Blue Mesa on October 25: bank, boat, and the keep rule
Blue Mesa on October 25, 2026 is a big Gunnison reservoir with bank access and boat ramps. This note is how to fish it, which fish the pages name, and the keep rule that was on those pages today. It is a place lesson. The meal is a separate post.
The place
Blue Mesa Reservoir sits in Curecanti National Recreation Area at Gunnison. The National Park Service mailing address on the fishing page is 102 Elk Creek, Gunnison, CO 81230. The NPS page notes that the Elk Creek visitor center desk is not staffed when the building is closed. An emergency is 911. See the Curecanti fishing page. See CPW's Blue Mesa page.
CPW says several boat ramps serve boat anglers and that numerous access sites serve bank anglers, depending on the season. The page does not name a lure or a cove, so this note does not either.
The fish the pages name
On the CPW page read October 25, 2026, the conditions line names trophy lake trout, plus brown trout, rainbow trout, kokanee, and yellow perch. The common-species line names lake trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, and kokanee. The NPS page, also read that day, says brown, brook, lake, and rainbow trout are plentiful, and it also names yellow perch, sculpin, dace, and sticklebacks. NPS says CPW supplies a large number of the kokanee eggs from Blue Mesa, and that a large lake trout population has been cutting into kokanee fishing and egg production.
The rule on those pages
Accurate as of October 25, 2026, from the CPW Blue Mesa page: a fishing shelter on the reservoir has to be portable. There is no bag or possession limit for lake trout. No more than one lake trout longer than 32 inches may be taken per day. Kokanee snagging is permitted from November 1 through December 31. The kokanee bag limit is 5 fish and the possession limit is 10. Those lines are Blue Mesa lines.
The NPS fishing page, read the same day, adds a limit the CPW special-regs list does not print: for cutthroat, brook, brown, and rainbow trout on Blue Mesa, the bag is 4 and the possession limit is 8. NPS also says a Colorado fishing license is required at age 16. Children under 16 do not need one and can take a full limit. A fish you do not keep goes back in the water immediately. Below the dams, NPS says fishing is closed for 225 yards below Blue Mesa Dam, 130 yards below Morrow Point Dam, and 200 yards below Crystal Dam.
One more line from that NPS page, so the river is not confused with the reservoir: taking kokanee is prohibited in the Gunnison River east of the Lake City Bridge from August 1 through October 31. October 25 is inside that window. Snagging on Blue Mesa itself opens November 1.
How to fish it this week
Pick bank or boat before you leave Gunnison. CPW says both exist, and both depend on the season. Check the NPS Curecanti status page or Elk Creek Visitor Center before you count on a ramp. The mistake is a trailer day with no second plan when a ramp is out of the water. The second plan is the bank.
Clean, drain, and dry the boat and the boots before the next water. CPW's Blue Mesa page points at that habit. The steps are on CPW's clean-your-gear page.
If you keep a lake trout, the cleaning and the 145 F cook are in the kitchen note: How to clean and cook a lake trout from Blue Mesa. Friday's fishing report is a separate post: Blue Mesa fishing report, Friday, October 23, 2026.
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