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GSO Fishing

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10/3/24 Blue Mesa Fishing & Conditions Report: This week’s report was a doozy to update and we contacted/utilized 14 different people/resources to bring you all of this information and spent over 3 hours compiling it! Thank you everyone who helped out. It takes a village!

It is a big undertaking gathering all of this information from so many different agencies, organizations, businesses etc, so please understand that everything is subject to change. Use this as a starting point to get you on the right path. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to us. We are happy to help.

💧 Water Level: 32.04 feet below full
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🌊 River In-Flow: Gunnison River 488 cfs
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🌡️ Blue Mesa Water Temp: 62°- 63°
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🛥️ Boat Ramps:
Lake Fork Ramp: Open 7 am - 4 pm (Depending On Staffing)
Elk Creek: Open 6:30 am - 7 pm (Changing to 7- 4:30 starting 10/7)
Iola: Open 7 am - 3 pm (Possibly Closing 10/14)
Steven’s Creek: CLOSED

Elk Creek Marina Store: CLOSED
Lake Fork Marina Store: CLOSED
Sapinero Store: CLOSED
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⚠️ Conditions Report:

Elk Creek & Lake Fork Ramps: They are hoping to keep both ramps open until ice season or the hard closure date of December 15th.

Cleaning Station Closures: So far we have heard that the Steven’s Creek, Iola, & Lake Fork cleaning stations have closed for the season. We are still waiting to hear about Elk Creek.

Elk Creek Visitor Center: Closed until further notice.

Elk Creek Boat Ramp Partially Closed For Maintenance: Repairs to the boat ramp are scheduled for October 9th and 16th. One side of the ramp will remain open during maintenance work. Hand loading and unloading of boats will be required.

Lake Fork Boat Ramp: We keep hearing many different reports about boat ramp closures from the NPS and anglers fishing out of Lake Fork. Overall, the ramp openings depend on staffing, and this is the “off-season” for NPS workers, so ramp closing times may vary. To be safe, when launching at any of the ramps, be sure to check with the inspectors about when the ramp will close so you can get off of the lake in time.

🐟 Kokanee salmon spawn returns to Colorado; public advised to call in advance of giveaway days: As part of the kokanee salmon program, giveaway days are scheduled each year for interested members of the public who hold a valid Colorado fishing license to receive fish. However, the available kokanee for the scheduled giveaway days at each location can vary greatly.

To be eligible for the giveaway, a 2024 Colorado fishing license must be presented. Up to four youth may receive kokanee if accompanied by a license-holding adult. Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribal members may show a Tribal ID card, Brunot fishing license or a state fishing license to receive fish.

Those interested in receiving kokanee should bring their own small cooler or other container. Most of the kokanee are 10 to 13 inches in size.

Giveaways at the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery north of Gunnison are scheduled for Fridays of Oct. 11, Oct. 18, Oct. 25, Nov. 1 and Nov. 8. Attendees should be in line by 9 a.m. to receive fish.

🌉 Bridge Updates:
The Middle Bridge on Hwy 50: Travel over the US 50 Middle Bridge is open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, through at least mid-October. Travel will be limited to the vehicles listed below. As work progresses, heavier vehicles and vehicles towing trailers will eventually be allowed across the bridge with the goal of opening travel to all legal loads by mid-October.

Approved Vehicles:
Passenger vehicles
Pickup trucks
Vans
Motorcycles
Emergency vehicles, ambulances and fire trucks
School buses
3/4 ton or smaller pickups with bumper pull trailers (boats, campers, side-by-sides)
Compact Class C motorhomes
Small single-rear axle box trucks
Bicycles
Unloaded Tow Trucks
*All other vehicles must use the County Road 26 detour.(See Attached Photos For New County Rd 26 Release Times!)
The Lake Fork Bridge on Hwy 50: The US 50 Lake Fork Bridge is open daily from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. with pilot car operations and alternating traffic. Extended flagging operations occur from 11:30 pm. to 6 a.m. seven days a week on the Lake Fork Bridge. Motorists should anticipate longer waits during these overnight operations. All legal loads and bicycles are permissible, but no overweight loads are currently allowed across the Lake Fork Bridge.

