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Recently, one of our travel customers, Sarah, had a great experience fishing for trout in Almont, Colorado. She and a friend drove from Colorado Springs to Almont, Colorado in late April to float the Gunnison River and wade the Taylor River with the guides from Willowfly Anglers. They also planned two DIY fishing days so they could explore the area’s many creeks and tributaries on their own. The pair stayed at Three Rivers Resort, the home of Willowfly Anglers fly shop and guide service. We had a chance to catch up with Sarah and ask about her experience. Read on to hear what she had to say about the trip, including details about the fishing, the guides, and the accommodations.

Travel To The Lodge

There are a few straightforward options to get to Three Rivers Resort and the Gunnison Valley. The first option is to fly directly into the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) in Gunnison, Colorado. This small airport offers direct flights from Denver (DEN), Dallas (DFW), and Houston (IAH). Once travelers arrive in Gunnison, they’ll need to either rent a car or take a pre-arranged shuttle about 10 miles north to Almont, Colorado where Three Rivers Resort is located. If you plan on doing any DIY fishing during your stay, we highly recommend renting a car so you can get out and explore the area.

The second option is to fly into the Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ) in Montrose, Colorado. There are direct flights from Denver (DEN), Dallas (DFW, DAL), Chicago (ORD), and Houston (IAH). From Montrose, you’ll rent a car and drive approximately 1.5 hours to Almont.

Another option is to fly into one of the larger hubs: Grand Junction (GJT) or Denver (DEN), both of which offer direct flights from dozens of cities across the country. These options require a rental car and a 4-hour drive to Almont.

Lastly, you can drive from home! Driving is a great option for travelers who want to combine the Gunnison Valley with another drainage in Colorado, such as the Arkansas River to the East or the Roaring Fork River to the North.

Sarah opted to fly into Colorado Springs (COS), to meet up with her fishing buddy, and then drive about 3 hours to Almont.

“Getting there was easy, which was one of the reasons I wanted to go there. Flying into Colorado Springs was cake - that airport is about the size of my living room. From there we drove the 3ish hours to Almont, which was beautiful. We passed probably a dozen fishable rivers along the way. We know spring weather in the Rockies can be dicey, so we were prepared with a 4x4 vehicle, but luckily we didn’t need it, the roads were dry the entire way.”

The Fishing

Sarah and her friend fished for four days total, the first two with a guide, and the final two spent exploring and DIY fishing. The diversity of water types in the upper Gunnison valley is a major draw for many anglers, offering everything from technical tailwaters to small creeks to float fishing. Although April can be tricky to predict conditions and weather, our anglers took full advantage of this diversity and fished 4 rivers in 4 days!

Day 1
The first day was a float trip on the Gunnison River with senior guide Eric Grand. Despite an early push of turbid water from unseasonably warm overnight temperatures, it was a productive day for both anglers. Healthy Browns and Rainbows were caught consistently throughout the day on various attractor nymphs. Sarah isn’t generally a huge fan of float trips - especially nymphing trips. She much prefers the challenge of wade fishing and picking apart water with various rigs and techniques. That being said, this was a welcomed day of catching trout in good company, and Eric made the best of the turbid springtime conditions.

Day 2
On day 2, Sarah and her partner fished the legendary ‘catch and release’ tailrace section of the Taylor River, again under the guidance of Eric Grand. This was the polar opposite of the first day: sight-fishing to big, highly pressured trout in crystal-clear water. The size 8 San Juan Worm from yesterday’s float trip would be replaced by a size 24 Baetis emerger. Everything about this day was engaging and challenging, from spotting fish to making delicate, accurate presentations. And of course, battling plump rainbows on fine tippets was the ultimate trial! The ‘C&R’ is a quality-over-quantity fishery, and both anglers finished the day with trophy fish under their belt - a testament to their patience and the skill of Eric.

“Our guide, Eric, was super knowledgeable and hardworking. I think he was able to figure us out pretty quickly and determine what was going to work for us. He split his time with each of us equally, which can be hard to do when you’re wade fishing. When I fought my 27-inch Rainbow at the C&R, Eric was right beside me the entire time, keeping me calm and coaching me through the battle. It was so tempting to pull a little harder to try to land the fish, but luckily Eric reminded me that I was on 6x - something I’m not used to - and it ended in a beautiful fish to the net.

Another thing I appreciated was that Eric didn’t hoard information. He was happy to tell us about other spots to check out, which flies to use, and he even dropped a pin on my phone. Being a woman, I appreciated him sharing that information and being open about what to expect. I think a lot of guys in the industry see a woman walk into a fly shop and immediately assume that we’re all clueless beginners, but Eric was so inviting and things like that will earn my return business.

One more thing - Eric went above and beyond for us. My buddy forgot his rod in Eric’s boat, and Eric drove back to the shop to return it that evening. To me, that’s not something you’d normally see with a lot of guides.”

Day 3
The final two fishing days were spent exploring smaller water. Day 3 started with a 90-minute drive to a small meandering stream that’s known for lots of eager Brown Trout. Although this creek can be a dry-fly mecca in June and July, April offered little in terms of hatches. This forced the duo to think outside the box, trying various rigs from dry-droppers to euro nymphing and streamers. Eventually, they began finding fish on jig nymphs in slower seams, making it a successful DIY mission to a beautiful remote stream.

