Below you can find current, up to date lake and reservoir fishing reports for Antero, Blue Mesa, 11 Mile, Spinney, and Morrow Point. These fishing reports are a direct result of Sport Fish Colorado’s adventures on the water so you know that the information is current and accurate! Each report has a title that identifies when each lake was fished and we try to include as much relevant information as possible in each report. Our goal is for our fishing reports to act as a fishing guide that helps take some of the guesswork out of your next fishing experience. Please enjoy!!! (***Sport Fish Colorado follows all bag and possession limits and does not endorse breaking any of the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s rules!***)
June 24, 2014 Spinney Reservoir Fishing Report: Improved action and quality!
The water level at Spinney is the highest it has been for years due to the high run-off from a healthy winter of snowfall. These conditions have affected the aquatic cycle of the lake changing weed patterns, thus influencing the aquatic bug hatch. Don’t be discouraged, Spinney is still producing good numbers of trout with a larger than usual average fish. Numbers have been fluctuating from a slow day of 12 trout boated to better days of over 20 trout boated. On average about half of the fish landed are going 20 inches or larger, averaging around 3.5 lbs. Both conventional tackle and fly tackle has been successful, with the fly fisherman averaging higher fish counts and larger fish averages. The conventional tackle bite has been mainly in the mornings trolling spoons and plugs, or drifting casting tube jigs. Gold colors have been producing better for spoons and plugs, with natural colors working best on the tube jig bite. The fly fishermen have been producing best when the water warms up in the morning on chironomid patterns, scuds, and pheasant-tails. The trout have been very picky so it’s important to change patterns, colors, and sizes often. If the bite stops, a simple change such as down-sizing your chironomid can bring the action right back. Reports have varied concerning what depth has been producing best. Some fishermen are doing well in the shallower depths of 9 to 11 feet, while others are getting good action in the 15 to 18 foot depths.
This fishing report was brought to you by Sport Fish Colorado guide Dj Zimmerman of Fish Head Outdoors! Be sure to check out our Facebook Page for live, on the water Colorado fishing conditions and reports!
June 15, 2014 Spinney & 11 Mile Reservoir Fishing Reports: High Run Off delays consistency!
Spinney Mountain Reservoir:
Due to the high volume of winter run-off, Spinney’s fishing has been inconsistent for both trout and pike fishing. Don’t be discouraged, anglers are still boated between 5 and 20 trout a day with a few pike in the mix. The average trout this year has been running larger than years in the past, with trout averaging 19 to 20 inches and around 3 lbs. Both conventional and fly tackle is working for the trout. The early morning bite has been most consistent on tube jigs in a variety of natural colors. As the sun heats the lake up, the fly fisherman have been capitalizing on the large bug hatches. Depending on the day, chironomids and/or small caddis have been hatching. The fly fisherman that have been able to dial the hatch in have reported large numbers of trout with sizes up to 23 inches. There is high hopes that the trophy reputation Spinney carries as a Gold Metal Water will be seen again this coming season.
Eleven Mile Reservoir: fishing has been more consistent than Spinney Mountain Reservoir, however the average fish is smaller around 14 to 17 inches with a few larger trout coming out. Most fisherman are reporting the trout bite on conventional tackle either trolling plugs and spinners like Rapala’s and Mepps, or tube jigging natural colors. The fly fisherman are seeing success too depending on the hatch of chironomids and/or caddis, near the inlet and the west end. Pike are being reported in the hammerhead range under 28 inches, with a few 8 to 12 lbers being seen. This fishing report was brought to you by Sport Fish Colorado guide Dj Zimmerman of Fish Head Outdoors! Be sure to check out our Facebook Page for live, on the water Colorado fishing conditions and reports!
June 15, 2014 Pueblo Reservoir Fishing Report: The walleye bite is hot!
Pueblo walleye fishing is great right now! Fisherman are reporting high numbers of walleye being caught in the 17.5 inch range, averaging 25 to 30 fish a day. Mixed in with the smaller walleye, fisherman are reporting 4 to 5 keepers a day in the 18 inch and above range. The walleye fisherman that have been most consistent are varying their techniques depending on the mood of the walleye. Twister tails and tube jigs have been working good in white and natural colors tipped with a night crawler bounced off the bottom. Lindy rigs tipped with a night crawler or leach has been very successful too. The walleye have been moving so where you find them first thing in the morning will change as the day heats up. The most consistent walleye fisherman have been moving deeper as the day progresses. Better numbers of bass are now being seen and few fisherman are starting to figure out the wiper bite with wipers averaging 4 to 6 lbs. Most of the wipers have come out on twister tails and tube jigs while walleye fishing. This fishing report was brought to you by Sport Fish Colorado guide Dj Zimmerman of Fish Head Outdoors! Be sure to check out our Facebook Page for live, on the water Colorado ice fishing conditions and reports!
