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Colorado fishing report, May 12
Published May 12, 2004 at midnight
Southwest region | Northwest region
• Arvada Reservoir - Use Power Bait, salmon eggs, worms and small silver spinners for stocked trout. A leech on a twister jig works well for walleyes.
• Aurora Reservoir - The $25,000 Tagged Fish Tournament drew 800 anglers but no one caught it. So that fish and another one tagged for $5,000 will be worth $500 to anyone who registered for the tournament or $100 to any unregistered angler who catches them before the end of the year. Good for trout; bass are hitting on soft plastics in the coves and wipers are becoming more active. Large schools are being seen all over the lake and a few nice fish have been caught on Rapalas, crankbaits and rainbow-patterned plastics. Walleye fishing is fair using bottom bouncers and jigs.
• Barr Lake - Anglers are catching rainbow trout with Power Bait and live minnows. Smallmouth bass are starting to hit on 3-inch plastic grubs on jigs.
• Bear Creek - Good dry fly action reported between Kittridge and Evergreen. Fish late mornings and evenings with dry/dropper rigs featuring an Elk Hair - or Pale Morning Dun in front and a San Juan Worm.
• Bear Creek Reservoir - Good for stocker rainbows using worms and rainbow or orange Power Bait.
• Berkeley Lake - Rainbows are being caught on Power Bait in about 5 feet of water.
• Centennial Park Lake - Catfish are biting on stinkbait and chicken livers late in the afternoon. Some trout are being taken on live minnows and Tasmanian Devils, mostly in the mornings.
• Chatfield Ponds - Picking up for largemouth and smallmouth bass and catfish. For bass use a plastic worm fished slowly on the bottom. Darker colors work best. For catfish use shiners or stinkbait.
• Chatfield Reservoir - Smallmouth bass are becoming more active around Massey Draw. Use live shiners for smallmouths, suspended about 6 feet below a bobber. Walleye are being caught on leeches off Fox Hill and Catfish Flats.
• Cherry Creek Reservoir - Some walleye are being caught in the old Cherry Creek channel on leeches, Reef Runner lures and Gulp grubs. Troll bait 10 feet deep. Wiper and crappie are hitting in the evenings on night crawlers and shiners below a bobber. Fish the area between the west boat ramp and the marina.
• Clear Creek (above Highway 119) - Use a San Juan Worm with a Stimulator and Blue Dun for trout.
• Clear Lake - Best bets are Zeke's Floating Bait and Power Bait.
• Evergreen Lake - Stocked trout are hitting Power Bait and worms.
• Georgetown Lake - Worms and Power Bait work best.
• Jim Baker Reservoir - Some bluegills are being caught on worms and Gulp maggots; trout are hitting Power Bait and salmon eggs.
• Main Lake - Bass fishing has improved. Cast a small spinnerbait along the bottom, late in the mornings. Small silver spinners and Tasmanian Devils work best for trout.
• Quincy Reservoir - Restricted to artificial flies and lures. Bass fishing is good and getting better. Use crankbaits or soft plastics, especially crayfish or lizard imitations on Texas or Carolina rigs. • Rocky Mountain Lake - Filled with stocker trout that can be caught on Power Bait, Crave Bait, salmon eggs and worms.
• Sloans Lake - Slow. Try live minnows for crappie and salmon eggs for trout.
• Smith Reservoir - Bass action is picking up on plastic worms or jigs fished on the bottom.
• South Platte River (Waterton Canyon) - Fly fishing slowed this past week but is still very good. Use small nymphs, such as Hare's Ears or Pheasant Tails. The farther up the canyon you go the better.
• Standley Lake - Good for wipers and crappie at the inlet. Use live minnows for both. Stocker trout continue to be caught on Power Bait, worms and spinners.
• Washington Park Lakes - Early risers are catching bass and crappie on live minnows.
• Webster Lake - Trout anglers are doing well with Power Bait and salmon eggs. For bass, try a spinnerbait in shallow weedy areas.
NORTHEAST REGION
• Barker Reservoir - Fair to good for trout near the inlet and along the north shore using night crawlers, salmon eggs or Power Bait.
• Bellaire Lake - Good for trout using Sparkle Power Bait, Kastmasters, Little Cleos and small Tasmanian Devils.
• Big Thompson Ponds - Catfish are biting chicken livers, popcorn shrimp and a variety of other baits in the back pond.
• Big Thompson River - Flow above Lake Estes is 300 cubic feet per second and 110 cfs below the dam. Still very fishable with streamer flies such as Hornbergs, Matukas or Zonkers. Lure casters are doing well Panther Martin, Vibrax and Stream-a-Lures.
