Grand County Fishing Report Week of 3/24/25

Spring has arrived and the warm weather is telling us ice season is almost over. This will be our last report of the ice season, we will resume as the lakes lose their ice and we get out the long rods once again!

Grand Lake - Travel conditions are excellent and ice is holding up for now. Use caution and check often as ice can change daily this time of year. Rainbow and brown trout fishing in the inlets and inlet areas has been excellent, 12ft of water and less depending on the time of day. 1/8oz Clam Leech Flutters spoons in blue/pink color or clown colored have been working well. A pink or chartreuse tungsten jig with a waxie is a consistent producer as well. Lake trout action has been fair to good depending on the day and the weather. Look for them in 50 to 90ft of water, the area just north of the canal to Shadow Mtn has been holding quite a few fish. A dark colored jig head with a light colored or glow plastic body has been the go to baits. Tip with fresh sucker meat or a Mike’s shrimp egg and work the lure close to the bottom. Fish are coming through in waves so be ready for fast action when they show up. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon.

Williams Fork - Water level is at 70% of full. Lake trout bite has been good. Small jigs tipped with sucker meat worked 1 to 5 feet off the bottom have been producing fish. 50 to 60 feet of water has been where we are finding a lot of the lake trout. The snow on the ice and shore is almost completely gone which means ice off is imminent. Use caution this week if heading out, ice near exposed shorelines will start to melt first and conditions across the lake will be unpredictable especially after the warmer weather this week. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Sam Hochevar.

Lake Granby - Water level is at approximately 64% or 30 ft low. Travel conditions are excellent right now with little to no snow on the ice. Ice is holding up for now with 6-8” of clear ice under 6-8” of frozen slush. The spring conditions are changing the ice daily in the warm sunny weather so please use caution and check the ice as you go if headed out for the final few days of the ice season. Rainbow trout action continues to be very good along the dam faces and rip rap shorelines, tungsten jigs or spoons in pink, white or silver color have all been working. Tip with a real or Gulp waxie and target water 15ft and shallower. Lake trout action has been good for 18-20” fish, but the key is finding the active fish. Look for them in 45-80ft of water along the multiple river or creek channels throughout the lake. A 2” tube jig or 2” twisty tail grub with a glow-colored jig head has been our go-to lures, tipped with fresh sucker and covered in your favorite scent for that extra enticement. It’s been a great ice season, stay safe for these final days and look for our next reports to start at ice off! Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon.

The Fishing with Bernie team has been guiding in Grand County for over 25 years. For more info please check out www.fishingwithbernie.com, www.facebook.com/FishingWithBernie/ or our Instagram pages https://www.instagram.com/fishing_with_bernie https://www.instagram.com/fishingwithaltitude

Grand County Fishing Report Week of 3/17/25

Grand Lake - With the end of the ice fishing season approaching, the ice has remained in pretty decent condition except for the inlet areas as well as the east portal area. Please use extreme caution when fishing remotely close to these areas. The conditions can change daily and even more so when the pump that pushed water through the system is running. The rainbow and brown trout fishing has been a little bit on the slower side as of late. Most of the fish are being caught when moving around and drilling a lot of holes. The bite has been early in the morning and late in the day and has really tapered off when the sun is beating down on the ice. We are fishing very small jigs with small live bait for the majority of our action right now. The best presentations have been bright colored tungsten jigs with a wax worm in 20-30 feet of water and spread throughout the entire water column. The lake trout fishing has remained pretty good over the past week with most of the fish being caught over 60-80 feet of water. Right now, it seems that the majority of the fish are hanging out near the bottom in these depths and there is also some suspended action over the deep. The suspended fish are hungry as they are already anticipating ice off so they can run up shallow. When fishing the bottom, tube jigs, Simcoe bugs and any soft plastic with some sort of maribou has been getting the best of the action. When fishing the suspended fish, its been all spoons. Regardless of what you are using, make sure to tip your hooks with a small amount of sucker meat and load that jig up with as much scent as possible. There have been a few big fish landed and they were all taken on the smaller presentations. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Jake Foos

 Williams Fork Reservoir - Water Level is continuing to drop and is now at 71%. With the current lack of kokanee and rainbow stocking the best action is lake trout due to the low populations of other species. Lake trout bite has been good in 50 to 60 feet of water. Small jigs such as tube jigs or grubs tipped with sucker meat have been the top producers. When fish get finicky try small spoons worked 1 to 2 feet off the bottom. Walking conditions are excellent right now as there is very little snow and no slush. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Sam Hochevar.

