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Colorado Fishing Report 2001 - 2007
Submitted by Anglers Like You
Please help fellow anglers by emailing
your report.
It will be featured in this section.
We've had a request for reports on
Golden Pond, Pela Crossing & Lageman Reservoir.
Also had requests for reports on Lemon Reservoir, Bayfield, Colorado.
If you fish those waters or any others for that matter, please
email us some
reports.
December 27, 2007 - Swanson
Reservoir Question - good day, has anyone been on
the ice at Swanson res. yet? would like to go on new years day,
but would like to hear an ice and fishing report. thanks
August 3, 2007 - Fly fishing
on river near highway 58 and US 6 junction - This
is for fly fishing. Fished a stretch of river 3.5 mile from Highway
58/US 6 junction. There is a turn off here on the way to Blackhawk
on Clear Creek. I used a variety of different flies while there,
and caught a 9" brook trout on a brown dry fly. Had multiple
hits on flies ranging from gray to black but no luck setting
any of those hooks. This was Aug. 1st from aprox. 3:30 PM to
6:30 PM.
Good Luck!
J Sidwell
May 23, 2007 - Lemon and
Vallecito -
Lemon - Very slow, not to many people fishing
there at all, bank fishing with spinners for 7-10" rainbows,
we were there for 5 hours roughly and caught 4 between 4 of us!
Vallecito - Very good for rainbow trout,
trolling seemed to be the best method. Early afternoon showers
seemed to be the norm for right now as well. Pike are still in
the spawning stage, you may be lucky to either anger a nesting
female, or hook up with a rogue male. Within the next week or
so Pike fishing will pick up as it will be post spawn for them
and they will be back to their normal behavior. Some salmon are
being taken as well as the water is still pretty cold, so they
aren't as deep as they will be in the next couple of weeks to
a month when the weather heats up. Some browns are also being
taken trolling. The lake is high as well, it gained about 3-5"
while we were there.
Craig Buster & The Franchise
April 23, 2007 - Question
on Trout in Denver area - I live in Denver and am
interested in good stocked waters for trout. Is there anyway
you can provide me with some places to go where I can fish for
trout. Thanks a lot.
Thanks,
Adam
September 16, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - Hello. I read your question
about how to catch those bass you are seeing. I am a florida
native and have been fishing central florida for over 30 years
and i can tell you that if you put a live golden shiner in front
of those fish you will indeed connect with them. If you need
more information on how to fish with this kind of bait let me
know and i will send to you a link to all the info you need.
I have a few places where i catch my own golden shiners and keep
them in a tank to use when i want to go fishing. This is another
complete subject i know but once you start catching bass with
shiners you won't want to stop. If you buy them they run from
$16.00 to $20.00 a dozen, this is to much for me to pay so i
catch my own. Catching the bait is almost as much fun as catching
the bass! Jeff Morrow, Sarasota, Fla
August 21, 2006 - Denver/Boulder/Longmont
Area
Dear Jim,
I wish more people would report too. One more report
for you.
Wheat Ridge - Prospect Park Lakes: Went fishing
there yesterday morning from
about 7:30am to 11:30am and caught for largemouth bass using
a large white
and grey Strike King spinner bait. I used some jitterbugs as
well but got
no hits. The bass were 16", 13", 8" and 5"
in length. I do have a scale
but do not weight them unless they are approaching state record
weight or
just huge, my goal is to get them back in the water as quick
as possible.
I will definately keep them coming!
Sincerely,
Albert Nieto
August 18, 2006 - Denver/Boulder/Longmont
Area
Dear Kansas Angler,
First of all I would just like to say that I love
your website and love the weekly updated fishing reports for
the Denver area. I go fishing every chance I get around town
for lunker bass or just large Colorado largemouth and thought
I would send you some reports. I noticed you dont list a few
other places around town that have quality bass fishing, but
I guess sometimes for some of us thats a good thing!!
Longmont - Golden Pond: Went fishing here last
saturday and the fishing was very slow with no bites. Using various
jitterbugs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits or other lures.
Longmont - Pella Crossing: Was there last saturday
and had some pretty good luck. Bass were cruising the shores
along with a lot of bluegills. I landed two 14" to 16"
largemouth bass. One on a jitterbug and the other on a large
white/gold Strike King spinnerbait. Only fished for a few hours,
but this lakes has some good bass if you know what they want.
