some of Colorado’s best Kokanee Salmon fishing!!!!
August 11 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Slabs!
Water Temp: 68
Inflow (cfs): 1563
Outflow (cfs): 1814
Lake Elevation: 7516′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Good to fair fishing from Cebolla to Iola. The big trophy salmon have been showing up some days and disappearing on others. The afternoon winds are back after giving us a break the two weeks prior. The weather has been great so come fish Blue Mesa for some nice Kokanee!
August 8 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: More good action and fish!
Water Temp: 71
Inflow (cfs): 1563
Outflow (cfs): 1814
Lake Elevation: 7516′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Trolling is still producing lots of good fish from 30-70 feet deep with all age classes showing up at these depths. There are also lots and lots of small pods of salmon showing up throughout the water column with a few big ones. Some parts of the lake look like the dead sea on your fish finder and others look like demo mode! Keep moving until you find and area with lots of biomass! Check out the picture below of Arlene’s fat male Blue Mesa Kokanee!
August 5 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Fall is in the air…
Water Temp: 71
Inflow (cfs): 1896
Outflow (cfs): 3014
Lake Elevation: 7517′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7We had two great fishing trips today, but this morning had a different feel to it. We had to work a little harder for our fish. We also got a report that the Salmon in Iola have moved out of there holding area and fishing has been tough the last two days. We have been catching a fish or two a day that has started to change color and all of the males have a pretty good hook jaw! Get ready for a transition in the fishing…Until then, keep working hard for those tasty salmon!
August 4 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Awesome Awesome Awesome Fishing!
Water Temp: 71
Inflow (cfs): 1896
Outflow (cfs): 3014
Lake Elevation: 7517′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Sorry for the lack of reports…have been on the water nonstop and the fishing has been nothing short of awesome! We’ve been doing half days, full days, morning trips, afternoon trips, and everything in between and there have been great bite periods all throughout the day! Everyday has been a little different as far as how deep the fish are and what they bite on, but watch your fish finder and keep changing lures until you see some kind of pattern! When you get the pattern dialed in, some big fish have been showing up!
July 31 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: The Future Looks Good!
Water Temp: 71
Inflow (cfs): 1896
Outflow (cfs): 3014
Lake Elevation: 7517′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7There has been a plethora of one and two year old fish showing up across the lake, which is a great indication of good future salmon fishing in Blue Mesa! Not much changed over the weekend…still lots and lots of action to be had! After my morning trip, I went out with past clients Bill and Jane. After fishing on my Lund Pro V in May they decided that they needed one. They hired me for an on the water class so that I could answer questions and show them how I would situate their boat if it were mine. We even managed to catch some nice fish! If you have questions about your rig, let me help build your confidence in your equipment and ability with a two hour on the water class so that you can find the success you are looking for!
July 29 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: More Silver Slabs!
Water Temp: 71
Inflow (cfs): 3104
Outflow (cfs): 3217
Lake Elevation: 7518′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The fishing continues to be the best I’ve seen in my six years here! Reports of good fishing span from Lake Fork to Iola, it’s just a matter of finding an active school and working them until they slow down. Come take advantage of the best Salmon fishery in the West!
July 28 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Lots of late reports!
Water Temp: 71
Inflow (cfs): 3104
Outflow (cfs): 3217
Lake Elevation: 7519′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Sorry for the lack of reports, we have been very busy with trips! The fishing has been very good to excellent most days! Last week we were catching fish deep, but over the last few days the better action has been in the 20-30 foot range. Stay versatile and try all depth levels because these fish change on a daily basis! Today I had Logan (pictured below) who I must say was a very outstanding, well-mannered young man and fisherman! He honestly landed a majority of the bigger four year olds today and the excitement on his face was priceless! He also coined a new term on the boat; “fishing spree” which is when you catch multiple fish in a row and have none of your rods left in the water…good job Logan!!!
July 22 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Fish on!
Water Temp: 68
Inflow (cfs): 3104
Outflow (cfs): 3217
Lake Elevation: 7519′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Two more great action fishing trips with rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout, and KOKANEE SALMON caught!!!
July 21 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Praise the Good Lord!