Lake Granby - Water level is at 65% or approximately 29ft low. Ice conditions are excellent right now with very little snow on top of ice and very little slush. Ice thickness is holding up at between 12” and 16” of ice and frozen slush combined, clear hard ice is around 6-8”. Fishing for rainbow trout is excellent, look for them along the rip rap dam faces in 15ft of water or less. Small pink or chartreuse tungsten tipped with waxie or Clam flutter spoon in blue/pink color has been producing fish. For brown trout target the natural rocky shorelines in 20ft of water or less where they transition to mud, a brown or white Dynamic Twitch Tube has been the primary lure. Lake trout bite has been very good for fish under 20”, we are finding groups of fish who like to look and not bite, it is imperative that you stay mobile to find the active fish or it can be a frustrating day watching fish who don’t want to bite. Target them in 40-70ft of water along the river channels, 3/8oz Jig head with 2” white tube has been primary lure, but we have also been doing well with small grubs in natural colors and a contrasting-colored jig head. As always tip with fresh sucker meat and load that lure up with your favorite scent. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon.

The Fishing with Bernie team has been guiding in Grand County for over 25 years. For more info please check out www.fishingwithbernie.com, www.facebook.com/FishingWithBernie/ or our Instagram pages https://www.instagram.com/fishing_with_bernie https://www.instagram.com/fishingwithaltitude

Grand County Fishing Report Week of 3/9/2025

Grand Lake - The ice conditions on Grand Lake are all over the board and are changing from day to day. There is slush present and can be very difficult to navigate on days and times that present themselves with above freezing temperatures. However, there are other days that seems to have good travel conditions. The traffic on the lake is way down from a month ago and the signs that “Mud Season” is right around the corner here in town. There were a good amount of fish caught at the tournament a couple of weeks ago and the signs of a good spring bite are definitely on the table. There is a very large amount of open water near the bridge on the west side of the lake and that area should be avoided at all times right now due to the amount of water that is moving through that spot. I have found ice up to almost 20” thick in other areas that are holding fish. The rainbow and brown trout fishing has slowed down a little bit. The majority of these fish have moved out of the shallows and are concentrating their feeding in a or over relatively deeper water and are searching for the most oxygenated water.  For this time of year, I like to pick a few spots that have drop off nearby and are within a safe distance to moving water or areas that will contain moving water in the spring. I also like to use a two-rod set up with one of the rods having a very small, bright and flashy spoon that is primarily used as a search/attractor bait. With my second rod, I like to have a very small jig with some type of meat or flavor attached. Nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, wax worms and even a very micro piece of sucker meat with work for the rainbows and browns right now. The lake trout seems to have settled into two distinct areas. I am seeing the largest numbers of bottom fish in 60-80 feet of water and the suspended fish in 80-110 feet of water. The most important tip I can give when fishing the small lakers holding the bottom is to move around quite a bit and when you find a fish in a certain depth, focus there on that same contour line for the best results. The majority of the lake trout we have been catching have been on natural-colored soft plastics. Browns, greens, greys and even blacks have been my top producers. As always, don’t forget the sucker meat and scent when fishing grand lake. Having something that smells fresh will greatly increase your odds. The suspended fish are definitely present and is primarily a waiting game. Pick a spot of two to fish throughout these day in different depths, set up camp and wait for these cruising fish to show up below you. A good fish finder that shows the entire water column is essential in dialing in on these fish. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Jake Foos

Williams Fork Reservoir - Water level is at 72% of full. Lake trout bite has been good in 50 to 65 feet of water. Small plastics and tungsten jigs tipped with sucker meat have been producing bites. Finding structure such as points, dropoffs and humps are key to finding good groups of fish and staying on a good bite. Walking conditions on the lake are great, all of the slush has frozen and there is very little snow making travel on the lake easy. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Sam Hochevar.

