Blue Mesa Reservoir (Elk Creek)
CPW set nets here in 2022 and caught 730 fish, most of them brown trout. TroutTips researches Kokanee Salmon at this water.
- Elevation
- 7,518 ftUSGS 3DEP at the mapped access point
- Approach
- Roadside or park access
- Last netted
- 2022reservoir-wide standard coldwater gill net survey
- Fish in the net
- 73044% sport fish
- Most caught
- Brown Trout186 fish
- Longest measured
- 23.9″Lake Trout
- County
- GunnisonColorado
- Coordinates
- 38.4621, -107.1647Access point TroutTips uses
What was in the net
| Species | Caught | Share | Mean | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crayfish | 3 | 0.4% | 3.2″ | 3–3.5″ |
| Kokanee | 4 | 0.5% | 11.2″ | 6.9–15.7″ |
| Longnose Sucker | 260 | 35.6% | 11.8″ | 4.5–16.9″ |
| Brown Trout | 186 | 25.5% | 14.7″ | 4.7–20.8″ |
| Lake Trout | 14 | 1.9% | 14″ | 9.3–23.9″ |
| Rainbow Trout | 1 | 0.1% | n/a | n/a |
| CPW's table prints no length range for this row, so the mean length cannot be identified from the surrounding columns and is withheld. The count is unaffected. | ||||
| White Sucker | 146 | 20% | 12.9″ | 1.1–23.9″ |
| Yellow Perch | 116 | 15.9% | 6.4″ | 3.4–11.5″ |
CPW survey summary (PDF) · survey data extracted 2026-10-18
A survey count is not a catch rate. These fish were handled by biologists, not caught by anglers. A species missing from the table was not caught in those nets, which is not the same as absent from the lake. Mesh selects for a size range, and CPW states that Kokanee Salmon in particular are “difficult to capture and monitor with gillnet surveys”.
What CPW has stocked
The most recent stocking years CPW listed in this report. Years CPW did not list are not shown, and absence from this table is not evidence that nothing went in.
| Year | What went in |
|---|---|
| 2022 |
|
| 2021 |
|
How far it is
| From | Drive | By road |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Junction | 2 hr 34 min | 111 miles |
| Alamosa | 3 hr 2 min | 138 miles |
| Durango | 3 hr 51 min | 157 miles |
| Pueblo | 4 hr 5 min | 176 miles |
| Colorado Springs | 4 hr 18 min | 192 miles |
| Denver | 4 hr 59 min | 225 miles |
| Steamboat Springs | 5 hr 38 min | 256 miles |
| Fort Collins | 5 hr 50 min | 273 miles |
Driving times along the road network to the access point TroutTips uses, not straight-line distance.
Fishing it
This page is the survey record: what was in the net, and when. Access, regulations, seasonal timing and what the approach actually involves are in the planner, alongside the drive from your own town.
See Kokanee Salmon outings in Gunnison CountyOther surveyed lakes nearby
By road from Gunnison, the town closest to this water.
- Taylor Park Reservoir (boat ramp shoreline) 208 fish netted 2022
- Twin Lakes Reservoirs 448 fish netted 2019
- Mount Elbert Forebay Reservoir 339 fish netted 2019
- Turquoise Lake (Abe Lee Fishing Site) 416 fish netted 2017