Middle Park fishing report for 1-30-2017

Thanks to everyone that came to fish the 3 Lakes ice fishing contest. By now the fish have settled down and will eat. Lake Granby is fishing very good for all species. Rainbows and browns are being caught in water less then 15 feet deep on small jigs tipped with wax worms. Spoons are a great attractor. Most Lake trout are being caught at 40-70 feet of water. Tube jigs, hair jigs, spoons, and plain jig heads tipped with a small piece of sucker meat are enticing bites.

Williams Fork, The fishing dropped off a bit this week, but there are still plenty of 12-17” lake trout being caught on the usual baits. Focus on structure in 35-65 feet of water for the best action. Tube jigs tipped with sucker meat and various jigging spoons are consistently producing a few strikes. Smaller baits like bare jigheads with a chunk of sucker and gulp minnows are also catching a few. The key is moving around to find the highest concentrations of fish. Bigger lakers have been tough to entice recently but there is always the possibility of a trophy at this lake. The best tactic for rainbows has been to fish early in the day in shallow water in one of the bays with micro jigs or crappie tubes. A few pike are also being caught in shallow water bays but action for them is hit or miss.

The ice is about 12-14 inches thick across most of the lake with a slightly thinner area near the dam. There is still about 6 inches of snow on top of the ice. There is still no slush anywhere on the lake. Tucker Bamford

Grand Lake, The Rainbow trout and Brown trout continue to be active and hungry with the best bite being early and late in the day.  They are being found between 8ft and 16ft of water depending on time of day and are being caught on a variety of baits, but the Leech Flutter Spoon by Clam tipped with a wax worm has been my go to bait.  Lake trout are being caught all over the lake, but it takes some diligence and searching. Get out drill some holes and use that Vexilar to determine where the Lake trout are and what their mood is for the day, seems to change every day. Ice is in good shape on the town side of the lake, use caution if venturing out, and beware of the areas with moving water, as the ice varies significantly there compared to rest of lake!.  Be safe and good luck. Dan Shannon, Guide – Fishing with Bernie

Middle Park fishing report for 1-23-2017

Granby has lost its slush! The ice thickness varies around the lake. We have been seeing snow machines and ATV's throughout the lake. Rainbows and browns are biting very well around the shorelines until the sun hits the ice then they shut down. A few kokanee have been caught in water 20'-30' deep over 80'-100' of water. Lake trout fishing has been excellent with small spoons like the "Leech Flutter spoon or plain jains in various colors and sizes. Tube jigs. hair jigs and other assorted plastics tipped with a small piece of sucker meat have been producing also in 40-70 feet of water. Bernie

Williams Fork Reservoir is fishing well for lake trout with a few rainbows and pike being caught as well. Most of the macks are being caught in 35-75 feet of water on tube jigs tipped with a small chunk of sucker meat. Various jigging spoons and gulp minnows are also catching a few. Most of the pike are showing up in less than 10 feet of water.  Jigging Raps and tube jigs account for a few pike as well. Rainbows are mostly being found in less than 15 feet of water and can be caught on panfish tubes or various mini jigs tipped with salmon eggs or meal worms. Tucker - guide Fishing with Bernie

The ice on most of the lake is 12-14” thick with a thinner area near the dam that is about 8”. There was some fresh snow this week, but it’s still only about 6” deep on top of the ice. There was no slush on top of the ice at the time of this report.

Grand Lake has fishable ice conditions,  use caution in the areas of moving water as the ice thickness is significantly different than the other areas of the lake.  Fishing has been good for Rainbows and Browns, concentrate your efforts to early in the morning and late in the day for best results.  No need to go too deep, but the fish do move deeper as the day goes on, your typical trout baits have been working well. The lake trout under 18” have been active and hungry,  we have been finding them all over the lake. They don’t seem to be relating to any depth or structure, but out and cruising. Grab your Vexilar, sharpen your auger blades, top off the tank and get out there and drill a bunch of holes, that’s what its been taking to find the lake trout.  Good luck out there! Dan Shannon, Guide -  Fishing with Bernie .   

Lake Granby are fishing report for 1-16-2017

Granby has froze over again. This time most of the slush has frozen over also. This gives us 1-4" of good clear ice, 3-6" of water and 4-6" of frozen slush.