Peri caught this nice brown trout at the headwaters of the Arkansas River near Leadville on our recent camping trip. Looking forward to getting back there.

The summer hatches started early and are moving quickly through the valley. This is pretty typical during a drought like we’re seeing this summer with low water and higher than normal water temps. The hatch is sometimes short and sweet, but the fishing are looking up.

A shot of Taylor River Lodge this morning. Crazy weather as usual in our part of the Rockies. Rivers are dropping though, and it’s time to fish.

Browns and rainbows oh my! Rainbow courtesy of Peri last Christmas and of course Steve Abel!

It’s a crazy and historic time, and we’re all dealing with the impacts of the coronavirus on our lives. We can still get out for some fresh air and to do some of the things we love while still practicing social distancing (which is critical). Early spring fishing can be really good, as the water warms and the bugs and fish are on the move. We’re dealing with a health crisis for sure, but the rivers and fish are healthy.

Just as we began planning for the upcoming season, and taking a look at snowpack and trying to predict runoff and all that, we got hit with the Coronavirus. And everything changed. People all over the world will be dealing with this for a while. In the Gunnison Valley, things are pretty much shut down. Visitors have been directed to go home and quarantine themselves. Only businesses that provide essential services remain open. I don’t know what the impact will be to our summer season and fishing operations. No one does. Our focus now is to get through this and stay healthy. Good luck to everyone out there.

This SNOTEL graph shows current snowpack and Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) details for the Gunnison River Basin as of February 20, 2020. Based on this info, it looks like we are at about normal snowpack. Hoping this stays on track and we have more “normal” conditions and runoff this year.