Water Temp: 67
Inflow (cfs): 3104
Outflow (cfs): 3217
Lake Elevation: 7519′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7We had a couple of half day trips this morning and there were hot and cold periods with lots of fish getting off the hook at first. None the less, practice made close to perfect and we had plenty of action and excitement to keep everyone entertained! After cleaning up fish, I got first opportunity in over a month to do a little fishing for my own personal enjoyment and a couple of buddies and I hit the bite just right! Lots of action and laughs! I am so thankful and blessed to be able to share my passion with fellow fishermen and women for a living; God is good!
July 20 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Ladies Limit!
Water Temp: 67
Inflow (cfs): 4816
Outflow (cfs): 1734
Lake Elevation: 7519′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Jan and Betty came down for some salmon action today and they got it! They both did a great job fighting some nice trophy kokanee salmon and getting them into the boat! There are some very big kokanee showing up in the east end of the lake. Fish are still being caught from the surface down to sixty feet. Come and get ya some of the best eating fish Colorado has to offer!
July 19 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Tough morning, but persistence pays!
Water Temp: 66
Inflow (cfs): 3241
Outflow (cfs): 3216
Lake Elevation: 7519′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The fish were in a negative mood this morning and it took a lot of work to get bites. Once the moon dropped out of the sky and the storm clouds rolled in, the salmon went into a feeding frenzy!
July 18 , 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: Big Fours Galore!
Water Temp: 63
A lot of big four year old salmon came out to play today and these kids kicked some butt getting them into the boat!
July 15 & 16 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Good Action!
Water Temp: 66
Inflow (cfs): 4816
Outflow (cfs): 1734
Lake Elevation: 7518′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7More of the same with numbers of quality fish for those who work hard and get a little lucky to stumble on to a lure that the big fish are fond of. Take your time with these big fish! Use your drag, but don’t let slack in the line and you will be amazed at your landing success! Also, be careful out there! The picture at the bottom of the report is a boat that just about got fully run over by a big cabin cruiser. Thanks the good Lord the cabin cruiser saw this boat at the last minute and only hit half of it. The two fishermen in the boat were a little bruised and shaken up, but escaped with their lives and a totaled boat!
July 15 & 16 , 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: More of the same!
Water Temp: 63
More good fishing!
July 14 , 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: The lake is FULL!
Water Temp: 66
Inflow (cfs): 4634
Outflow (cfs): 3042
Lake Elevation: 7519′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Blue Mesa is inches away from spilling over the spillway! The lake is the fullest it has been in years. The fishing has been work, but if you put in time and persistence you can usually uncover a pattern.
July 13 & 14th , 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: Morrow Ignites!
Water Temp: 63
The last two days have been great fishing! Water temps are finally optimal and I have had a blast watching my clients keep up with all the action over the last two days!
July 12, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Hot, cold, hot!
Water Temp: 66
Inflow (cfs): 4816
Outflow (cfs): 1734
Lake Elevation: 7518′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7We had two great fishing trips today with the Daering party and the Rittenhouse party! The fishing started off good in the first part of the morning and then slowed down dramatically. When the storms rolled in the action picked back up! The fish are all over the water column so be ready to chase them up and down throughout the day!
July 11, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Back in Business!
Water Temp: 66
Inflow (cfs): 4816
Outflow (cfs): 1734
Lake Elevation: 7517′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The fishing picked back up today and yesterday with areas of good to excellent bites across the lake! The early bite is still the best, but nice salmon have been active throughout the morning hours. We have been getting rain almost every afternoon with some heavy rainshowers so be prepared for that if you plan on being up here in the next few days.
July 10 , 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: Rain fish Rain!
Water Temp: 63
The water temps in Morrow are finally in the low sixties and the salmon fishing is good and steady!
July 7 –July 9, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Storms Flatten Pattern..
Water Temp: 66
Inflow (cfs): 4956
Outflow (cfs): 1490
Lake Elevation: 7515′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Sorry for the lack of reports, I have been very busy with trips. The monsoonal rain pattern and rising water temperatures have shaken up the pattern of the last several weeks and pushed fish all throughout the water column. Across most of the lake mature four year old salmon are coming up shallow to feed early and then the majority of the fish are pushing down deep where the water temperatures are more comfortable. Take advantage of the early bite and then watch your fish finder to see what depth these fish move to as the morning advances. I have found several areas that are just loaded with fish, but these fish are still very picky in what they decide to hit. If you work enough of these fish, you will find pods that are active and aggressive. When you find one of these pods, run through them several times!