April 30, 2014 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Ice Out is Here!!!
Water Temp: 40-43
Inflow (cfs): 3005
Outflow (cfs): 328
Lake Elevation: 7479′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek opens May 3!
The Lake is completely ice free and rising quickly! The water level has risen 16 feet in the last five weeks and is expected to fill within five feet of full! Cold water temps, wind, stained water, and rising water levels have resulted in a lot of movement by the fish. One day you are on them and the next you spend hours searching! The trout fishing has been excellent with rainbows and browns hitting spoons, jigs, and jerk baits in 1-10 feet of water through most of the day. Focus on rocky shorelines and current areas. Kokanee salmon fishing has been sporadic at best. The lake trout fishing, per usual, has been work, but there are opportunities on a daily basis for the persistent angler. Remember, trophy lake trout are a valuable resource that take many years to grow to trophy proportions, so please consider CCPR (Catch, Care, Photo, Release)! Due to time constraints, and for more detailed reports, click here for all of our future Blue Mesa Fishing Reports
Be safe out there and God Bless!
April 10, 2014 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Ice Out is NEAR!!!
Water Temp: N/A
Inflow (cfs): 1251
Outflow (cfs): 747
Lake Elevation: 7466′
Boat Ramp Hours: Closed
Marinas: Closed
Blue Mesa reservoir is about 90% ice covered, but things should change quickly given the current conditions. As of last Friday there was still some safe ice at Elk Creek and as we came off of the ice, there were a bunch of rainbow trout being stocked at the boat ramp. There are open water fishing opportunities at the Gunnison River inlet and Middle Bridge. Due to time constraints, click here for all of our future
Be safe out there and God Bless!
July 13, 2013 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Fishing is Awesome!!!
Water Temp: 71-74
Inflow (cfs): 505
Outflow (cfs): 1686
Lake Elevation: 7467′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek open 7-7. Lake Fork open 7-7.
Transition period is the name of the game this week. The new moon and warmer than normal water temperatures have pushed the fish from their shallow holdings down to forty to eighty feet and some of the salmon are even starting to pod up! Because of this, fishing appears to have slowed down but that’s only because leadcore line has a hard time reaching the correct depths. Rainbow trout and a few browns can be seen playing on the surface every morning while the bigger lake trout are suspended sixty to one-hundred feet down in deeper water. Over the next few weeks we should see more salmon school up but until then, plan on trolling deep to find consistency.
Rainbow & Brown Trout-Fair- We are catching some rainbows and browns intermixed at the same depths as the salmon. Overall, fishing has been fair for them. There are some nice fish feeding on the surface every morning but finding a lure that they will consistently hit hasn’t been easy.
Mackinaw Lake Trout– Poor- In years past when the salmon went deep, we would catch five to ten small lake trout while trolling for the salmon. This is no longer the case. We might catch a lake trout or two in one trip but apparently the states netting efforts have been very effective. The trophy lake trout fishing has been slow although we did land a 46 inch new potential state record catch and release lake trout back in June!
Kokanee Salmon-Good to Excellent- Most fisherman won’t agree with my claim on how good the fishing is and I will admit the fish have been picky but if you can find the right lure at the right depth the fishing has been exciting! The hot color changes hourly and a lot of the patterns that worked for me last year I’ve had to abandon this year. Here are a few little things I’ve noticed: spinners work better than squids, trolling faster works better than trolling slower, focus on forty to eighty feet of water, be sure to wash lures until you see results. Lastly, please don’t abuse this information. Bag limits are put into place for a reason and keeping every salmon you catch is not necessary!
June 4, 2013 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Trolling is heating up!!!
Water Temp: 56-58
Inflow (cfs): 1903
Outflow (cfs): 880
Lake Elevation: 7465′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek open 7-7. Lake Fork open 7-7.
The fishing has been very good overal! However, the last three days have been very interesting. After consistent thirty to forty fish days last week, the bite window has shrunk and the average has been reduced to twenty-five fish days. The water temperatures are close to optimal for kokanee and warm enough to push lake trout deeper. On a side note, the rainbow trout bite has been better than normal with three to twelve fish being landed a day while trolling for salmon. As we approach the new moon phase we should see some of the best salmon fishing of the season!
