Fishing Report: Southeast (7/30)

From Colorado Parks and Wildlife:

Keep in mind that fishing conditions change on a constant basis. A lot can change in a week from the time this fishing conditions report is produced. If the water you are interested in knowing more about is not listed here or if you're looking for the most current information, we encourage anglers to explore some of the numerous private websites that offer fishing condition reports. Examples include: www.fishexplorer.com, www.coloradofisherman.com, www.fishhound.com and www.sportfishcolorado.com. Many other fly shops and marinas also offer fishing condition reports on their websites as well.

Fishing Regions: Denver Metro, Northeast, Northwest, Southwest, Southeast

Adobe Creek Reservoir/Blue Lake (Kiowa and Bent Counties)
Fishing is slow for all species, small numbers of catfish being caught, especially at night. Boat ramps are useable.

Arkansas River (Lake, Chaffee and Fremont Counties) 
Greg at ArkAnglers says: "Anglers continue to find consistent fishing on the Arkansas River as light afternoon rains in the high country and cooler weather overall support actively feeding trout throughout the day. The further upstream one ventures, the cooler the water one finds. On that upper end, yellow sallies, pale morning duns, caddis and terrestrials are keeping fish looking to the surface. Lower down, Bighorn Sheep Canyon continues to fish very well with higher than predicted flows keeping things cool. Look for fish on the edges early and late; work the fast riffles and deeper green runs in the heat of the day."

Here's what Tim from Colorado Fly Fishing Guides says about the Upper Ark (Leadville to Buena Vista): "Although diminishing, there are still smatterings of mayfly and caddis in Hayden meadows, and dry fly action has remained good especially in the mornings.  Hopper/dropper rigs are turning good numbers of fish throughout the upper river.  When top action is slow try nymphing the deeper seams and riffles.  Fish are not keyed in on specific hatches, but will take a variety of stonefly and mayfly nymph patterns."

Brush Hollow Reservoir (Fremont County)
The boat ramp is inaccessible due to low water levels. Shore anglers report some success fishing at night for catfish.

Clear Creek Reservoir (Chaffee County)
Rainstorms most afternoons limit many results from shore, but some fishermen still reach trout limits after a couple of hours.  Other shore fishermen and some boaters are catching small Kokanee salmon.  Besides the one tiger muskie caught two weeks ago, and one hooked, no other productive results on tiger muskie have been reported. From boats, trolling has been OK but fly fishing has been the best.  Although wet flies trolled deep have done well (just above the weed beds on the bottom) "any dry fly" is still preferred by trout. Trolling with a nightcrawler on a hook has worked well for both trout and salmon, if fished at the proper depth. This week nightcrawler worms have had a slight edge on PowerBait from the shore.  However, two families caught nice-sized rainbows in Clear Creek from just below the campgrounds upstream to the Ranch, both fishing with PowerBait. Clear Creek Reservoir is open to trailered, powered boats every day of the week except Tuesday and Wednesday, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Our new dock makes launching and retrieving boats much easier.

DeWeese Reservoir (Custer County)
Fishing is holding steady for trout with some nice 16-18 inch fish being landed using marshmallows and salmon eggs. Trolling from boats has also been effective. Smallmouth bass anglers can try Rapalas, tube jigs and worms. There are no size restrictions for the smallmouth bass in DeWeese.  The daily bag limit for bass in DeWeese is five of any size.

Henry Lake (Crowley County)
Fishing is slow for all species. Some bullheads being caught. The boat ramp is usable.

John Martin Reservoir State Park (Bent County)
The white bass bite has slowed leaving fishing very slow on the reservoir. White bass can still be caught in small numbers on the south side off the rocky coves. Drum and carp are also being caught in a few spots on the lake, but overall the fishing has really slowed down.

Lake Pueblo State Park (Pueblo County)
Weather has been steady in the high 90s, hot and dry with spotty rain showers at night. The reservoir level continues to drop because more water has been released into the river. While talking with people at the reservoir they seem to do well at south fishing using chopped up shad and live worms while fishing for catfish. Juniper Breaks has also been good for catfish. For warm water sun fish wacky rigs have also produced well when fishing off shore in areas that have cover for fish. If you are fishing in areas that have a lot of cover for fish also try artificial plastic baits, with no weight on a Texas rig. Large mouths have been biting off of crawfish and worms towards the north marina. We are still having success with fly fishing on the river, and shore fisherman on the river have been catching trout using night crawlers.

Martin Lake and Horseshoe Lake, Lathrop State Park (Huerfano County)
Fishing continues to be good on both lakes. We are still seeing trout being caught with the majority of the trout being in the 10-14 inch range. Trout are being caught on PowerBait. We are still getting reports of catfish on chicken liver and nightcrawlers.

Meredith Reservoir (Crowley County)
Fishing is slow for all species. Some bullheads being caught. Boat ramps are closed.

Mueller State Park (Teller County)
Ponds were stocked in May. Dragonfly Pond is seeing a lot of use this summer. Rock Pond and Brook Ponds are very scenic but they are a 2 mile hike from the trailhead.

Turquoise Reservoir (Lake County)
Still quiet at Turquoise. Afternoon rains have sent folks for cover but anglers are having success early and late, especially if they can get to the deeper water where the fish are holding.

Trinidad Lake State Park (Las Animas County)
Trinidad Lake is approximately 468 surface acres with the surface temp about 71 degrees. Fishing seemed to slow down some this past week. Although the quality of fish being caught was still excellent.  Trout, bass, walleye, and catfish are the main fish being caught.  Using night crawlers, bright colored power bait, and chicken liver seems to still be working the best. ANS boat inspections are taking place so be sure your boat is “CLEANED, DRAINED, and DRIED”.  Boaters beware of floating debris and unmarked hazards as the water level continues to slowly fall. Anglers are reminded to check the regulations for bass and walleye and to always wear your PFD!! All camping and bath-house facilities are now open.  For more information call the Visitor’s Center at 719-846-6951.

Twin Lakes Reservoirs (Lake County)
Fishing is slow but angler reports indicate that the trout can be found if you get into the deeper parts of the lake.