Bridge Q&A:
Can You Travel Under Them By Boat? Yes, you must go idle speed 100 yards before and after the bridge.

Can You Fish Under Them? NO fishing under, near, or around the bridge.

Can You Still Access The Boat Ramps? Yes. If you are traveling from the West (Montrose, Grand Junction, Utah, etc.), you can access the Lake Fork boat ramp. If you are traveling from the East (Gunnison, Salida, Denver, Colorado Springs, Kansas, etc.), you can access the Elk Creek boat ramp and Iola boat ramp.

🎣 Open Water Fishing Report:

Kokanee Salmon: Salmon are running up the river and several have already made it to the hatchery. Some will stay and spawn in the lake. In years past the CPW has placed a trap in the Bay of Chickens to capture some of these fish and take them to the hatchery. If/When they place that you are not allowed to fish around the trap.

Lake Trout: Still a couple weeks away from any significant changes. Most mature fish are found between 100 and 120 feet deep and can be caught vertical jigging tube jigs in short windows during the day. Pups are scattered throughout the lake, with the bigger numbers still out deeper in 70 to 100 feet of water. Most anglers are successfully trolling for the pups, using large dodgers with tubes or Billfish squids and Kokanee Killers, in glow white and purple colors.

Brown Trout: Mature browns are nearing the spawn, which occurs near the end of this month. They will begin to migrate near inlets to stage. Most of these fish will be found along rocky points and humps from 20-50 feet deep. Jigging with marabou jigs and 2-3” tube jigs in craw colors and trolling both Kokanee-type gear and small jerkbaits work well to catch them. Some anglers are starting to see more Browns show up along the shoreline as water temps begin to cool. You can cast jerkbaits, crankbaits (watch for algae), use drop shot rigs, 2”-4” tube jigs, and more to target the shoreline Browns.

Rainbow Trout: Trolling near the surface is very good, with spoons, spinners, and typical kokanee-type gear. We are also seeing Rainbows targeting the perch in the shallows in the afternoons. Casting jerkbaits, Finesse jigs, and other perch-patterned baits have proven successful for targeting these feeding Rainbows.

Perch: The perch population at Blue Mesa has EXPLODED! Anglers are consistently seeing 50-100+ fish days and this is both good and bad. The numbers we are seeing make for a great time on the water but we are also seeing the impact they are having on the food sources in the lake. We highly encourage anglers keep every perch they catch.

The perch are still in 5’ to 50+ feet of water. They are widely spread and can be found in every basin. Think structure! Flooded bushes, grass, rocks, submerged trees, boat docks, etc. They can be fished successfully from any watercraft and the shoreline. We have tried many techniques to catch perch over the past few weeks and found that you can jig, cast & retrieve, and even troll for them successfully. The sky's the limit! *Remember, there are no limits on Blue Mesa Perch since they are an invasive species.

This week, the colors that worked were Whipper (olive & pearl blue), Cherry Coke (red), and Fire Tiger (orange & green.)

🌥️ Upcoming Weather Conditions:
Fall is when we see drastic temperature changes in the Gunnison Valley and this weekend we will have near record high temps in the upper 70s during the day and overnight lows drastically dropping down to the 30s, just below freezing. DRESS IN LAYERS!
Fall is pretty unpredictable in Colorado, and we have seen a few wind/rain storms pop up that weren’t on the forecast. Be safe out there, and always check for the most up-to-date weather conditions before heading to the lake.

💨 Wind Forecast:
Afternoon winds picking up on Saturday with gusts reaching up to 31 MPH at the time of this report. Sundy looks to be a bit calmer with afternoon gusts only reaching 18-23 MPH
*We highly recommend getting the FREE Windy.com app to track the winds before your next Blue Mesa outing. We have used it for years! (The Windy app icon is a red square with a white W on it.)

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❓ If you have any questions, you can always DM us or email us at info@gsofishing.com

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