Denver - Rocky Mountain lake: Fishing for bass
has been fair to good. Mainly catching small 6"/7"
laregemouth using jitterbugs along the shore here and there.
Somedays just no luck. Lake gets a lot of pressure from the trout
fisherman.
Wheat Ridge - Prospect Park Lakes (Not listed on
your site): This series of lakes has a lot of good bass fishing
and big ones too. Bass are cruising the shores and hitting various
plastic worms, spinnerbaits and topwater lures. About 3 weeks
ago someone pulled out about a 17" largemouth, and I have
also caught an 18" largemouth from here late last year.
Boulder - Walden Ponds (4 Lakes on a wildlife habitat)
(Not on listed on your site): This can be a pretty fun place
to fish if you have kids or love bass fishing. The lakes are
very low but the fishing has been great. Was there last weekend
and caught 15+ largemouth ranging from 6" to 12" (fishing
Bass Pond) using jitterbugs, inline spinners and minus-1 topwater
lures.
The lake is not very deep so with the water very
low it makes it tough to fish crankbaits or spinnerbaits with
the exception of a few areas. During that time fishing walking
around another gentleman caught a nice 16" largemouth out
of Duck Pond on a plastic frog. Duck pond is tough to fish, its
very low in water, shallow in depth and has lots of weeds and
algae/moss on the surface. The good thing about this place is
that it butts up to Sawhill Ponds which combined makes around
12 to 14 ponds/lakes you can fish. It's all artificial lures
and flies only with catch and release with the exception of one
lake that is part of Sawhill Ponds.
I hope this information is helpful to you. I do
a lot of fishing so look forward to receiving more reports from
me.
Sincerely,
Albert Nieto
albert_nieto@squeezeplaycollectibles.com
August 2, 2006 - South
Delaney Butes - south delaney butes in colorado. THe
fishing was slow to fair. Trolling didn't seem to work so try
casting kastmasters or daredevils on the south end of the lake
for ur best luck. This lake is also very mossy with moss beds
on the top of the water which makes it difficult to troll because
u are always picking up moss. Cassidy
July 31, 2006 - Lake John
- My name is Cassidy. This fishing report is for lake
john. try using a bubble or bobber with a three foot leader over
by the chokecherries with a worm. The fishing is fair to good.
Also it is somewhat low and pretty mossy. I just got back from
there today.
July 19, 2006 - Response
to request for reports on Golden Pond, Pela Crossing & Lageman
Reservoir - all three lakes that you are talking about
have not had even ok fishing for years golden ponds are one of
the worst fishing spots in the area, lagerman res. is just a
lake i have not seen a fish pulled out of that lake in 10 years
try going out of longmont if you want fair to good fishing
July 14, 2006 - Chatfield
Reservoir - Littleton, CO - I have been hearing about
the great walleye fishing on Chatfield this year. So my buddy
and I gave it a try last night. We fished from 5:30pm to 10:30pm
and the only fish we saw was a dead carp floating by. We trolled,
jigged, and casted both the river channel and the dam. Tried
with worms and without, trolling at different speeds, different
depths, different colors, and not a single fish was caught. Somebody
must be catching something out there though or at least reading
the same stuff since there were a ton of boats out there fishing.
Hopefully, a different night will prove to be better luck.
Chris
June 30, 2006 - Request
for reports on Golden Pond, Pela Crossing & Lageman Reservoir
- I noticed that some fishing spots in my area are
absent from your report for north eastern Colorado. I live in
Longmont and could not find Golden Ponds, Pela Crossing, or Lagerman
Reservoir. I understand that you can't post every fishing spot
but all three locations have fair fishing. Please consider posting
these also.
Thank You
June 13, 2006 - South
Fork of Rio Grande Colorado Report -
I fished this river from June 5-10. Water was clear
and dropping daily. Fishing was good for Brown Trout on Copper
John and Bead Head Prince Nymphs size 12. Caddis fly hatch was
evident but small numbers and fish were not on them yet. Noticed
a few Stone flies along the bank but full fledged hatch had not
started yet. I didnt see any rising trout on the river the entire
time.
