On the River: East River, Gunnison, Colorado

July 6, 2009

For my birthday we decided to work a half day and hit the East River. Turned out it was the first real day this year that I felt like I was fishing in the "summer". Ah yes ... the cottonwoods were in the air so thick it looked like it was snowing, though for some reason my allergies were non existent. There's a feather in your cap!

The water is still running high around here, but things are finally in that blue/green clear stage where you can see 4 feet deep, it's just not crystal clear. I actually think this is where the west gets it's famous reputation. When the water is still moving fast like this and the fish have great visibility, but not too great that they get spooked easily, it seems like they hit hard and fast.

And so, with a clear blue sky overhead and very little wind, my wife and I proceeded to hammer fish. Any decent pocket, eddy line or back of pool produced at least 5-6 fish. We were really only out for 2-3 hours, but landed at least 15+ fish (and that's sharing a rod). Most were East River classics in the 8" to 12" range, but I did manage to land this sweet brown that fought like a linebacker. I also hooked his brother, but didn't land him.

-Jeff