Spring has arrived this week! Warmer weather and looks like rain instead of snow. Lakes temps are rising and rivers flows have been increasing. I have been chasing fish daily - several ponds and 3 different lakes.
The ponds are really fishing well. The warmers weather has got some weeds starting to develop. Panfish are starting to move toward their spawning areas. Stocked trout are still active. Bass are moving shallow and being found around cover. Catfish are starting to become active in the late afternoons and evenings.
The first lake I hit this week was Union. It’s still fishing a little slower than normal, but it is picking up every day. Fish are really spread out, the best presentation has been trolling the basin for a mix of wiper and some walleye. There is a fairly large bug hatch taking place at Union right now, I’d expect it to really turn on in the next week.
On Sunday I made it down to Chatfield to fish with a buddy. We were able to find some walleyes in the bottom of the old gravel pits. There are fish spread out in these pits with what seems like a few more concentrated schools if you do some looking. Jigs and minnows was the best presentation, I was using the VMC Hammer Head jig in chartreuse and green. Let the jig fall on slack line until it hits the bottom. Then small twitchy hops seemed to do the trick.
The final lake I hit was Boyd. Switched things up and chased bass. The bite is pretty good, I targeted cover in the 6-12’ range. With the warmer weather weeds have started and there are some fish starting to associate with these areas. A standard bass presentation of a light jig in the 3/32 oz size with standard green pumpkin plastics worked best for me - you don’t have to go look for that new special “purple worple” to get bit. A few more walleye are starting to show up with those trolling cranks or dragging slow death. White bass and trout are still active and being picked up on the same presentations as walleyes.
Other bites in NoCo.
Horsetooth - the smallmouth bite is picking up, as the water warms you will see them moving into the coves. Walleyes and trout are fishing good. Look for them near the dams and main lake points. Shore anglers are catching both.
Cherry Creek - the basin bite is on for walleye. The key is keeping your bait right above the bottom to get the most bites. Vary the speed from 1.4-2 mph to find what the fish want, it can change day to day - even hour to hour.
NE Lakes are still fishing very slow. Give them another week or two.
Boedecker - the crappies are starting to move towards the spawning areas. The next 2 weeks should be really good.
CURRENT CONDITIONS
Snowpack for the South Platte Basin is sitting at 96% of normal.
Lake conditions: North Sterling ditch is down to 30%; Jumbo inlet has shut off; Horsetooth is still filling; Chatfield has leveled off; Lon Hagler is slowly filling, and the good news for anglers is the inlet ditch into Lake Loveland has jumped to 200 cfs - this provides some really good shore fishing. The current projection is Boyd should start filling the first week of June.
Streamflows:
Poudre at the canyon mouth 320 cfs
Big Thompson above the canyon 143 cfs
St. Vrain at Lyons 105 cfs
South Platte below Chatfield 31 cfs
CPW NEWS
Trout stockings this past week have been plentiful and will provide some good fishing for shore anglers and boaters.
In the Denver area: Chatfield, Bear Creek Reservoir, Centennial Park, Smith, the South Platte below Chatfield.
North Front Range: McCall, Windsor Lake, Carter Lake, Smith, North Lake Park in Loveland (great opportunity for kids)
For those wanting to travel a bit, Dillon also received a stocking.
FLP FISHING TIP: Cover and Timing
With the warming water temperatures, fish will start pushing shallow. As they get into those shallow areas they are going to look for places to hide, either to avoid being eaten or to ambush their next meal. The best place for them to do both is to associate to cover. By cover, I’m referring to submergent and emergent weeds, wood, rocks, docks, man-made items, and one that’s often overlooked - mudlines. These spots are areas where fish will tend to concentrate, providing an opportunity to catch numerous fish in a small area. The type cover that is holding a certain type of fish will usually translate throughout the whole body of water, thus providing the opportunity to run a pattern. That’s when fishing gets really fun!
One factor that impacts cover Troy Lindner really focuses on is timing. People often overlook how timing relates to cover and when/how fish use it. Cover in some areas may be better during certain times of the day. Like rocks will warm up as the day progresses, some weed types may have a bug hatch only during certain times. Also, the sun angle will position fish differently around the cover. Early and late in the day fish will be more spread out as the sun angle is low. As the sun gets higher the fish will hold tight to the cover. Now the side of the cover the fish use might change based on shadows, which change as the time of day changes.
Before making a cast take a few seconds and think about the cover, where the shade is, and the best hiding place on that piece of cover right then, it will help improve the success of your first cast and help you start to develop a pattern for the day.
Good luck fishing this week! I’m heading out to catch a few more bass.
FISHING FUNNY