Rainbow & Brown Trout–Good– Rainbow trout are concentrated from one to twenty-three feet and the best action for them is ususally in the first few hours of the morning and pinks and greens have been best. Brown trout have been consistently roaming from twenty-five to sixty feet. While Rapalas work, finding the right colored dodger and squid can be far more productive.
Mackinaw Lake Trout– Fair– The netting efforts by the state have definitely had an overal effect on the number of smaller lake trout that we usually catch mixed in with the salmon. These fish can be targeted by finding concentrations of echos at depths from forty to one hundred feet. Kokanee Killers and a dodger with a white squid are consistent producers. The larger fish have been hard to locate on a consistent basis.
Kokanee Salmon–Fair to Good to Excellent–
Overal this season, the kokanee salmon bite has been excellent! However the last three days have yielded a great first light bite followed by a “one and done” lure pattern where finding a lure that catches more than one fish is the trick. These fish have been scattered from the surface to thirty-five feet. Pinks, greens, oranges, and chartreuses have all had their time and place each day. It’s a matter of timing each color right.
May 9, 2013 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Fishing is EXCELLENT!!! !
Water Temp: 44-47
Inflow (cfs): 1283
Outflow (cfs): 1686
Lake Elevation: 7455′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek open 7-5. Lake Fork Closed
Whew! The lake has been ice free since mid-April and we have been on the water almost every day since! The water temps had to rise into the lower 40’s for the fishing to really kick off, but the fishing has been excellent since! The lake is expected to rise at least 15′ from runoff and then drop 25′ throughout the summer. The Kiwanis trout tournament was last weekend and it was no problem to catch 40-100 browns and rainbows each day! The weather has been cool and wet so be sure to layer and bring rain gear if you plan on coming up. Elk Creek Marina is open and Lake Fork will open soon! If you need a place to stay, the Blue Mesa Ranch (5 mins from Elk Creek) is open and has cabins, rv spaces, and tent camping!
Rainbow & Brown Trout-Excellent- Water temps are optimal and LOTS of trout can be found shallow in the coves and along rocky or cliff shorelines. Iola has the biggest concentration of numbers, but the Cebolla and Lake Fork Arms are loaded as well! Jerkbaits, spoons, and jigs have all been producing with more rainbows coming on spoons like Kastmasters and more browns coming on jerk baits. All you have to do is cast a jerk bait out and reel it in and the numbers will follow!
Mackinaw Lake Trout– Good- The mackinaw lake trout fishing hasn’t been crazy yet, but a lot of nice fish have been caught and the rule with ice out is that there is always a hungry fish big looking for a meal somewhere. Trolling has been the best consistent producer with kwikfish, flatfish, and big rapalas. If you are blessed with the opportunity to catch a trophy 30″+ lake trout, please consider CPR (Catch Photo Release) as these fish are very old and hard to replenish! Fishing for smaller lake trout has not yielded many results. There was a most lake trout under 32″ pot in the tournament and only ONE lake trout was brought in the entire two days!!!.
Kokanee Salmon-Excellent-Trolling for kokanee has already kicked off with a bang! The salmon can be found in the open basins or holding close to structure such as points and flats, right on the bottom. We have been catching fish from 5-50′ with the biggest concentrations between 15-35′. Rocky mountain tackle and Radical glow spinners and squids have been hot with the best colors being pink, green, and orange. Tip your lure with white shoe peg corn and get ready for action!
January 8, 2012 Colorado Ice Fishing Report: Ice Fishing is HOT!!!
Ice fishing is here and the bites have been good to excellent for rainbow trout, brown trout, northern pike, kokanee salmon, and lake trout on Antero, Eleven Mile, Taylor, and Blue Mesa reservoirs! For the duration of ice fishing season, please follow our periodic reports @ Colorado Ice Fishing Reports and also check out our Facebook Page for live, on the water Colorado ice fishing conditions and reports!
November 1, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Snagging season opens!!! !
Water Temp: 46-51
Inflow (cfs): 339
Outflow (cfs): 277
Lake Elevation: 7452′
Boat Ramp Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Marinas: Closed!