July 2 –July 6, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Salmon Slow Down… !
Water Temp: 65
Inflow (cfs): 4625
Outflow (cfs): 898
Lake Elevation: 7513′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7I was out of town over the weekend for a wedding, but ever since Saturday the fishing on the west end has slowed down dramatically. There are still great bites for nice fish, especially early, but you have to work a lot harder to stay in the fish. The salmon are scattered from the surface down to 60+ feet, but not in any great number so putting a consistent pattern together has been tough. Tomorrow we are going to explore new waters. The lake is getting very close to full and there is still a lot of floating debris so be careful! Vary your depths and cover as much water as you can. When you find a hot depth, focus your efforts there while the bite lasts.
July 1 , 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: Fish on!
Water Temp: 52
The water temps in Morrow are still in the low fifties and the salmon bite has not kicked into full swing, but the fishing has been good and we have been catching some nice sized four year olds!
June 29, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: It’s raining Kokanee! !
Water Temp: 60
Inflow (cfs): 5465
Outflow (cfs): 803
Lake Elevation: 7508′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Today’s storm front fired the salmon up like crazy! The Patterson family from Texas joined me this morning for lots of doubles and triples! The action was unbelievable and resulted in four limits and some nice lake trout! My morning patter held up for the afternoon trip until some intense storms pushed through and forced us off of the lake. The bite is ON so come and get in on the best action in years!!!!!!!!!!
June 29, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Fish On! !
Water Temp: 60
Inflow (cfs): 5345
Outflow (cfs): 803
Lake Elevation: 7507′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7More great salmon fishing today! The fish are scattered from 10 to 60 deep. Some days are easier than others to figure out what these fish want, but don’t be fooled, I have found that you can ALWAYS find an active school that will bite if you have the right presentation on! I had two more trips today and praise the good Lord, we had lots of good action on both trips!
June 28, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Consistency! !
Water Temp: 60
Inflow (cfs): 5674
Outflow (cfs): 809
Lake Elevation: 7506′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The salmon bite has been consistently good all summer and today was no exception! Bob, Richard, and Dan joined me for a great morning bite and then some Pallisade Peach farmers met me for a great afternoon with lots of laughs!
June 27, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Great bite today!
Water Temp: 62
Inflow (cfs): 5985
Outflow (cfs): 799
Lake Elevation: 7504′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Today the fishing was simply awesome! Close to 60 fish landed with plenty released to swim another day! We caught fish from 10-50 feet on just about every lure we tried, but some worked better than others.
June 25th and 26th , 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: Good fishing and a shore lunch!
Water Temp: 52
Morrow Point is still heating up with picky but decent salmon fishing and trout on most days! Ryan Vanlanen and I did our first ever Canadian style shore lunch for a 10 person double boater and it was a success!
June 23, 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: Fish Fish Fish!
Water Temp: 50
Today was a great action day with lots of fish caught! The rainbow trout population is looking great with over a dozen healthy rainbows landed! Threw all the trout back and kept some salmon for dinner!
June 21 & 22, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Work Work Work!
Water Temp: 56
Inflow (cfs): 5161
Outflow (cfs): 1800
Lake Elevation: 7499′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Yesterdaty I had Gunnison local celebrities Andy & Kat Lightbody on the boat with their cousins Harve and Kami and their friend Brian…It took a little while to get the patter dialed, but we ended up having a great time and catching lots of nice salmon, some lake trout, and a rainbow and a brown! Today I had Dennis and Lin out to fish. We had a great first light bite going and then our pattern really shut down. It took an hour and a half of figuring out a new pattern, but it paid off as we got into some great late morning action including a triple landed! The weather has been beautiful after a cold start to the week and the wind was virtually nonexistent when we quit at one!
June 20, 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: Snow in the Forcast!
Water Temp: 50
Brrr! There was a light dusting of snow on some of the higher mesas around Blue Mesa as I cruised to Morrow Point this morning! That didn’t stop Mike Snow, Ralph Snow, and John from wanting to put some fish in the boat! The morning was slow and cold, but the sun peaked out for a little bit in the afternoon and heated up the fishing! A mixed bag of 27 fish landed with some nice four year old salmon caught! The Kokanee salmon bite is about to erupt down here….get ready!!!
June 19, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Hard Work Pays Off!
