New members from Gunnison, CO

[kokanee64]

My wife and I are semi-retired and live in Gunnison, CO. We fish and boat camp regularly at Lake Powell from March to late May and from September to December when the weather is cooler and the lake is less crowded. During the summer we fish Blue Mesa for kokanee, trolling in the early summer and jigging more as the fish begin to densely school at 80 feet. During the winter I build furniture and tinker in the shop while Mary does taxes after the first of the year.

We have fished Flaming Gorge a couple of times with only modest success but look forward to fishing uplake this summer as suggested on this forum. Right now the wind is howling and the sleet is spitting, and I can't wait for tax season to end so we can make a our second spring trip to Lake Powell. The boat ramp near the dam at Blue Mesa is open (Elk Creek Marina is still blocked by ice) but I draw the line at kokanee fishing when I have to brush the snow from the boat cover and dress like I am ice fishing.

Thanks to forum participants for all the good tackle and technique ideas we'll be sure to try this summer.

Roger and Mary

[SuperD]

Welcome! Blue Mesa has been on my bucket list. You may find me knocking on your trailer door looking for a day guide. Glad you are here.

[AFDan52]

​Welcome to Forums Kokanee 64 , we look forward to your posts and reports. I too would like to try my luck at Blue Mesa Reservoir.

[kokanee64]

Thanks for the warm welcome. We are always happy to provide helpful tips to other fishermen. We take lots of people fishing and if you arrive w/o a boat we'd be happy to take you out on ours. Drop me an email if you are coming to Gunnison.

Blue Mesa has been recovering from a significant drop in the kokanee population but lots of us think this summer will be more like the good-old-days.

[Bduck]

Welcome kokanee64 I drove by Blue Mesa a couple of years ago and was surprised at how big the lake was. I knew it would have to be a place where a drive by wasn't good enough.

[kokanee64]

Bduck,

Blue Mesa is the largest lake in CO but at 20ish miles long it is modest compared to some of the big lakes of Utah,
Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. In the past it was an outstanding kokanee fishery, in part because of the Roaring Judy hatchery 10 miles or so up the Gunnison. In good years the egg take at the hatchery was (and is again recently) in the 8 - 10 million range. An over abundance of lake trout, and probably other issues too, caused a near collapse that now seems to be turning around.




The salmon collect in very dense pre-spawn schools that attract lots of fishermen. I hope I've been successful in inserting a photo showing what can happen within 5 minutes after we find a school of fish, start catching fish, and attract a fleet of other boats. I'm center photo in a red shirt and bucket hat just to the left of the yellow boat. People we take fishing love to jig for salmon but are spooked the first time they see 20 boats on plane heading at us from every direction. A friend calls it combat fishing.

If forum members want to try BM, send me an email and I'll let you know how fishing is doing, where to go and what lures to try. If you're passing through without a boat, we're always happy to take people out.

Regards,

Roger

[Bduck]

Thanks Roger,
My version of combat fishing in the past was elbow to elbow. Don't miss it at all. We also have a couple great lakes in Strawberry & Bear L with the Bear being a large natural lake. Strawberry is a fine Kokanee fishery along with a cutthroat population.

I too am a Roger-Most popular guy around