Between end of the year activities, hunting, and life events the fishing reports have been neglected! With warmer than normal water temperatures, it has taken longer than normal for water temperatures to drop and the fishing to pick up as a result! We have been catching plenty of trout, an occasional perch, and salmon snagging opened today! We were not on the water today, but have heard of some guys snagging some kokes! Plenty of kokanee salmon have been showing up at the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery so there should be plenty of schools in the bays and along the shores in Blue Mesa! It’s like a totally different lake with water levels at an all-time low! Make sure you do some exploring to establish new hot spots! We are also starting to see some ice form on the ponds and lakes above 10,000 feet!
We will be speaking at several different events over the next few months in preparation for the upcoming ice fishing season! Be sure to check us out at the following:
Nov 24- Colorado Springs Sportsmans Warehouse for “Trout Tactics Through the Ice” at 12 noon!
Dec 8- Denver Bass Pro Shops for “Kokanee 101 Through the Ice” at 2 p.m.
Dec 9- Denver Bass Pro Shops for “Finding and Targeting Colorado Pike Through the Ice” at 4 p.m.
Rainbow & Brown Trout-Good to excellent- Water temps have finally cooled down and plenty of trout can be found shallow in the coves and along rocky or cliff shorelines. Jerkbaits, spoons, and jigs have all been producing with more rainbows coming on spoons like Kastmasters.
Mackinaw Lake Trout– Good- The lake trout have also moved shallow with the cooler water temps. They can be found in 10-50 fow. Focus on points, humps, and flats. Make sure you check all sides of a piece of structure as sometimes they hold to one side and are nonexistent on the other side. Tube jigs, spoons like a krokodile, and rapalas have been producing.
Kokanee Salmon– Kokanee trolling has been good for the younger salmon in 15-40 feet of water. Per usual, we cycle through several colors of Rocky Mountain Squids, Assassins, Hornets, and Radical Glow spinners until we see some kind of a color/action pattern. Build off of the results you get! Snagging started today, November 1st and should be one of the better snagging seasons in the last 4 years!
August 25, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: August has been hot, but times are a changin’!!! !
Water Temp: 68-72
Inflow (cfs): 579
Outflow (cfs): 1310
Lake Elevation: 7464′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
The fishing was consistently good through the first part of August, but the last ten days has been more hot and cold. On an average day we are still getting plenty of opportunities to catch fish, although some days are reminiscent of trolling, where you MUST modify your presentation until you figure out what the fish are wanting. The last time I was out, the PK Panic spoon in firetiger (pictured below) out-produced all other presentations! Some days Mity Lites seem to help a little bit and other days the schools run from the lights! As always, experimentation is key. The next full moon should prompt a lot of the mature fish to move out of the lake and in to the river, but I anticipate that fishing should be fair to good for the kokanee salmon through the first to second week of September. Trout fishing will start to improve as the water temperatures drop. Our nights have been a lot cooler lately and we are seeing the water temps decrease a little from their summer peak.
Also, PLEASE be a responsible angler and only take YOUR legal possession limit! The salmon numbers are back and it is our responsibility as anglers to do our part to keep it that way!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 10-45 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up!
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately, but overall the laker bite has slowed. These fish are in 70-150 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective. Sport fish Colorado does not encourage targeting the trophy mackinaw during periods where the fish are very deep and the water temps are in the high 60’s to low 70s because these fish get extremely stressed out when they try to revive in warm water temps and have a long swim back down to the bottom.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has been fair to good with some days being better, but the mature fish will leave the lake soon! We are finding them from 45-100′. Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Whites Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw as well as on our Pk Panic spoons and crippled herring! We have also been doing very well on several spinners and tubes from our newest sponsor Radical Glow! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
August 6, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Consistency.
Water Temp: 71-74
Inflow (cfs): 558
Outflow (cfs): 1348
Lake Elevation: 7468′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
The fishing has been consistently good over the last week. We are still seeing lots and lots of fish on the finder and with a little work, putting some fish in the boat! Learn how to read your fish finder and you will typically find more success than those who sit around and wait for others to get on a school.
There have been a lot of boats out on the water so be aware of your surroundings don’t forget we all share the same passion; FISHING! Don’t get caught up in emotion and turn this sport we all love into something ugly! Also, PLEASE be a responsible angler and only take YOUR legal possession limit! The salmon numbers are back and it is our responsibility as anglers to do our part to keep it that way!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– The Lake City Bridge inlet has been good early and late for rainbows and a few browns! Rip rap shorelines are also producing. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up!
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately, but overall the laker bite has slowed. These fish are in 90-150 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has STILL been excellent! Trolling and jigging has been good. We are most consistently finding the salmon between 70-90′. Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! We have also been doing very well on several spinners and tubes from our newest sponsor Radical Glow! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
July 25, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Dillon lands a 22″ kokanee!!! !
