Early June is starting off with lakes full or filling and rivers at or near the peak of runoff. The water situation is as good as we’ve seen in several years. Let’s do a quick rundown on some of the NoCo lakes: Boyd Lake is still filling fast and within 5 feet of full pool, I would guess that should happen by next weekend; Horsetooth is up 2 feet this week; Bear Creek is down 9 feet; Cherry Creek is down 2 feet; and the inlets are running at Sterling, Prewitt, and Jackson.
I’m still focusing on lakes and ponds, with the rivers running high to blown out. The lakes have all been in the 60s for water temp, this is a sign of good things for anglers - the bites are on!! In general, look in the shallows for warm water fish, the current areas will attract fish, the bait bite is kicking in for walleyes, and trout are suspended about 10-15’ down. Now let’s look at the specific bites in the area. Boyd with the rising water has fish pushing to shore and the white bass are still in the marina cove. The paddletails are still producing the white bass, targeting the main current seams for the most active white and some walleye are being picked up near the bottom of the cove. Horsetooth the smallmouth have moved into the shallows with many starting to bed. The beds aren’t really visible because of the rising water, so fishing slowly helps get bit. There are some trout and wipers in the inlet cove. Jackson the wipers are moving toward the inlet. Flies, paddletail, and twisters in white are all working. Prewitt has some walleye biting, look for mudlines and the shorelines the waves are hitting. Chatfield focus on the shallow areas and weeds for walleye, trout, and smallmouth bass. Cherry Creek the walleyes can be caught around the shallow structure and cover. Reaction baits are working best for larger fish. Union the wipers are showing up in the main basin. Try spinners and cranks. Walleye are in the shallows relating to the emerging weed beds.
THANK YOU!!! To everyone who reached out to help with the CAST for Kids event happening this weekend.
FLP FISHING TIP: Presentation - lighter jigs
Normally when I fish jigs I like to fish the heaviest jig I can, it allows me to cover more water and put my presentation in front of the most fish possible in the day. But there are some times when I like to go light. I started fishing jigworms, a light jighead with plastics for bass in MN back in the 80s. (many people will often refer to this as NED rigs these days)
When I’m going to light jigheads is when I’m fishing snaggy rocks, bedding areas, weed beds, or fish that are holding tight to cover. The lighter jigheads reduce the number of snags in the rocky areas, the jigs don’t fall as deep into the rocky crevasses. When fishing plastics for bass I usually go with a 3/32 oz, fishing for walleyes with live bait 1/16 is preferred with 1/8 being on the heavy side. The lighter jig forces you to fish slower, which is good for fish in bedding areas or holding tight to cover. When fishing weed beds, especially fish holding on the weed lines, the lighter jighead helps the presentation to slowly fall so the fish can see it and the presentation doesn’t sink deep in the weeds.
One thing that can be challenging is fishing a light jighead in the wind. To maintain a better feel of the presentation in the wind, fish directly down or upwind. Trying to maintain contact in a crosswind is extremely hard to do. A braided mainline also reduces the wind drag with the light lines.
For my set up I like a medium light fast to extra fast spinning rod in the 6-7 foot range. Using light line is important for longer casts, if I’m using mono I prefer 6 lb test, fluoro 6-8 lb test, and braid 8-10 lb test works best. This is one time I almost always have a fluoro leader on my braid - usually 4-8 feet of 8 lb fluoro.
Good luck fishing this week!!!
FISHING FUNNIES
Are you related to Jim Peterson of Outdoor News fame?