Blake Pumphrey
May 22, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - You might try some garlic
sent found at most tackle shops. It covers a lot of smells
and bass seem to like it.
Bill Rose
Lincoln NE
March 20, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - I've fished for Florida
strain bass in Texas lakes most of my life, and have found that
when the big girls are on the nests, down sizing to a small 4in
lizard with an 1/8 oz. weight is hard to beat. Watermelon seed
or watermelon with red flake is dynamite on east Texas lakes,
especially Fork (cotton candy if the water is unusually clear).
Pitch the lizard in there and just leave it. This takes an extreme
amount of patience, but the subtle movements created by the water
look most natural and will eventually drive them nuts. And remember,
if you can see them they'll likely see you first. So if the fish
are leaving the nest when you make your presentation, mark the
spot, leave, and come back. Sneak up with a push pole and stay
off the trolling motor. Stay far enough away not to spook the
fish (tie up if necessary but don't use the trolling motor);
then, make your presentation. If the water is stained to murky,
and your casting for spawning bass instead of site fishing, a
6in lizard with gold flake in it can be good. Zoom's mossy pumpkin
color will get you tore up on Fork. If you're not having any
luck getting the bedding bass to bite, leave 'em alone. Move
out to 8ft deep in the mouths of spawning coves or secondary
points up the creeks. Tie on a Gene Larew Hawg Craw (the big
one) in black w/ blue claws, fish the trees, and hold on to your
rod. Shorter trees with some broken-off limbs (laydowns) or horizontal
limbs just beneath the surface in 8ft of water are best. This
pattern put a 13.86 in the boat for my partner one early spring.
One last comment- please do not use shiners or other live bait
for bass, especially for trophy bass in the spring, as fish mortality
is higher with live bait rigs. Best of luck.
March 16, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - My answer will stay simple
since each body of water is different as well as each day and
down to each hour fishing can be different, but there is one
method of fishing that can offer up excellent bass fishing
The secret is to simply fish at night. You only
need to try a few lures to make night fishing a success. One
is the buzzbait, the next will be a single big cupped bladed
spinnerbait, and then you can stick with a big black juicy worm.
And night fishing can be done at the shore. Only thing is it
will be dark, but fishing can be very successful. Bass move to
the shallows to eat, there are very few if any other fisherman
out on the water as well.
Just scope out a good spot that has plenty of weeds
or other cover and fish there. If you don't get a fish in ten
minutes then move on. But once you get a good spot you can catch
fish after fish.
Good luck.
March 14, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - If you are primarily sight
fishing in clear water you need to be able to make repeated 100%
accurate casts. When I sight fish i like to be able to cast to
where the bass can't see the lure comming until it comes in front
of the fishes face getting a reaction strike. you will have to
experiment to know what to use whether it be crankbait, worm,
jig. From my experience, i can usually find a jig that will work
in any condition. you just have to modify weight and trailer
size for balance and drop speed.
March 10, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - try to use a big shiner
on lite line and a bobber if you are in thick vegitation use
fire line 15-25 lbs test also try plastics with a lot of salt
jiging for them if they are agressive and not much vegitation
try a rattlie trap
March 8, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - what about water clarity?
If it is very clear maybe they are getting to good of a look
at your bait. if this is the case i would probably use a mostly
clear bait and fish a little faster possibly getting more reaction
strikes.
February 26, 2006 - Question
from Florida on catching bass - Can you help my brothers
and I catch bass? Heres the problem, we see a lot of bass here
in central Florida, but they just wont bite our bait! They just
sniff it and swim away, and our hands dont have anything like
oil or anything that will repel the bass! Can you please help
us by giving us some tips and telling us what tackle to use on
bass? Thank You so much. Send
us and answer and we will post it.
June 11, 2005 - Jefferson
Lake - Right on the money with your report. I caught
12 Rainbows from 12-16" inches and 2 Lakers about 16-17"
2 weeks ago. I only fished for about 5 hours over a 2 day span.
I was using pink power bait. Just thought I'd shoot you a message
to say keep up the nice work.
Marty Carmichael
March 23, 2005 - Barr
Lake - Hey!