Water Temp: 55-60
Inflow (cfs): 576
Outflow (cfs): 1422
Lake Elevation: 7471′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
On Sunday we had one of our toughest jig bites of the year. Persistence paid and we got a bit of a surprise when Dillon landed a kokanee pushing 22″!
This week has been close to the same as last week with the exception of a bit of a slow down over the last two days. Today was far better with more aggressive behavior from the beloved kokanee salmon! There have been a lot of boats out on the water so be aware of your surroundings don’t forget we all share the same passion; FISHING! Don’t get caught up in emotion and turn this sport we all love into something ugly! Also, PLEASE be a responsible angler and only take YOUR legal possession limit! The salmon numbers are back and it is our responsibility as anglers to do our part to keep it that way!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 10-50 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up!
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately, but overall the laker bite has slowed. These fish are in 70-150 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has STILL been excellent! These fish have been moving up and down in the water column a lot! We are finding them from 5-80′. Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! We have also been doing very well on several spinners and tubes from our newest sponsor Radical Glow! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
July 17, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Trolling is still hot and now we’re seeing some trophy kokanee opportunities!!! !
Water Temp: 55-60
Inflow (cfs): 810
Outflow (cfs): 1522
Lake Elevation: 7473′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
Trolling for salmon remains excellent! Lots of salmon are still being caught from 15-80′, although the first 3-4 hours of light seem best. We are also seeing some schools of salmon and have done some jigging over the last week. This is happening 2-3 weeks earlier than normal, which seems to be following suit with the spring and summer’s patterns thus far. We shall see how the rest of the summer pans out! PLEASE be a responsible angler and only take YOUR legal possession limit! The salmon numbers are back and it is our responsibility as anglers to do our part to keep it that way!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 10-50 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up!
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately, but overall the laker bite has slowed. These fish are in 70-150 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has STILL been excellent! These fish have been moving up and down in the water column a lot! We are finding them from 5-80′. Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! We have also been doing very well on several spinners and tubes from our newest sponsor Radical Glow! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
July 8, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Yes, the fishing can get better!!! !
Water Temp: 55-60
Inflow (cfs): 645
Outflow (cfs): 1578
Lake Elevation: 7475′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
Amazingly, the kokanee salmon bite has gotten even better since the full moon! We are putting 30+ quality salmon in the boat by 8:00 some mornings! The cooler weather and rain have leveled off the water temps in the high 60’s and low 70’s and the fish have been consistently holding between 38-52′. The boat traffic has been heavy, but the fish are stacked mid-lake. Not to say that there aren’t plenty of fish on the west and east ends of Blue Mesa as well. Bring your rain gear, we have been getting rain almost every day!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 10-50 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up!
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately. These fish are in 45-150 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has STILL been excellent! These fish have been moving up and down in the water column a lot! We are finding them from 5-80′. Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! We have also been doing very well on several spinners and tubes from our newest sponsor Radical Glow! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
July 2, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Can the fishing get any better? !
Water Temp: 55-60
Inflow (cfs): 495
Outflow (cfs): 1658
Lake Elevation: 7476′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
Fishing continues to be excellent most days! The water temperatures across the lake are way above normal and have triggered an early lake turnover resulting in a lot of nasty floating green algae. Do your best to keep your lines clear of this stuff because it can jam up your level-wind reels and result in lost fish! I am already seeing some pre-cursors to an early jigging season! If you are interested in experiencing one of the most fun ways to catch a kokanee salmon, late July through August is the time to come to Blue Mesa! Until then, trolling should remain good as long as you can keep up with the constantly changing depth and color preference of the kokanee salmon!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 10-50 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up!
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately. These fish are in 45-150 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has STILL been excellent! These fish have been moving up and down in the water column a lot! We are finding them from 5-80′. Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! We have also been doing very well on several spinners and tubes from our newest sponsor Radical Glow! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
June 23, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Busy busy with some fantastic fishing !
Water Temp: 60-65
Inflow (cfs): 620
Outflow (cfs): 1698
Lake Elevation: 7479′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
We have been very busy on the lake with no time to post reports. The fishing has been excellent with some wild Blue Mesa fishing stories taking place! I posted a blog about one of these stories on Fishexplorer.com (Big Fish Stories Blog). If you are interested in a fishing trip that you will never forget, call us today!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 10-50 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up!