• Boulder Reservoir - Walleye fishing is best from a boat or bellyboat, especially in the early mornings or evenings. Shore casters are seeing good action off the south dam and near the inlet.
• Boyd Lake - Fair to good for walleye with several fish weighing more than 3 pounds caught on Shadraps, harnessed crawlers and white Twister tails. Stocker trout are hitting on Thomas Buoyants, Krocodiles and Kastmasters.
• Carter Lake (west of Loveland) - Some nice walleye have been caught on Rat-L-Traps and Short Warts.
• Douglas Reservoir - Good for trout with Power Bait, Fireballs and red worms.
• Dowdy Lake (Red Feather) - Fair to good for trout. Shore casters do well with Thomas Buoyants, Little Cleos and Tasmanian Devils. Trollers are scoring with Dick Nites and Needlefish.
• East Delaney Lake - Fair for trout with shrimp, scud and Prince Nymph patterns.
• Hohnholz Lakes - Fair to good.
• Jackson Lake - Excellent for trout and wipers, good for channel catfish, fair for walleyes and slow for other species. Wipers are hitting on Fire Tiger Rapalas, minnows, minnow imitations and night crawlers. Trout and catfish are being caught mostly on night crawlers.
• Jumbo Reservoir - Slow for trout.
• Lake Estes - Good for trout at the inlet with Power Bait, eggs and worms. Lure casters are also having luck with Z-Rays, Thomas Buoyants and Kastmasters.
• Lake John - Fair to good with salmon eggs, crawlers and Power Bait.
• Lon Hagler Reservoir - Good for trout.
• Lonetree Reservoir - Fishing for walleyes, wipers and crappie has improved. Deep-running jigs and worm harnesses have taken most of the fish.
• North Park Streams - Anglers are doing well with Panther Martins, Mepps Black Fury and Vibrax.
• North Sterling Reservoir - Very good for wipers on crawdads from the dam. Also good for trout near the dam on baits and spinners. Fair for walleyes and saugeyes on crawler harnesses and jigs. Catfish are hitting cut bait or worms near Sunset Cove.
• Parvin Lake (Red Feather) - Good using Little Tasmanian Devils, Thomas Rough Riders and Kastmasters.
• Pinewood Reservoir - Fair to good for stocked trout.
• Seeley Lake - Fair to good with Power Bait, Power Nuggets and salmon eggs.
• Seymour Reservoir - Good for trout with bait.
• Slack Weiss Reservoir - Good for stocker using Panther Martin, Mepps Aglia and Vibrax spinners and bait of all kinds.
• South Delaney Lake - Good for 10- to 14-inch cutthroats using silver Kastmasters and Thomas Buoyants.
• St. Vrain River - Flow is 212 cfs, roily and rising. Fly fishers are doing well with Flashabou Olives, Beadhead Nymphs and small baetis dry flies.
• Union Reservoir (Calkins Reservoir) - Good for smaller wipers with worms, shrimp, crayfish or mussels.
• Watson Lake - Smallmouth bass are becoming more active, with fish of 16-18 inches being caught using crankbaits and plastic worms. Trout anglers are also doing well with Thomas Buoyants, Panther Martins and Vibrax spinners.
• Wellington Reservoir No. 4 - Good for stocker trout with bait.
NORTHWEST REGION
• Blue River (below Green Mountain Reservoir) - Flowing low and clear out of the dam and fishing well. Mayflies and Miller Moths have been providing good surface action for fly fishers.
• Blue River (Dillon to Green Mountain Reservoir) - Midges and baetis are hatching and look for Blue Wing Olives where warm water from Straight Creek enters the Blue. Many fish are still being hooked on small flies in the Nos. 18-22 range such as cream WD-40s, Miracle Nymphs, Disco Midges, Candy Canes and Mysis Shrimp. Fishing between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. has been best, with dries after noon.
• Colorado River (below Parshall) - Fishing for rainbows and browns has been good with Blue Wing Olives emerging on cloudy days and gray caddis on sunny days. When the water temperature hits 56 degrees anglers will begin to see big Salmonflies. For now, use No. 18 Prince Nymphs, Nos. 14-16 Elk Hair Caddis, brown stonefly nymphs and hellgrammite patterns.
• Colorado River (Glenwood to Rifle) - Flowing at 4,110 cfs and muddy. Runoff makes fishing difficult.
• Colorado River (near Granby) - Nymphs and midges still work but surface action is starting to pick up with caddis, Olive Duns and Blue Wing Olives. Dry/dropper rigs, egg patterns and black or olive Woolly Buggers all catch fish.