It's about time you started up your 2005 fishing reports, the
DOW will start theirs at the end of the month. I fished Barr
Lake over the weekend. Plenty of water and the ranger told me
the lake has been stocked twice this spring. Barr is one of those
lakes that is tough to fish. It is full of aquatic insects and
the trout grow real fat, real fast, and since they are stuffed,
they don't commit suicide on the first lure, fly or bait they
see. Unless you hit it within a day or two of the stocking truck,
it will make you work (and who wants it easy anyway?)
The bite was tough, even the trollers and float tubers were coming
up empty, and the bait dunkers were complaining. I figure next
month the bite will be good with trout pushing 16 to 18 inches,
bright, strong, and pink meated.
Despite a tough bite, it was a beautiful day on a gorgeous lake.
No worries or complaints. This weekend I'm going to try Red Feather
Lakes (West) - I got a feeling the ice will be off or at least
enough open water around the edges to wet a line.
thanks,
Steve Nelson
Fort Collins
November 14, 2004 - Note
on John Martin Reservoir - I was reviewing your web
site and noticed that you list a closure to the North Shore of
the State Park after Nov. 1. Although this closure has been in
effect for many years, this year the State Park was able to lift
partial restrictions in this area. From the Dam to the West boat
ramp is open for the first time, and fishing has been popular
in this newly opened area. We would appreciate it if you would
add this information to your site. Thanks!
Tandy Parrish, Senior Ranger
John Martin Reservoir State Park
30703 Rd. 24 Hasty, CO 81044
(719) 829-1801 ext.22
tandy.parrish@state.co.us
www.parks.state.co.us <http://www.parks.state.co.us>
July 11, 2004 - Clear
Creek, Idaho Springs Co. - Dry fly fishing is really
picking up! Adams parachute, Blue wing Olive, Pale Morning Duns,
Hoppers. Keep dry flies size# 18,a good presentation,and you
can't go wrong. J.Wedge Idaho Springs,CO
October 30, 2003 - Granby
Reservoir - Hello, My name is Russ Hughes. My friend
Rick and I fished Granby Reservoir in Colorado on Oct 14 2003.
Trolled for Lake Trout for a couple of hours catching only two
small lakers. Decided to move in closer to look for spawning
lakers. We found them in about 25 feet. Caught and released about
40 fish in the next 3 hours.The largest about 4lbs. Fishing was
HOT!!!!. we fished a variety of lead head jigs (feather and tube
jigs) in the Arapahoe Bay area. Look for rocky gravel points
going out in to the bay.
August 16, 2003 - Jefferson Lake
- only got to fish for a couple of hours weather was cold windy
and rainy but manage to catch six lakers between the two of us.
August 4, 2003 - Williams
Fork Reservoir - partner and i fished williams fork
resevoir aug 4th. caught six lakers all pretty small and one
northern also pretty small fishing was slow. resevoir is full.
 July
16, 2003 - Molas Lake - Thought
you might like a picture of some very nice trout taken at Molas
Lake, near Silverton, CO on July 3. Some were caught on power
bait, some on spinners. Hey, it's not Cheney Reservoir, but it's
not bad! Gordon
May 13, 2003 - Eleven
mile reservoir - Hi, We were at 11 mile reservoir
in Colorado this last Sunday and my girl friend Laurie McFarland
caught a 22 inch brown trout trolling with a 4 inch repala lure.
Had a few other hits, and hooked one salmon but did not boat
it. We were trolling for about 4 hours. great site!
keep up the good work
April 14, 2003 - Arkansas
River - Submitted by Chris Martin -
This is an exciting time of year on the Arkansas
River. In the coming weeks fishing starts to pick up. The River
has risen to about 230 cfs recently due to a release from Twin
Lakes. Initially there was some mud in the river but it cleared
out quickly.
There are several different dynamics at work right now:
- Blue Wing Olive
mayflies continue to hatch in good numbers on cloudy, cool, and
humid days. The less wind, the better. This hatch is locally
intense so if you find yourself among feeding fish, stay with
them. Fish may not be feeding or the bugs hatching around the
corner. You should fish this hatch with a large high visibility
dry fly like a size 14 Parachute Adams as the top fly. Then hang
a beadhead tungsten biot midge, beadhead micro-mayfly, or small
black or green copper john under the Adams. If you see fish beginning
to feed, switch the second fly to an unweighted emerger such
as an RS-2, barr emerger, or Olive Emerger. Once you see adult
insects on the water and/or rising fish, switch to a smaller
parachute adams, gulper special, or other blue wing olive adult
pattern in a size 18-20.
