Spring has arrived and the ice is starting to go away! Last Sunday I went out to a pond close to my house and saw a few bluegills had moved up into the shallows. After today’s cooler weather, the next 6 days all look to be above 50 with the chance of a couple of days in the 60s. There should be a bunch of ponds losing their ice and some of the lakes will be opening up even more. (Sorry ice anglers, I think we are at the end along the front range.) Don’t forget the time change happens this weekend, giving us anglers more time to hit the water after work before it gets dark.
I was out on Monday and did some checking of lakes along the northern front range - Carter was 100% ice-free; Boyd, Union, and McCall all had their open water areas expand; and the ponds that have water flowing in had larger pockets of open water. Some of the lakes out further east had their inlet ditches turned on. Jackson started Mar. 6 and Jumbo started a little flow on Mar. 1. Prewitt and Sterling both continue to have water flowing in as well. This should really help these lakes open up. That water coming in usually draws a bunch of fish to the inlet areas. Carter and Horsetooth continue to be rising 1.5-3’ a week, while Chatfield is on a slow steady rise of about 5” a week.
Snowpack along the South Platte drainage is still above average at 104% and 71% of the overall peak. The 2 northernmost drainages look the best - the Big Thompson is at 120% and 88% of its peak, and the Poudre is at 110% and 73% of its peak. Hopefully, some mountain snows come in while we are getting this warmer weather along the front range this week.
With the warmer weather some of the ice is starting to leave a few of our rivers and streams, so for those who like to chase fish in the flowing water here are some streamflows. (the gage on the Poudre was frozen so no reading there)
Big T - Below Lake Estes 18.5 cfs, above the canyon 24.4 cfs
St. Vrain - At Lyons 17.4 cfs
South Platte - Waterton 36.8 cfs, below Chatfield 6.17 cfs
CPW NEWS
Don’t forget fishing licenses expire at the end of March. You can purchase your new fishing license now, if you didn’t have one last year the new license will be good from now until the end of March ‘24.
With water starting to open up the fronts range ponds and lakes will start to get trout stockings.
Remember the dams on Chatfield, Cherry Creek, and Pueblo are closed for fishing. Here is how the rules read from the 2023 fishing regs: “Fishing is prohibited from dam and within 100’ of dam and walleye nets Mar. 1 - Apr. 15, or until walleye spawning operations are complete.” I will be reaching out to CPW to get any updates on the completion of walleye spawning operations.
FISHERY SURVEY TRENDS - BOYD AND UNION
Boyd
Walleye CPUE shows overall numbers down over 20% from 2020
The size of walleye has also decreased with 83% 10” or less. Typically the 10-15” size would make up 35-40% of the fish sampled in ‘22 that number was only 12%. This was probably caused by a combination of factors - no walleye stocking in 2020 due to Covid and the increased angling pressure during the last couple years leading to increased harvest reducing the number of fish over legal size.
Saugeyes have been stocked and are starting to show up in the sampling.
White bass have really strong numbers. The majority are 6-9” with some in the 9-12” range.
Smallmouth bass are present in good numbers with lots of 7-11” and some 14-17” sampled.
Largemouth bass - few were sampled but based on my angling experience and talking to others there are good numbers of 12”+ bass and the population is growing.
Crappies seemed to have gotten off a good spawn recently with good numbers under 5” and a few 8-10”. One to keep an eye on for years to come.
Bluegills are mainly in the 3-6” range
Catfish may be a hidden gem. Strong numbers in the 16-24” range and fish up to 30”
Union
Some of the best walleye numbers of any NoCo lake sampled in 2022. Almost double many of the other lakes in the area.
The majority of these walleye are under 13” - so this is an up and coming walleye fishery.
Wipers had a CPUE similar to the white bass in Boyd. The size is better than the Boyd white bass, with 12-15” being the most common size and good numbers of 15-20” fish.
Yellow perch are present in good numbers with some reaching 10-12”
Black Crappie numbers are good with the majority under 5” and a fair number of 10-12” present.
There are lots of bluegills in Union, most sampled are smaller but would provide good action for kids.
FLP FISHING TIP: Presentation - 3 Fishing Knots
One of the most important parts of the connection between the angler and the fish is the knot. It is the weakest point with the highest chance of failure. How many of you “broke off” a fish only to reel it back in and see the little pigtail at the end of your line? That is the telltale sign your knot failed. If you’re fishing with my buddies they are going to give you a hard time if they see that. Lol With the increased use of braid and fluorocarbon there are a few knots that really shine, here are 3 of my favorites and demonstration videos I recorded for each one (let’s hope they work, it’s my first time trying to put videos in a newsletter - if they don’t load they can be found at Brad Petersen Outdoors on YouTube).
My favorite overall knot is the Palomar. Good with all 3 types of lines (mono, fluoro, and braid) and is incredibly strong.
If you aren’t able to run your line through the eye twice I like using the Uni knot. This is a good one to learn not just for tying on a lure but also connecting 2 pieces of line together.
Finally connecting two lines together is important when tying on leaders or repairing your main line if it breaks or you need to remove a knot from a spinning reel. Lots of people really like the FG knot, and it is a really good knot but takes time to get the hang of. I prefer starting with the Uni to Uni as it’s easier to learn and tie on the water. This builds on the Uni knot you just learned.
I hope these videos and knots help you land a few more fish this year.
FISHING FUNNIES