The Art of the Shallow Drift: Nymphing High-Elevation Rivers Before Winter

On the Upper Gunnison, a good cast won’t save a bad drift. When flows drop and fish slide into slow seams, a soft entry and perfect line control matter more than distance or pattern. November nymphing is a finesse game: you’re not trying to cover the river - you’re trying to read its pulse.

Every subtle bubble, every seam edge tells you where the current slows just enough for a trout to sit and watch. That’s your strike zone - and you’ll only get one shot before they slide off.

Weight, Distance, and Touch

Late in the season, most anglers fish too heavy. They confuse depth with control.

The goal is not to pin your flies to the bottom. The goal is to reach depth naturally. Start lighter than you think and add only when the drift tells you to.

A reliable late-season setup on the Upper Gunnison:

• 9-foot 5X leader
• One #4 split shot
• 18 inches of 6X to the dropper
• Indicator set so you tick bottom once every few drifts, not every cast

If you are hanging up constantly, you are over-weighted. If you never touch bottom, you are fishing above the fish.

Short drifts matter more than long ones. In cold water, trout do not move far to feed. The best anglers on the Upper Gunnison fish six to eight feet of water at a time, working one seam thoroughly instead of spraying casts across the river.

When your indicator hesitates or slows unnaturally, set the hook. Winter eats are rarely aggressive.

Subtle Mends, Steady Hands

If your mending looks dramatic, you are doing too much.

Late-season water is often glassy and clear. Big mends rip flies off track and telegraph your presence. Focus on micro-mends: small wrist movements that adjust line angle without disturbing the drift.

Keep as much line off the water as possible. Maintain light tension. Let the current do the work.

Advanced approach: on deeper bends and slower inside seams, ditch the indicator entirely. High-stick with a longer rod and manage depth by hand-lining and feel. It is not pretty, but it keeps your flies honest in water where indicators often lag behind the drift.

Fly Selection: Simple and Small

This is not the time for experimentation.

Two flies cover nearly everything on the Upper Gunnison right now:

Lead fly:

• Pat’s Rubber Legs #14
• Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear #16

Dropper:

• Zebra Midge #20 to 22
• RS2 #20 to 22
• Top Secret Midge #20 to 22

Run that combination all day. Adjust depth, angle, and speed before you change patterns. Most missed fish in late season come from poor presentation, not the wrong fly.

The Late-Season Nymphing Mindset

Think of each cast as a controlled experiment. Adjust one variable at a time: depth, angle, or speed. When everything lines up, the drift feels almost invisible, like the flies are no longer attached to you at all.

That is when the line stops.

Late-season nymphing on the Upper Gunnison is not flashy. It is quiet, deliberate, and honest. These trout have seen every mistake. They do not reward effort. They reward precision.

One perfect drift is enough.

Need a Guide? Book Rigs Fly Fishing Near for the Black Canyon.