Day 4
On day 4, Sarah and her partner decided to check out a small tributary of the Taylor River, upstream of Taylor Reservoir. This creek features lots of beaver dams and pools, with occasional riffles and other interesting structure. Since the creek dumps into the Reservoir, it’s fairly common to find bigger rainbows here that have ventured upstream. The fishing was similar to day 3, in that it took some experimentation to find the right rigging and flies. Once again, both anglers were rewarded for their adaptive strategy with several gorgeous trout.

Although each day was different from the next, they all required an engaged focus and patience from the anglers. This is typical of the Colorado high country in the early spring, where fish are more tight-lipped than later in the year when hatches make trout belligerent. Sarah found the challenge to be one of the highlights of the trip.

“This trip forced me to adapt and try a lot of different techniques. As anglers, it's so easy to get complacent with how we rig and approach water. We tend to become proficient at a few techniques and just stick with them. But all the water we fished around Almont was so diverse, that you had to change your strategy to catch fish. A great example is fishing dries at the C&R. Up there, we had to fish 5.5x or 6x. I’ve gotten really lazy about always fishing 4x, but it was amazing to see how much of a difference the tippet size made there. At one point we changed from 5x to 5.5x and instantly saw more interest in our flies. And the same thing goes for fly selection. Your fly needed to be the absolute correct size, color, and profile if you wanted to be successful. I’d normally just tie on my go-to fly and fish it until it worked, but this trip forced me to step up the learning curve again to figure it out.

For my fishing partner, just getting out on the water was a big deal for him. He recently had back surgery, so getting out there and being able to catch a 29-inch fish on public water - he was actually in tears. It was pretty awesome.”

The Lodge & Accommodations

One major advantage of staying at Three Rivers Resort instead of a traditional lodge is the ability to create customizable packages. This means you can decide which days you want to fish (or opt for other activities), and what style of lodging you need. Your lodging options range from rustic studio-style cabins to 6-bedroom vacation homes, and everything in between. Because of this vast array of lodging sizes and rates, Three Rivers has become a favorite home base for families, fishing pairs, and solo anglers.

Sarah and her friend opted for two cabins along the Taylor River, ensuring they’d have plenty of privacy and serenity but were also close enough to hang out and enjoy the private hot tubs after long days on the water. And although every cabin at Three Rivers features a full kitchen with cookware, the pair was eager to check out some of the local restaurants in nearby Crested Butte - about 20 miles north of Almont. April is still considered ‘mud season’ for this area, so not all restaurants were open for the spring season quite yet, but they managed to find good eats in the funky mountain town of CB each night.

“The cabins were great! We loved having the private hot tubs overlooking the river - we used them every day. One thing that people should know about this area is that most of the local restaurants are in Crested Butte or Gunnison, so having a vehicle to get around is almost mandatory. There is a small restaurant/bar at Three Rivers, but they weren’t open for the season yet while we were there in April. We went to Crested Butte to eat and, despite things closing early, the food and atmosphere were awesome.”

The central location of Three Rivers Resort within the upper Gunnison River drainage makes it an ideal base camp for anglers. From Almont, you’re within walking distance of the Taylor and Gunnison Rivers and long public sections. For floating anglers, there is a public ramp at the confluence just a stone’s throw from Three Rivers Resort. And for high-alpine blueliners there are incredible headwaters in every direction - although you’ll need a vehicle and a full day to truly experience the majesty of most backcountry fishing spots in the region. 

“The location was amazing. Right on the property there’s a super deep hole on the Taylor, and every day after our fishing adventures I’d walk down there and catch more fish, it was fantastic. The cabins are also super close to the lower public section of the Taylor, which we fished on our first afternoon. It was more challenging fishing, but we caught fish. And obviously, you’re very close to the famous C&R section, probably about a 40-minute drive. My fishing partner caught a massive Cutbow up there which was super cool. I also caught a giant Rainbow there with our guide, Eric.

One day we did a DIY session about an hour and a half drive from Almont, which was great to see some different water and practice other techniques. Another day we drove above the Taylor Dam and fished a small creek that flows into the lake. That was fun but a little more challenging because the flows were low and the footing was tricky, but hey, we still caught fish!
Overall it’s the perfect location to access the Taylor and the Gunnison Rivers. If you want to do a lot of exploring, be prepared to drive - that’s just how it is out west.”

Conclusion

Overall, Sarah and her fishing partner had a great early-season trip to the upper Gunnison Valley. Three Rivers Resort provided a central, convenient location to diverse fishing opportunities and the quirky mountain towns of Crested Butte and Gunnison. Their guided days with Eric Grand of Willowfly Anglers were productive and challenging in the right ways, encouraging Sarah to continue trying new things and learning on the water. The pair also enjoyed some of the fantastic DIY fishing in the area, learning some new spots and having the rivers all to themselves in April. This is a special part of Colorado and we were happy to help this angling duo get out there!

“Thanks for recommending this spot! I’m the kind of person who likes a personalized level of service, and I want to make decisions quickly. That’s why I’ve continued using Trident. You guys already know me; I can just say, ‘Hey, I want to go here,’ and you quickly respond with options and prices. It's all super easy. Anything that makes it easier for me to get something booked, that’s what I like!”

Questions?

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