- Caddis flies
have started hatching in Canon City. The hatch will move upstream
into Bighorn Sheep Canyon this week.
-
- Stoneflies
continue to shed their skins as they grow towards adult size.
During these times, the Golden Stones are bright colored and
vulnerable, often washing loose from their husks and washing
downstream until they can attach themselves to a rock and crawl
back into the substrate. We can't predict if the stones are going
through this phase on any given day. However, with no other clues
to guide you, you should use an epoxy back stone or other Golden
Stone pattern as a search pattern. This will tell you quickly
if the fish are keyed into this activity.
When you are fly fishing this time of year the majority of the
fish you catch will be on nymphs. But picking the right
pattern to use may be confusing. A good tip is to fish
with two flies, thereby doubling your chances. Popular nymphs
right now are the black and olive tungsten biot midge in a 16-18,
beadhead micro-mayfly in 18, and an olive flashback pheasant
tail in a 16-18.
After you tie on your first fly, usually the larger one, you
attach an 18- to 36 inch tippet to the bend of the hook using
an improved clinch knot. Then to this tippet you tie the
second fly and you're ready to go!
Fly Fishing Tip from ArkAnglers!
At this time of year, brown trout fry are emerging from their
nests. They are vulnerable to larger cannibal browns. Stripping
or swinging a wooly bugger or small zonker will often incite
a hit from aggressive browns.
Find out more about Arkanglers
Fishing Guide Services:
Water flow information for 4/14/03:
Arkansas River near Wellsville:
256CFS, Current Shift 0.04
So start your day at 9:00 a.m. and fish until 5:00p.m.
A good days work, don't you think?
And when the day is done come stay with us at the Super 8 Motel in Buena Vista. Relax
in our indoor swimming pool or indoor jacuzzi hot tub! Sleep
on our queen beds and in the morning get your free "SuperStart"
or expanded continental breakfast.
June 23, 2002 - Cole
Reservoir Colorado - Fishing wasn't so good the 22nd
out of the whole group of 4 we only had 1 hit after a couple
of hours but maybe another time it will be better TRAVIS
June 23, 2002 - Bonita
Reservoir - The reservoir is very low they're draining
it and it's only like 4 ft deep at the middle and to make matters
worse it's surrounded by deep mudso we went onto cole reservoir
TRAVIS
May 11, 2002 - Black
Canyon - River low great for wadeing german brown
are taking rapalas like crazy! If you have a chance camp in the
black canyon and you'll have a great time TRAVIS
May 9, 2002 - Black
Canyon - Fishing in the black canyon is great
as long as you're ok with walking and hiking then it's well rewarding.
Repalas and lures worked great ended up catching 16in. to 18in.
rainbow and german brown. Lots of fun!!!!!!!!!!
TRAVIS
May 2, 2002 - Eleven Mile
Reservoir - I caught a 9 1/2 lbs. 26 1/2 inch rainbow
at eleven mile res. on white power bait at 2:30 a.m. We were
up last weekend and got two twenty inchers on the same bait.
It's pretty good fishing at night not much during the day. That
is eleven mile res. near Lake George Colorado. I am getting ready
to do some fly fishing around Cheesman res. on the S. Platte
River I will let you know the results on that too.
March 29, 2002 - Barr
Lake - boat ramp open. lake open talked to park staff
fishing is extremely slow. trolled no bites
June 26, 2001 - Big Creek
Lake - Northwest Region Colorado - I was up there
for the past weekend. Fishing was fair to good. Best bet for
Lake Trout is anchoring out at 40 feet of water and throwing
out sucker meat on the bottom. Some success trolling with a down-rigger,
trolling sucker meat behind any trolling setup. We noticed several
belly boaters doing very well fly fishing catching rainbows (sorry
I have no idea what they were using). Water level is very high.
Not a lot of people out on the water. Brian Aguiar Denver,
CO
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