Fishing Report - Northwest (4/30)
2012-13 fishing licenses on sale now!
Regions: Southwest, Southeast, Northeast, Denver Metro
Delaney Buttes, Cowdrey and Lake John (Jackson County)
Fish Reporter heard from Tish and John Willcox up at Lake John Resort this week. Here's what they had to say: "The weather has been quite unsettled during the past week. We got all of the “W”s. Wind. A blast of Winter. It was Warm for a couple days. And we also had a downpour of Wain. But no matter how hard it tried, the Weather couldn’t put a damper on the fishing. I talked to several fishermen during the past week, and no matter if they were spending time on the Delaneys, Lake John, or both, it seemed all were very pleased with the action." They say most anglers are using hardware – lures and spoon – or trolling gear but she's heard that a few of the fly fishermen were doing well too. Tish and Bill say they've seen the fish patterns change a bit on Lake John since the reclamation work was completed. Some of the old methods – like floating a worm or PowerBait off the bottom aren't working as well as they did in the past. Stop by the resort and they'd be happy to fill you in.
Elkhead Reservoir State Park (Moffat County)
The ice has melted off the lake. Muddy conditions have limited the fishing activity. Pike anglers reporting increased action and are reminded that there are no limits on pike at Elkhead Reservoir. There are no fishing reports from anglers on other species at this time. You can provide your fishing report from Elkhead by sending an email to fish.reporter@state.co.us.
Fryingpan, Crystal and Roaring Fork Rivers (Pitkin and Garfield County)
Here's some information on the upper Fryingpan from the folks at Taylor Creek Fly Shop:
"FLOW: 41 CFS. WATER CLARITY: Clear and fishing. Lower flows have made for some great dry fly action with midges and small beatis patterns. 7x is a must for fishing right now on the Pan, dry dropper has been the go to set up for consistently hooking fish. FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Midges 22-24. Beatis 20-22. Mysis Shrimp 16-22. Streamers 4-8. The Fryingpan has been offering some amazing dry fly fishing with both midges and beatis at the moment with great numbers of midges coming off throughout the day between the hours of 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. The beatis hatch has started to pick up in the earily afternoon hours, look for those rising fish on the surface when those midge and beatis hatches have been popping off. Dry dropper rigs with 7x has been key right now, Sparkle dun BWO's and Collett's Para. BWO have been great lead flies with foam top RS-2's or a hatching midge trailed behind has been a deadly combo."
Harvey Gap State Park (Garfield County)
No report this week. Got a report on Harvey Gap, send it to us at fish.reporter@state.co.us.
Highline Lake State Park and Mack Mesa Reservoir (Mesa County)
Trout are still biting at both Mack Mesa and Highline Lakes - some nice sized trout have been taken from both lakes recently, along with the stockers. Bass and crappie are finally biting, as the water finally warms up to 60 degrees or so. Near the dam at Highline Lake seems to be the best fishing area for bass and crappie, from the bank or from a boat. PowerBait is now available in the Visitor Center, along with nightcrawlers and fishing licenses. Get ready to be "Gone Fishin" at Highline or Mack Mesa Lake! For those who prefer to troll Highline Lake, ANS boat inspections are available at the WEST ramp, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. only. As always, ". . . the worst day fishing is better than any day at work!" If you catch or see a northern pike at either lake, please remove it from the water if possible and turn it over to park staff.
James M. Robb Colorado River State Park (Mesa County)
Fishing has been great at Island Acres. People are catching their limit in trout at Old Orchard Lake and there are a few large trout that were stocked that have been biting on flies. At Corn Lake the trout fishing is excellent as well and most people are using power bait. The water at Red Rocks Lake in Fruita is warm enough now for the crappie and catfish to be active and trout are biting on power bait and flies. The fishing at Connected Lakes has been somewhat slow but there have been a few people catching bass.
Lake Granby (Grand County)
The lake trout are hitting well, according to the chatter on coloradofisherman.com. Sounds like anglers in deep water trolling from boats are bringing them in. Water temps are in the 46-48 range so laker fishing is still hot this week at Granby.
Pearl Lake State Park (Routt County)
Pearl Lake is ice free and a few reports of the fishing getting very good. The road is open to motorized traffic. Please remember Pearl Lake is regulated to flies and lures only, with a bag limit of two 18"+ trout.
Rifle Gap State Park (Garfield County)
Most anglers are looking for perch (no limit), pike (no limit) or trout (limit 4). Most recently some large walleye have been spotted on the bottom of the lake off the Cedar campground loop. It was reported that a 22" walleye and a 24" northern pike were caught by the same angler.
Stagecoach State Park (Routt County)
Anglers fishing from the shore or a boat have had good luck near the inlet. Pike and trout reports have slowed, but people are still catching plenty of fish. Tailwaters anglers are using San Juan worms, RS2's and zebra midges. CR 18 is now open. During the busy season for the Tailwaters, anglers are asked to be mindful of the resources and help avoid overcrowding.
Steamboat Lake State Park (Routt County)
The reports on fishing are great. We have had reports of 17-20 inchers being caught. The fish seem to be hitting just about everything. Remember only hand launched boats are allowed at this time.
Sylvan Lake State Park (Eagle County)
The Lake is ice free as of April 12. Fishing should really take off over the next few days. East and West Brush Creek are open, but slightly cloudy from the runoff. The beaver ponds between the lake and Visitor Center have been good for smaller brookies and browns on a variety of flies.
Vega State Park (Mesa County)
Fishing is excellent with rainbows being caught in the 12 - 18 inch range. Early Settlers boat ramp is open at this time. All trailered boats must be inspected at the Visitor's Center prior to launching.
Williams Fork Reservoir (Grand County)
Williams Fork is reported ice free but no fishing reports from the field so far.
Anglers wishing to contribute information to the weekly fishing report should submit their fishing tips or conditions reports to fish.reporter@state.co.us. The deadline for the weekly fishing report is Mondays at 5 p.m.
Have a suggestion for the fishing report, email us at fish.reporter@state.co.us.