Water Temp: 59
Inflow (cfs): 6921
Outflow (cfs): 1835
Lake Elevation: 7496′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Fishing has been a little tougher from mid lake eastward, but if you put in the time and effort you are usually rewarded. We have been catching some very nice four year old fish when we figure out the right lure/depth combination, which changes hourly. Don’t be scared to try new combinations that these fish haven’t seen! The water level continues to rise quickly and should be full by July 10th. If you haven’t tried Pappy’s Restaurant this year, give it a try…the guys from the Powerstop Gas Station are running it and they make some mean burgers!
June 16, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Nice rainbows, kokanee, browns, and a cutthroat?!
Water Temp: 59
Inflow (cfs): 6934
Outflow (cfs): 1535
Lake Elevation: 7492′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Once again, be cautious of debris floating in the lake! There are several big logs floating across the lake and some of them are so water logged that they hang vertically and can be very dangerous and hard to see! The fishing was great today! We fished from Cebolla creek east to the lake city bridge and caught fish the whole way, including some nice rainbows, browns, and even a cutthroat! The mornings have been glass with some wind coming up around noon, but overall the weather and fishing have been great!
June 15, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Full Moon Full of Action!
Water Temp: 59
Inflow (cfs): 6908
Outflow (cfs): 2058
Lake Elevation: 7490′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Two more great trips today with lots of action and some nice fish landed!
June 13, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Quick morning session!
Water Temp: 57
Inflow (cfs): 7517
Outflow (cfs): 3540
Lake Elevation: 7487′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7More good action this morning…Debris in the lake is getting worse and worse as the water levels continue to rise so be very careful! Blue Mesa is supposed to be at full pool by July 10th due to our great snow pack this year!
June 12, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Fishing for Fun!
Water Temp: 57
Inflow (cfs): 7517
Outflow (cfs): 3540
Lake Elevation: 7487′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Today I got to take a couple of buddies fishing. We fished from about 10-2 with some decent salmon action and all three species of trout landed. More and more debris is floating around the reservoir so be careful, especially in low light conditions! The salmon as well as all trout species can be found trolling from 5-45 feet deep. The lures and colors have been changing daily so be ready to figure out the hot lure of the day!
June 11, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: The tale of two trips!
Water Temp: 57
Inflow (cfs): 7517
Outflow (cfs): 3540
Lake Elevation: 7487′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7This morning Don and Matt joined me for some very exciting salmon fishing! The big fish were fired up and some of the acrobatics were very impressive, including one big four year old that popped the down rigger and shot straight up clearing at least four feet of air! Matt was very thrilled on his first ever kokanee salmon fishing experience as we boated well over fifty fish! This afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting and taking Matt and his wife Debbie out fishing. The bite wasn’t as hot as the morning, but we still had lots of action including a big four year old that once again popped the down rigger, jumped and snapped our rig off before we could barely get to the rod! Water levels have been rising quickly and the salmon have been changing the colors and styles of lures they want very often, but the fishing is still excellent overall!
June 10, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: More of the Same!
Water Temp: 52
Inflow (cfs): 6193
Outflow (cfs): 2841
Lake Elevation: 7482′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7Don and Gary were with me again today and the hot bite took a little longer to find, but patience and persistence paid off and we got a lot of action again!! Thanks for a great couple of days fellas!
June 9, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Big fours!
Water Temp: 55
Inflow (cfs): 6193
Outflow (cfs): 2841
Lake Elevation: 7481′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7More consistency with some nice four years olds showing up this morning! Lots of fish released with a few nice ones kept for dinner. The wind came up at 9 this morning, but must mornings have been glassy until 11. I have been finding that these salmon rarely like the same lures consecutive days in a row so don’t be afraid to try something new if old trusty ain’t workin’!
June 7, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Two days, two groups, four trips, lots of FISH!
Water Temp: 52
Inflow (cfs): 8259
Outflow (cfs): 5565
Lake Elevation: 7484′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7I had four trips in the last two days with some great fishermen and we had a blast and caught lots of fish! We have been catching a few rainbow trout every day and lots of salmon so its good to see that the populations of these two species are making a come back! It was great to fish all you guys, I was very impressed with your fish fighting skills and I had a great time with you all!
June 6, 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: Castin’ for trout!