• Fryingpan River - Clear with great water levels, flowing at 114 cfs, and good hatches of BWOs and midges. Look for rising fish starting around 11 a.m. Mysis Shrimp are also being flushed out of the dam in good numbers. Hot flies include BWO Comparaduns, Sparkleduns, Bill's Adult Midge, Fryingpan Emergers, Fryingpan Baetis, CDC Loopwings, Jujubees, Johnny Flash, Tim's Mysis and Will's Mysis.
• Granby Reservoir - Excellent for lake trout and rainbows. Anglers have been catching many 17- to 18-inch lakers on Rapalas, Z-Rays and tube jigs sweetened with sucker meat. Wax worms work well on kokanee. Blue-tone lures were the top producers this past weekend.
• Grand Lake - Good for rainbows at the river inlet and near the boat ramp. Lake trout have been a little more wary but some are being caught on sucker meat and large spoons. Trolling is a good option.
• Green Mountain Reservoir - Lake trout fishing has been great. In the past two weeks anglers have caught fish weighing 30, 27, 25, 21 and 18 pounds along with many smaller macks. All were caught on lures trolled by boats. Fishing for trout and kokanee salmon has been almost as good.
• Green River - Good. Nymphing with Woolly Buggers, beadheads and scuds works best for big German browns.
• Harvey Gap Reservoir - Excellent for trout, good for crappie, fair for pike and bass. Recommended baits and lures: Perch-colored Rapalas, Red Tasmanian Devils, Power Bait and worms.
• Highline Lake - Slow for trout. Crappie and bass are starting to hit on Brush Hogs and 10-inch Power Worms.
• Mack Mesa Lake - Good for stocker trout with Power Bait in assorted colors and pink or red salmon eggs.
• Muddy Creek - Flowing low and clear below Wolford Reservoir. Good for trout with Woolly Buggers, White Grizzly Coneheads, Blue Wing Olives and Mosquito patterns.
• Rifle Gap Reservoir - Excellent for trout using Rapalas, green or silver spinners and waxworms. Fly fishers have done well nymphing the east inlet.
• Rio Blanco Lake - Good for pike. Crappie are hitting on white and yellow jigs.
• Roaring Fork River - Good from Basalt to Aspen. Flows are 184 cfs in Aspen with good caddis and BWO hatches daily. The lower river below Carbondale is high and muddy, flowing at 1,610 cfs and unfishable. Hot flies include BH Princes, P-Tails, Fryingpan Baetis, X-Caddis, Peacock Caddis, Sparkle Pupas, Glo-Bugs and San Juan Worms.
• Shadow Mountain Reservoir - Fair to good, especially at the canal mouth and old river channel. Rapalas have been catching a fair number of rainbows and browns.
• Stagecoach Reservoir - Trout fishing is good at the inlet and pike fishing is picking up. Use sucker meat for pike and switch to large spoons and spinners when the water temperature goes up.
• Steamboat Lake - Woolly Buggers and Power Bait have been catching trout, especially on the south side of the dam.
• Vega Reservoir - Very good for trout using Power Bait, salmon eggs, worms, flies and Panther Martin spinners.
• Williams Fork Reservoir - Excellent for pike and lake trout. Most of the lakers run 25 to 28 inches. Pike fishing is very good in the flats at the south end of the lake and fingers on the west side.
• Williams Fork River - Running low and clear. Fishing for rainbows and brown trout is excellent using Mayflies, Blue Wing Olives, Prince Nymphs, Copper Johns and White Millers in the evenings.
• Wolford Reservoir - Lower lake is clear and fishing is good for splake and rainbow trout. Most fish are being caught on night crawlers, dough bait or copper-colored lures that resemble crayfish. A few kokanee also are being caught by boaters trolling flashers ahead of Needlefish or Kokanee Killers. Best areas are coves on west side.
SOUTHEAST REGION
• Adobe Creek Res. (Blue Lake) - Some crappie are being caught as well as blue cats and channel cats.
• Anticline Lake - Excellent for stocker trout.
• Arkansas River No. 3 (through Pueblo) - Flows beneath Pueblo Dam are moderate and clear. This section has been repeatedly stocked and fishing for 10- to 17-inch trout is excellent.
• Arkansas River (Buena Vista to Salida) - Flow is 500 cfs and alternating from clear to murky. Caddis have advanced through Browns Canyon and into Buena Vista. Blue Wing Olive and stonefly nymphs continue to be active as well. In murky water, fish larger Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns and Stoneflies.
• Arkansas River (Leadville to Buena Vista) - Flow is 350-400 cfs and alternating from clear to murky because of daily snowmelt. Caddis are present in Buena Vista with good hatches late in the day. Blue Wing Olive and stonefly nymphs continue to provide good action.
• Arkansas River (Salida to Canon City) - Blue Wing Olive and stonefly nymphs continue to be very active and are producing good action. Streamers also are becoming effective.
