River and Fishing Information
Fishing Regulations
The following is an overview of the fishing regulations for the
rivers in our area, which include the Taylor River, Gunnison
River, and East River. For specific details and official
regulations for all the rivers in the state, please refer to the
Colorado Division of Wildlife fishing regulations.
Taylor River
The
Taylor River tailwater flows some 20 miles from the Taylor Dam
down to Almont. There is nearly 12 miles of public access on the
Taylor River throughout Taylor Canyon. The first stretch of public
access begins 325 yards below the dam. This is special regulation
trophy trout water, which is designated catch-and-release. This
Taylor State Wildlife Area (SWA) includes about .4 miles of river.
All trout caught here must be released immediately. Fishing is
permitted with artificial flies and lures only.
Willowfly Anglers guide, Eric Grand, with a nice C&R brown
The remaining public access on the Taylor River is not restricted
and statewide bag and possession limits apply. In general, these
include a daily bag limit of four trout and a maximum of eight
trout in possession. In addition, an angler may keep up to 10
brook trout (eight inches long or less) per day.
Gunnison River
The
upper Gunnison River begins at Almont, Colorado, where the Taylor
River and East River merge to form its headwaters. The river flows
down through the town of Gunnison and continues west of town where
it eventually flows into Blue Mesa Reservoir. There are several
public access points between Almont and Blue Mesa, including SWAs
and National Park Service (NPS) access areas. From the headwaters
down to the US 50 bridge in Gunnison, fishing is allowed with
artificial flies and lures only. An angler may keep two brown
trout, 16 inches or longer. All rainbow trout must be released
immediately. In addition, taking kokanee salmon is prohibited from
August 1 through October 31.
East River
The East
River is a freestone river which drains out of Emerald Lake near
Crested Butte. There is limited public access on the East River.
Our local access point is the public stretch near the Roaring Judy
Fish Hatchery. This section of the river, from the property
boundary at the hatchery down to the Taylor River, is restricted
to fishing with artificial flies only. An angler may keep two
trout with a maximum size of 12 inches long. In addition, taking
kokanee salmon is prohibited. During the salmon run (August 1
through October 31), the lower part of this stretch of river is
closed to all fishing. This is the section of the East River from
the hatchery outlet downstream to the property line.
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