Water Temp: 48
Today I had Tanner, Tucker, and his dad Danny and we were bass fishing for trout! These kids are great fishermen! The action was hot and cold throughout the day, but overall the action was good and we caught a bunch of fish. These guys are fishing with me for the next two days so stay tuned for more action!
June 5, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: More of the Same!
Water Temp: 52
Inflow (cfs): 6193
Outflow (cfs): 2841
Lake Elevation: 7481′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The fishing has been consistently good all across the lake!
June 2, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Will lands a beautiful 19″+ Kokanee!
Water Temp: 52
Inflow (cfs): 4988
Outflow (cfs): 2350
Lake Elevation: 7478′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The fishing was interesting today with periods of hot and cold action that led to salmon limits by 9 a.m.! Kenny and his son Will had a blast with the hot periods of salmon action that consisted of several doubles, a triple, and multiple other opportunities that often left five of our six trolling rods out of the water at time! The salmon fishing over the last few weeks has been some of the best salmon fishing Blue Mesa has seen in the last four or five years! There is quality and quantity like the 19″+ kokanee that Will handled like a pro and landed after several intense drag rips and jumps!!!
June 1, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Fire in the sky!
Water Temp: 52
Inflow (cfs): 4988
Outflow (cfs): 2350
Lake Elevation: 7478′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The sunrise was awesome this morning thanks to the smoke from the Trinidad fire! The fishing was a little different due to different light conditions, but my little buddy Aaron his uncle and great uncle still caught plenty of salmon and trout to fill their limits! The fishing is still very good and the fish are all over from the surface to 50′ deep! Lots of anglers are doing well so come try your luck!
May 31, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: More of the Same!
Water Temp: 55
Inflow (cfs): 6265
Outflow (cfs): 2328
Lake Elevation: 7477′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: Open from 7 to 7The Talton family drove all night to meet me early this morning for some more great action! We boated over seventy fish and had NO wind today! The salmon are very spunky and good at getting off the hook so take your time and use your drag to improve the amount of fish you put in the boat! Thanks for being so hard core guys!
May 30, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Cold and windy, but fishing STAYS HOT!
Water Temp: 52
Inflow (cfs): 4148
Outflow (cfs): 2960
Lake Elevation: 7475′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: OpenThe Gunnison river is raging now with the potential for flooding in the near future. Iola is already very muddy and Blue Mesa’s water level is going to start rising. These changing conditions are more than likely going to affect the fishing in one way or another….but for right now the action is still incredible! Lots and lots of salmon being reported around the lake! Fish are running 1-50′ deep and they are very aggressive and feisty when you get one on so take your time and enjoy the fight!!
May 29, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: The Fishing is Fantanstic!>
Water Temp: 50
Inflow (cfs): 4148
Outflow (cfs): 2960
Lake Elevation: 7475′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: OpenThe great fishing has held for the last few days with lots of anglers seeing success! There are schools of salmon showing up all across the lake and they have been very aggressive! Reds, greens, pinks and whites have all been working on needle fish, squids, arnies, wedding ring spinners, and other salmon lures. The water level is going to start rising considerably, which could affect water color and temp. Come take advantage of the fishing while its hot!!!
May 26, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Kokanee INSANITY!
Water Temp: 49.9
Inflow (cfs): 1037
Outflow (cfs): 2582
Lake Elevation: 3132′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: OpenMy little buddy Cody and his family and friend Stanley came up for some Kokanee salmon today and Kokanee is what they got! The morning started off kind of slow with a few landed and a few lost and then the salmon bite erupted! Schools of salmon could be found pretty much anywhere and they were very very aggressive! Occasionally, we would be reeling in a kokanee and have another kokanee following it in wondering what was going on. Hopefully this is an indication of an improvement in Blue Mesa’s salmon population. We caught fish from 5-50′ deep on a wide variety of baits. I spent the last few days checking different areas for salmon and each day has been different and taken some work, but good action can be found if you work hard enough. Come get in on the action before runoff begins!!!!
May 21, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Funky weather makes for funky fishing…
Inflow (cfs): 2462
Outflow (cfs): 2979
Lake Elevation: 7475′
Surface Temp: 45-49
Boat Ramp Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: OpenThe inconsistent, cold weather over the last week has been a great test of endurance! The bigger lake trout have been a little moody. Brown trout and rainbow trout fishing is still good along rocky shorelines in the shallows and lots of action can be found deeper. There have been several reports of salmon limits being caught trolling as well! The water temps are still cold, but the weather outlook is improved into the next week!
