The three dams of the Wayne M. Aspinall Unit dramatically changed the area's fishery. Where once the rainbow and brown trout of the Gunnison River fed predominantly on aquatic insects, some fish of Curecanti's lakes feed on plankton. Plankton are microscopic plants and animals that flourish in this new lake environment.
Brook trout favor the lake's tributary streams.
The lakes' concentration of plankton is suitable for maintaining kokanee. Kokanee lure many people to the area and particularly during the snagging season, which generally begins in October. Rainbow trout are the most commonly caught fish. Rainbows, introduced in the Gunnison River in the 1880s, are still stocked along with kokanee salmon. During the summer season you can learn more about the park's fish by joining a ranger for fish feeding at the Elk Creek Visitor Center's fish pond.