What a busy week! On the water every day but one and let me tell you the bites are turning on. The next month to 6 weeks is the peak action for most warm-water anglers. Walleye are turning on to the bait bite, crappies are wrapping up spawning, largemouth are about to hit the beds, bluegills will be thinking about spawning soon, catfish are getting active, and lakes are full or filling.
Quick update on a few of the lakes. Chatfield is remaining fairly stable on its higher water level. Cherry Creek has dropped 2.5 feet in the past week (boat ramp update below). Boyd has every inlet going and raised up 7 feet since Sunday.
The plenty of good bites going on. Boyd the white bass in the marina cove are stacked in think and should remain that way while the lake continues to fill. Prewitt has a decent walleye bite going. Jackson some bigger wipers are being caught - look toward the inlet and northern shoreline. Sterling is starting to see some walleyes being caught - most seem to be trolling with leadcore or dragging bait. Chatfield still has a strong walleye bite going and some bass are being caught. Now that the water level has stabilized explore some of the new shallow cover there will be fish using it. Ponds have still been fishing really good. Crappies have moved off the bed and out a little deeper, bass are cruising the shores and looking to start bedding. When the bass are cruising the shallows use a stealthy approach, long casts, and a subtle presentation to catch more fish.
HELP NEEDED - Boaters especially
I received a note from Bill Wilson with the Centennial Bass Club, asking for help with an upcoming kids fishing event at Horsetooth. Here is the letter and a link for more information.
Hi Brad! Thanks so much for helping recruit! We need about 10 fishing (walleye or bass type to fill the field, as we have 40 plus families registered already. Boaters need to get inspected at about 6:00 am and park in the upper parking lot. We will furnish a Continental breakfast, load a kid/parent and fish for a few hours, and then come in for a huge barbeque luncheon provided by Nordy's Barbeque Grille! After the award ceremony at noon, we will be done at about 1:00 pm. I guarantee this to be the most fun fishing day ever for everyone! No pass is needed for the day and it is at South Bay at Horsetooth Reservoir!! Thanks so much! Boat volunteers and other shore volunteers can register at https://castforkids.org/event/horsetoothreservoir
This is a great event! Hope we can find a few additional boaters to help with the event.
CPW NEWS
The boat ramp at Spinney opened today.
Cherry Creek will be opening the west boat ramp on Saturday May 27th. Be especially careful when heading out on the water. With the recent flooding, there are new and unmarked hazards.
FLP FISHING TIP: Presentation - pay attention to the wobble
Today I was out on Boyd Lake doing a little white bass fishing. Caught fish on several different presentations but a Storm Largo Shad paddletail on a jighead was by far the most productive. One unique thing the Largo Shad has is a little plastic tab near the tail you can remove to give the bait a different wobble. While in the middle of the fish, I decided to remove it, as I’ve has good luck doing this for walleyes. With the tab removed the bait has a quicker tail kick, not nearly as thump or big of wobble. After I removed the tab my bites dropped by more than half. I started thinking about it and looking at the action. I think the harder thump, bigger wobble, and slower tail speed was giving off a stronger vibration that the white bass were able to locate better in the muddy water. Paying attention to subtle details and how fish react to the difference can really increase the number of bites you get in a day. Often times as anglers we can get into the mindset that a lure is the same as another - but pay close attention and you will start to realize these little changes can be the difference between a handful of bites or a day to remember.
FISHING FUNNIES
This Memorial Day weekend, take a little time to think about all the military members who’ve given their lives so that we can enjoy the freedom and life we have.