• Beckwith Reservoir - Fair to good for stocker trout.
• Bonny Reservoir - Shore casters have been catching white bass off the face of the dam near East Beach.
• Brush Hollow Reservoir - Fair for most warm-water species.
• Clear Creek Reservoir - Very good from shore. Boat fishing is best along the south shore, drifting and casting small lures toward the shoreline.
• Elevenmile Reservoir - Fair for all species. Boaters are having better action toward the east end of the lake and off Roger's Mountain; shore casters at Lazy Boy and Sucker's Cove. Most effective baits are salmon eggs, spawn sacs, worms and pink or green Power Bait. Best lures are split-jointed Rapalas in gold, black or peach colors, Needlefish and Dick Nites.
• Fountain Lake - Excellent for trout.
• Hale and Hopper Ponds - Use salmon eggs, night crawlers, PowerBait or small spinners for stocker trout. Sassy Shads have been most effective on bass, which run 4 to 6 pounds.
• Hayden Meadows Reservoir - Excellent for trout.
• Horseshoe Reservoir - Excellent for stocker rainbows.
• John Martin Reservoir - The crappie bite has slowed though some still are being caught on live minnows fished beneath a bobber at the base of the dam. Fishing for wipers and bass is good, and anglers are catching saugeyes in the stilling basin.
• Martin Lake - Good for stocker trout with spinners, salmon eggs and Power Bait. Good for northern pike.
• Monument Reservoir - Good for stocker trout.
• Nee Gronda Reservoir - Fair to good for wipers using Rat-L-Traps, jigs with Twister tails or live minnows fished under a bobber. Crappie also are starting to bite.
• North Lake - Good for stocker trout with bait or lures.
• Pueblo Reservoir - Smallmouth bass and wipers are becoming very active. Fish are being caught on a variety of lures including bucktails, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, stickbaits and topwater plugs. Walleye fishing also is improving.
• Runyon Lake - Excellent for stocker trout.
• San Isabel Lake - Excellent for stocker trout.
• South Platte River (between Spinney and Elevenmile) - Running at about 44 cfs and fishing is very good. Cutthroat and rainbow trout are hitting Sparkle Wing RS2s, orange or gold Scuds, peach and apricot egg patterns, gray or brown Chironomids and black or olive Woolly Buggers. Hatches include small midges and Blue Wing Olives.
• Spinney Mountain Reservoir - Good action along the dam and shoreline from the South Ramp to Buffalo Cove. Many 18- to 24-inch trout are being caught in 5 to 15 feet of water. Top flies: green or black Woolly Buggers, gray or brown Chironomids, San Juan Worms and Blood Worms with an egg. A black Marabou Jig bounced off the bottom also works well. A few pike are being caught on black Woolly Buggers and medium-sized rainbow-colored Rapalas.
• Trinidad Reservoir - Fair for trout and catfish , slow for other species.
• Twin Lakes - Excellent for lake trout.
• Twin Lakes Forebay - Lake trout, rainbows and cutthroats are biting voraciously. Montera's Marvels are still one of the best lures when tipped with a Berkley Power Grub.
• Wahatoya Reservoir - Good for stocker trout.
SOUTHWEST REGION
• Beaver Creek Reservoir - Anglers are catching rainbow and brown trout, mostly with bait but some with lures. Kokanee also are active.
• Blue Mesa Reservoir - Big lake trout are becoming more active. Fish 20- to 40-foot depths with light-colored tube jigs sweetened with sucker meat or troll large Flatfish or Bombers. Brown trout are still active in the shoreline shallows.
• Conejos River - Good for wild brown trout.
• Echo Canyon Reservoir - Excellent for stocker trout.
• Gunnison River (below Crystal Dam) - Good with consistent caddis and Blue Wing Olive hatches. Recommended nymphs: midges (larvae, pupa and emerger phases), Pheasant Tails, Flashback PTs, Copper Johns, RS2 emergers, Dandelions, Scuds, eggs, San Juan Worms and Woolly Buggers. Dries: BWOs, Adams, Elk Hair Caddis and stimulators.
• Gunnison River (through the canyon) - Fishing in the upper river to Smith Fork has been exceptional. A huge caddis hatch last week provided great surface action. Hot flies: Halfbacks, Nos. 14-15 Gray Caddis, Nos. 14-16 Cutter and Nos. 8-10 Mercer Golden Stone.
• Jackson Gulch Reservoir - Good for trout in the inlet channel.
• McPhee Reservoir - Good for stocker rainbows.
• Uncompahgre River in Ridgway Park - Anglers report catching trout in the 2-pound range on small Prince Nymphs and other nymph patterns.
• Vallecito Reservoir - Very good for pike.
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