Fishing Report 9/12/22

Grand Lake - Water temps are starting to come down a bit, but fishing still remains slow to fair for all species. For the best action on rainbow and brown trout target the inlet areas and rocky shoreline by the town docks. A small silver/pink spinner or spoon, or a hopper imitation fly has been most consistent when worked parallel to the shoreline or in the moving water of the inlet. Lake trout action has been picking up lately as the water cools. Best action has been first thing in the morning in 50-70’ of water with small tube jigs and jigging spoons tipped with a fresh, small piece of sucker. Pay close attention as the bites are light but they are there. Look for lake trout action to pick up as the water continues to cool.

Williams Fork - The new ramp hours are 7AM to 7PM. Water capacity is at 81%, 13 feet low. In flow is 40 cfs out flow is 240 cfs. The surface temp early AM has been steady near 64 degrees warming to 67+ on calm days. The Lake Trout bite is good on Juvenile fish. By late morning seasoned anglers can easily catch their limit. Look for them in 75 to 90 feet of water. Small grubs or tubes tipped with sucker meat fished tight to the bottom is producing bites. The bite is light and fast so one must remain focused on the rod tip. When the bite drops off move to a new spot, which sometimes is only a few boat lengths away. If you see a single fish on the screen stop and drop, there are more in the area. Large Lake Trout are few and far between until the water cools. Northern Pike fishing is slow, but I'm seeing follows nearly every time I fish them with an occasional catch. Young Northern's can be found close to the shoreline. Trophy class fish are hanging out in deeper water moving into shallower water late PM. The best time to fish Northern's is early AM, late PM and overcast breezy days. On calm days with blue skies be prepared for a lot of casting with minimal result. I've seen a few Brown Trout being caught in the inlet early AM in shallow water. Rainbow and Kokanee fishing is slow due to low population. Fishing with Bernie Guide - Randy H

Lake Granby - Ramp hours are 6a-6pm. Water temps have come down and are currently in the mid 60’s. Fishing is starting to pick up as the water cool. Rainbow trout and brown trout action has been fair, with trollers reporting success in 10-20’ of water with pop gear or dodger and spinner tipped with a worm or pulling around crankbaits. For shore anglers and those casting, an erratically worked crank bait or tube jig in the transition areas between mud and rock has been producing. Lake trout action is slow but picking up. Downsize your presentation and slow down the jigging cadence, have to pay close attention to detect those light bites. Small dark colored tube jigs or grubs tipped with a piece of sucker has been working most days. Look in 60-80’ of water and use those electronics to find the fish, then don’t be afraid to move if they aren’t biting, as some days it’s taking several spots to find the active fish. Fall is rapidly approaching and the bite should be picking up as the water cools and leaves start to change! 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 9/1/22

Grand Lake - Summer conditions continue to make the fishing for all species a bit tough. Rainbows and browns are active early in the areas of moving water, primarily the inlets. Cast spoons, tasmanian devils or small crank baits early in the moving water. Trollers are reporting some success with cowbells and pink spinner or spoon tipped with a small piece of worm, focus on 15-25ft depth range. Lake trout are in their summer locations, look for them in 65-100ft of water. Small radical glow grubs or brightly colored tubes tipped with a small piece of sucker meat is producing bites. The bites are light, so make sure you are paying close attention. Fall is coming fast and action should be picking up soon. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon.

Williams Fork - Ramp hours are 6AM to 8PM daily. After Labor Day weekend the new ramp hours will be 7AM to 7PM. Water capacity is 86%, or 10 foot low. Inflow is 54 cfs, outflow is 263 cfs. Surface temp is 66 degrees early AM warming to 70. Visibility is excellent 12 to 15 feet down. Juvenile Lake Trout are biting good. It's easy to catch a limit of Laker's under 19". Look for them in 75 to 90 feet of water. Pretty much any small plastics tipped with a small piece of sucker meat fished gently on the bottom will get bit. When the bite drops off move to a new location. The fish are hugging the bottom. If you spot a single fish stop and drop... there's more than one there. The crawdad's are also biting good in 80 foot or less if you leave your jig laying on the bottom too long. Large trophy class Laker's are scarce right now. Pike fishing is extremely challenging due to the decline in population. On sunny calm days expect a lot of casting with minimal result. Early AM, late PM and overcast days with choppy water is your best bet. Please practice catch and release on all Northern Pike caught. Bank fishing for Rainbows and trolling for Kokanee Salmon is very slow since neither species has been stocked for several years in a effort to control gill lice in the Kokes. — Fishing with Bernie Guide - Randy H

Lake Granby - The conditions on the lake are indicating that fall is right around the corner. The summer crowds are down a little bit, the crisp air in the mornings is in the mid to low 40’s and we have even seen a couple of the aspen trees start to show signs of turning a little bit yellow as of late. With that said, the fall bite is just right around the corner! The surface temps are sitting in the mid to upper 60’s, depending on the daily weather and the the lake remains very close to a full pool. The browns and rainbows haven’t been showing themselves much on the main lake but we have seen quite a bit of action close to whatever little bit of running water we still have coming in. The most important thing to remember when fishing these fish is getting on them early. Starting before the sun comes up until about 8:00 am seems to be the best window right now. We have been casting CPT Leech Flutter Spoons and Tasmanian devils in terms of hardware and HD and JSpecs for our jerkbait options. Again, “the very early bird gets the fish” when fishing for rainbows and browns right now. The lake trout seem to still be on their summertime spots right now and they are pretty stacked up. Find deep structure and you will find some fish willing to chomp at what you present. When we say deep, we mean pretty deep. Anything in the 70-95 foot range seems to be holding fish right now. There are certain features that are holding the big fish opposed to small fish but that is changing daily. I think all of the fish seem to be roaming and starting to feel the change in weather in anticipation for the fall just as much as we are on the top side. Our best days for numbers have been on small jigs as of late. Small tubes, twister tails and even just a plain jig head seems to be doing the trick right now. Add a very small piece of sucker meat or skin, load it up with some scent and have some fun! — Fishing with Bernie Guide, Jake Foos.

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