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We’ve had some unusually warm weather here this month. It’s not often you have 40 degree days in January in the Gunnison Valley, but that’s just what we’ve had the past couple of days. I decided to get out and fish for the first time in nearly two months, which even for this time of year, is a long time for me. I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours on the Taylor River this afternoon. The weather and scenery were great, and the fish were hungry.

We’ve had some heavy fog here in the Gunnison Valley this week, and with temperatures down near zero degrees, everything freezes. It looks like someone sprayed the entire valley with a fire extinguisher. We’ve had 20 below zero already, but it’s actually been warmer than normal lately. It’s still too cold to fish though.

It’s good to see these pretty little wild rainbows in the river. Rainbow trout have definitely made a comeback here in recent years and we continue to see signs of reproduction. 

A nice chunky brown trout from the Taylor River today.

Had a nice afternoon up on the Taylor River with Peri today. It was a beautiful day after all the cold and snow we’ve had recently. And the fishing was great. It was an excellent way to start the holiday season!

I fished the Taylor River this afternoon for a couple of hours. It was in the upper 20s up in the canyon, and the water was very cold as well. Winter is here, no matter what the calendar says. Fishing was very good during the short period of time I fished. There were signs of an eagle feasting on a fish in the snow on the bank of the river. I measured the wing span pattern in the snow, and it was over 7 feet. They are truly amazing birds.

Stephanie and Garrett from Colorado TU came to visit with our local TU chapter today and we squeezed in a couple of hours to fish up on the Taylor River before our meeting. They both caught some nice fish during the late afternoon hours.

I caught this beautiful rainbow trout today on the Gunnison River. A nice fish with spectacular colors.

I finally got out of the Gunnison Valley this week and headed out to fish the South Platte River for a few days. It was my first time there and I wanted to see the Deckers area, Cheesman Canyon, Elevenmile Canyon, and The Dream Stream. I didn’t have enough time to really fish all those places, at least not for very long. So I’ll have to go back again to spend a bit more time in certain areas. I really enjoyed Cheesman Canyon and spent two afternoons there hiking and fishing. I caught lots of big beautiful rainbows there, like this nice one below. I look forward to fishing Cheesman again. It was the highlight of my trip.

Fall is my favorite time to fish the Taylor River Canyon. It’s easier to wade with the low flows, and the fishing is excellent. It was a beautiful day on the river yesterday. I caught browns, rainbows, and a really pretty cutthroat.