Blue Mesa Reservoir

Overview

Blue Mesa Reservoir, west of Gunnison in Curecanti National Recreation Area, is the largest body of water in Colorado, roughly 20 miles long with 96 miles of shoreline, filling three basins named Iola, Cebolla and Sapinero after the towns that went under when Blue Mesa Dam closed on the Gunnison River in 1966. It is the uppermost of the three Aspinall Unit reservoirs; Morrow Point and Crystal lie downstream in the canyon. The fishery runs on kokanee. Colorado Parks and Wildlife rears them at Roaring Judy Hatchery north of Gunnison, and in fall the mature fish leave the reservoir and run up the Gunnison toward the hatchery, where eggs are collected to stock Blue Mesa and waters across the state. Lake trout have reproduced on their own since the 1990s and now eat enough kokanee that CPW asks anglers to harvest small ones freely; there is no bag limit on lake trout of 32 inches or less. Brown and rainbow trout, brook trout and yellow perch fill out the list. For fly anglers the practical windows are spring after ice-out, when browns and rainbows work the shallow arms and inlet bays, and fall, when big browns stage near the tributary mouths and the kokanee color up. Kokanee are mostly a trolling proposition through summer and may not be snagged in the reservoir until November 1. Afternoon wind and thunderstorms build quickly on this much open water, so plan to be near a ramp by early afternoon.