Colorado's Best Fly Fishing: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Josh and I returned to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado to fly fish on the Gunnison River. The Gold Metal Waters are filled with wild trout and the stunning canyon walls make for the best fly fishing back drop we could ask for. This is our second time at this world-class fly fishing destination, but you don't get to fish without putting in a lot of effort to descend into the depths of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The hiking is extremely rugged and you work for every cast. We had hoped to fly fish in the canyon during the salmon fly hatch, but we ended up being about a week early. The Colorado fly fishing was still fantastic and we are already planning our next trip back to Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
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My Fly Fishing Basics (Although I did not hike my waders or boots into the canyon):
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My Backpacking Gear:
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The Sun Hoody I'm Wearing:
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[@drewlyman9995]

Went solo on the same route, and used the same camp site last September. Hit it during hopper season. Guess September is slower, didn't see a person for 3 nights, perfect solitude. Caught epic fish almost exclusively on hoppers. Great times, great video y'all made of it. Cheers.

[@eliseott]

that's awesome! we used the same camp site twice and have also been in september! it definitely seemed quieter later in the season. I think maybe other folks were also trying to time the salmon fly hatch? Cheers!

[@stpetie7686]

I'm not much of a fisherman but that looked like a good weekend. When you said "Montrose' it brought back memories from there about 45 years ago. The strangest night of my life. Thanks for the upload. They make my day.

[@eliseott]

I wasn't either honestly before Josh got me into it! Thanks so much for watching :) And now you've got me curious about Montrose haha

[@stpetie7686]

@@eliseott The evening started in a downtown establishment called The Office. In the space of an hour we had 2 tables destroyed by fights literally landing on them. Both fights were broken up by a small, 55 0r 60 yo lady who was running the place and had zero hesitation in getting in the middle of things. While that was semi-dramatic, the weirdness started after we left. Those stories are for another forum, however.

[@GenX_outdoors]

Loved this trip vid! So fun to watch!!

[@stuartb9194]

Beauty fish! Unreal

[@bobfaulkner3849]

That looked awesome and the hike in is why the fishing is better. You both did very well and it looked like it was a great trip for you both.

[@eliseott]

thanks so much! it was a blast!

[@dodge_walks]

How that is some stunning scenery!

[@eliseott]

It's SO pretty down there.

[@TimLoftin-xe3nm]

Very nice!

[@FlynPig911]

I don’t think I’ve ever been more jealous in my life. Nice work! Please consider a Fly Fishing setup video. You know you can Fly Fish Yellowstone…(bring bear spray)

[@eliseott]

I feel very lucky and spoiled for sure! thank you! I definitely have that on the list! Although, my setup is pretty basic. Yellowstone would be super fun! I plan to fish a bit in the Tetons hopefully this summer.

[@PaulEgges]

I love the Black Canyon. I've done this trail for the Salmon Fly hatch and the SOB. I believe the SOB is actually a bit steeper and felt a little bit like visiting Shangri-la to me. That trip was in the fall so we just cowboy camped at the bottom. Timing the salmon fly hatch is difficult. I usually hit the Colorado River for that. Congrats on monsters you caught.

[@eliseott]

If we were closer we would have gone back down the next weekend but it's a bit of a drive from us unfortunately. Is the SOB one of the other routes in the canyon? (i'm not familiar). thank you!!

[@brandonramsey-eq5du]

Looks like a great trip! On my list to do!

[@eliseott]

it's fantastic!!

[@peteware5551]

Umm. I've been living and flyfishing in Idaho for thirty years and I've never had a day like that. My God. Well done. Also, landing all those pigs in that big water was solid. Some incredible rainbows!

[@eliseott]

I feel very spoiled!! Thank you! They are beautiful fish!

[@xjtwo]

Awesome content! Love that place! Salmonfly hatch was crazy this year….

[@eliseott]

@@xjtwo the fomo is so real 😭 and thank you!

[@rdwoten]

EPIC trip! Good work out of you two. LOVING this kind of content! Do you guys ever Euro-nymph? Looks like LOTS of great euro-nymphing water down there. 👍🏾

[@eliseott]

thanks so much!! I have once with a friend's rod! And Josh has a few times as well! I feel like I'm just getting the hang of fly fishing so maybe in a year or two I'll dive into it more haha.

[@robertsanders8866]

Just out there doing it! Good job great video. Ten

[@eliseott]

Thanks so much!

[@persistentfishing]

Great video! What month was this?

[@eliseott]

we went in June!

[@jaredlefkowitz]

You hooked into some MUTANTS! Looks like an awesome trip and fun new tradition.

[@eliseott]

SERIOUSLY! I was gonna be happy with 1, but it ended up being 2-3!

[@joshgribble3969]

Catching hogs!!!

[@eliseott]

HOGS

[@ctunaj5]

Super lame that you're sharing this.

[@eliseott]

@@ctunaj5 oh honey, it’s a NATIONAL PARK. Do some research about the place. It’s permitted and an extremely difficult hike. I didn’t even share the route we did.

[@ctunaj5]

@@eliseott I've been going there for 25 years. It gets busier every year because of people like you.

[@eliseott]

@@ctunaj5 and there will be less and less people to advocate for protecting our public lands because of people like you!

[@strategicactionservices2206]

@@eliseottHow is it you come from out of town and put it all over KZbin advocate for it?? You don’t give a crap about that place. You just want attention and then you act all virtuous when called out on it.

[@strategicactionservices2206]

It’s kind of a dick move to blow that spot up on KZbin. You should at least make people do their own research in finding their own places to fish. Operate with some ethics.

[@eliseott]

you mean the national park with certified gold medal waters? that requires a 3+ hour hike in and permits?