Lake Granby - Water level is at 66% or approximately 27.5ft low. Travel conditions are good on the lake, slush is present in the afternoons but is very spotty. Rainbow and brown trout bite has been fair. We are finding best action along the rip-rap shorelines of the dam faces and around the pump house. Look for rainbows and browns in 15ft and shallower water. Best lures we have found have been Dynamic twitch tubes, demons in pink or chartreuse in color. A tungsten and a waxie is a close second for most productive bait. Lake trout bite has been excellent for eater size fish, those 19” and under in size. Target them in 50-70ft of water with 2-4” tubes in light colors such as white or chartreuse, tip with a small piece of sucker. A 1/4oz Buckshot spoon or a blade bait is a great reaction bait for some of those fish that just look. Stay mobile as not all groups of fish are actively feeding but once you find that active group the action can be fast and furious. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon.

The Fishing with Bernie team has been guiding in Grand County for over 25 years. For more info please check out www.fishingwithbernie.com, www.facebook.com/FishingWithBernie/ or our Instagram pages https://www.instagram.com/fishing_with_bernie https://www.instagram.com/fishingwithaltitude

Grand County Fishing Report Week of 3/3/25

Grand Lake - Travel conditions have improved with the warm weather. Fishing for rainbows and browns has been good. Look for them cruising around the north or east inlet areas in 10 to 15ft of water. A jointed Clam Pinhead Mino in pink or white has been the go to lure, with a Sierra Slammer tube in pink or gray also producing well. Lake trout action has been fair. Most fish are being caught in 50-80 ft of water. A tungsten jig with a black or glow colored grub and shrimp egg or fresh piece of sucker will produce bites, but pay close attention as these bites are light and fast right now! Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon

Williams Fork Reservoir - Water level is at 72%. Lake trout bite has been good in 45 to 65 feet of water. Working small jigs tipped with sucker meat along the bottom has been producing most fish. We are starting to see some suspended fish so keep an eye on your electronics for fish swimming through off the bottom. When the bite slows down in an area the best solution has been to stay mobile and move around structure or to another piece structure and find a new group of fish. Slush on the lake has mostly cleared up but it's still possible to encounter some especially in the afternoon. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Sam Hochevar.

Lake Granby - Water level is at 67% or approximately 27 ft below full. The ice is holding up for now, we are finding 12-16” of ice and frozen slush in most areas of the lake, please pay attention to changes as the warm days continue to make an impact. Travel on the lake has gone from both extremes in a short period of time, deep snow and slush early in the week to melted, compact, crusty snow in the mornings and small pockets of slush and softer snow in the afternoons. Quick reminder machines over 1,000lbs are not allowed on the ice, typically this means the majority of side by sides are not allowed. Fishing for rainbows has been fair along the dike and dam face. Look for them in 15ft of water, a bright flashy flutter spoon or pink tungsten tipped with waxie will produce strikes. Brown trout action has been best right at sunrise, so don’t sleep in. A gold and black jigging rap worked along a rocky shoreline in 8ft of water or less has been working well. Lake trout bite has been slow for the trophy fish be prepared to earn your bites with hard work. The bite has been good to very good for eater size lake trout, fish under 20”. For best action on eater size fish look for them in 55-75 ft of water along break lines and funnels. Pink or chartreuse colored spoons, jigs and plastics 2” and smaller are the hot colors right now, tip them with fresh sucker meat for best results. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon.

The Fishing with Bernie team has been guiding in Grand County for over 25 years. For more info please check out www.fishingwithbernie.com, www.facebook.com/FishingWithBernie/ or our Instagram pages https://www.instagram.com/fishing_with_bernie https://www.instagram.com/fishingwithaltitude