May 17, 2011 Morrow Point Fishing Report: First Trip of the Year!
Water Temp: 43-45
Inflow (cfs): 1085Mike, Mike, Mark, Sean, Rob, and Beverly joined me on the first Morrow Point Fishing trip of the year! It was a little chilly, but we found some action to keep the blood pumping! There are a lot of great water falls right now with the spring runoff and fishing will continue to get better as the water temps rise. Weekend Warrior Outdoors has taken over the concession and now runs the Morrow Point trips. We have new fishing boats and new equipment which was much needed! Enjoy the pics below!
May 12, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Hot Fishing overrides cold weather!
Water Temp: 45-49
Inflow (cfs): 3031
Outflow (cfs): 2697
Lake Elevation: 7475′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: OpenI’ve been busy with lots and lots of fishing! Most days have been good with opportunities for browns, lake, trout and even kokanee salmon! The last two days have been cold and windy, but warmer weather and sunny days are on the way! I will be out of town this weekend, but back after the fish next week as the first Morrow Point trip of the year kicks off on Tuesday! My upcoming weeks are booking up fast so please email or call if you are interested in a great fishing trip!
May 5, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Mack Fever!
Water Temp: 43
Inflow (cfs): 1037
Outflow (cfs): 1805
Lake Elevation: 7475′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: OpenGod blessed me with another beautiful lake trout today! She is still swimming! Also found some decent rainbow and brown trout action along rip rap shorelines.
May 4, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Finally Fishing!
Water Temp: 43
Inflow (cfs): 1037
Outflow (cfs): 1805
Lake Elevation: 7475′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: OpenI finally got back into Gunnison on Monday night and have started the process of making sure that everything is still in working order! I took the boat out to the lake today for a few hours to test everything out…I found a few minor problems, but for the most part everything is ready for the 2011 season! There was no way I was going all the way to the lake without wetting a line so I fished for a bit. God blessed me with a nice fish to start off the 2011 open water season and I now have a strong case of mack fever! Fishing should continue to improve as our water temps rise into the upper forties and low fifties…Beware, there is a fishing tournament this weekend and next weekend so there will be some additional traffic. The fish pictured below is STILL swimming thanks to CPR Catch, Photo, Release!!!!!!
April 27, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: 13lbs Brown Trout and a near State Record Lake Trout!
Water Temp: 38-44
Inflow (cfs): 1588
Outflow (cfs): 1244
Lake Elevation: 7476′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Marinas: Open May 1st!Hey everybody, I apologize for the lack of reports…I have been out of town. I will be back and fishing Blue Mesa hard in about a week! Fishing has been hot and cold with consistency found by the persistent angler. The weather has been brutal at times with a lot of cold temps and spring snow! Lake trout from 10-30+ pounds have been reported nearly every day by at least a few anglers. Trolling and sucker dunking has been the most productive. If you are blessed enough to hook into one of these trophy fish, please consider releasing it to live and fight another day since it takes 20-25 years to grow a 38″ fish! Keep the smaller (24″ and under) lake trout for great table fair! Brown and rainbow trout fishing has been good to excellent along rocky shorlines. I have seen pictures of a 13 lbs brown trout and a lake trout that was just shy of 49 lbs!!! The brown trout is still swimming, but the lake trout will never be a state record because it was kept. Fish on and practice CPR on all trophy fish (catch, photo, release)!!
April 2, 2011 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Ice won’t be here for long!
Water Temp: —
Inflow (cfs): 669
Outflow (cfs): 1573
Lake Elevation: 7479′
Boat Ramp Hours: Closed
Marinas: Closed for the Season!Blue Mesa is till about 97% covered in ice, but most of it is no longer safe except for a few areas in Iola Basin. There is some open water from the Gunnison River inlet to about a quarter mile west of the Lake City Bridge. The weather over the last few days has been warm and windy, which will expidite the deterioration of the ice! Get ready for some open water trout action!!!!
March 30, 2011 Ice Fishing Report: Year in Review
The Ice is gone or fairly unsafe on most waters across Colorado now so lets take a look back at some of the highlights we had on Antero, Blue Mesa, and 11 Mile this great ice fishing season!!!!