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately. These fish are in 45-120 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has STILL been excellent! These fish have been moving up and down in the water column a lot! We are finding them from 5-80′. Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
June 14, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Keep the Kokanee train rolling !
Water Temp: 55-60
Inflow (cfs): 911
Outflow (cfs): 1599
Lake Elevation: 7481′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
Not a whole lot to say other than the bite is still great! The lake has warmed from Iola Basin to Sapinero Basin and fishing salmon is good all across the lake!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 18-50 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up!
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately. These fish are in 45-100 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has STILL been excellent! These fish have been moving up and down in the water column a lot! We are finding them from 5-80′. Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
June 7, 2012 Morrow Point Fishing Report: First fishing trip of the year!
Water Temp:45-58
As tradition has it, the Rolf crew books an overnight trip for the first week of June. This was my first trip down on Morrow Point this year so I wasn’t sure what to expect. These guys love to cast and that’s what we spent most of our time doing. The first morning the casting was unbelievable with lots and lots of brown trout, mackinaw, rainbow trout, and brook trout coming to the net! The casting was so good that we almost didn’t allow ourselves enough time to catch salmon for dinner! Fortunately, we pulled it off and got enough nourishment for the next day’s fishing. The second day we had a great morning bite casting rapalas and jigs against the rocks and then the bite slowed down around 10. About that time we saw a bear playing around in the water! Once the casting slowed, we trolled for salmon for a bit and caught a few, but never dialed in the hot bite. The fish in Morrow Point reservoir are beautiful and hungry! Overall, we had an awesome overnight camping/fishing trip and caught a bunch of fish!!!
June 7, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Kokanee bite is unreal!!!
Water Temp: 55-60
Inflow (cfs): 1268
Outflow (cfs): 1286
Lake Elevation: 7482′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
The Blue Mesa salmon fishing continues to be excellent with kokanee catches that we haven’t seen for years! The formula is the same so come and get some of these tasty, sporty fish!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 18-50 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up! Casting, trolling, and jigging have all been working.
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately. These fish are in 45-100 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has been excellent! These fish have been moving up and down in the water column a lot! Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
June 2, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Kokanee bite is STILL ON!!!
Water Temp: 54-59
Inflow (cfs): 1212
Outflow (cfs): 1332
Lake Elevation: 7482′
Boat Ramp Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 6:30-6:30 Lake Fork-Open 6:30- 6:30
Fishing has remained excellent for kokanee salmon and smaller lake trout along with some browns and rainbows mixed in! The fish have been moving up and down in the water column a lot and every day has been a little bit different. Knowing how to read your electronics is key right now so you don’t waste time fishing dead zones. Look for concentrations of fish at a certain depth and focus on presenting several different colors to them. If you can’t get a bite out of them, move on and look for the next group. Last week we had a little fun with the fly rod for the kokanee salmon!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 18-40 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Casting during the low light periods of dusk and dawn with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs has been fair, but fish are moving off of the shore once it lights up! Casting, trolling, and jigging have all been working.
Mackinaw Lake Trout– We have been catching some lake trout mixed in with our salmon lately. These fish are in 45-90 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has been excellent! These fish have been moving up and down in the water column a lot! Watch your fish finder and fish the depths with the most concentrations. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
May 24, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Kokanee bite is ON!!!
Water Temp: 54-60
Inflow (cfs): 1212
Outflow (cfs): 1195
Lake Elevation: 7483′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 7-5 Lake Fork-Open Soon!
We have been doing a lot of work on our web site and have also acquired Bluemesafishing.com. For more frequent fishing reports on Blue Mesa Reservoir, please check out Blue Mesa Fishing Reports. We will updating Blue Mesa Reservoir on this site as well, but not as frequently. We will also do our best to update the following waters: Taylor Reservoir, Morrow Point Reservoir, Eleven Mile, Spinney, and Antero.
The fishing on Blue Mesa has been excellent over the last week with lots and lots of salmon being caught and quite a few trout mixed in. The east end of the lake is warming faster and as a result the fish have been more consistently active. We have a few slots open for Memorial Day weekend, so give us a call if you want a fast action Colorado fishing trip!
Thanks to our friends at Canyon Marine in Penrose, Randy will be guiding out of his new 19′ Lund Tyee pictured below. This boat has a ton of room and maxes out around 54 mph on Blue Mesa!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 10-40 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of points. Crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs have been consistent producers as well as kastmasters, krocodiles, and blue fox spinners. Casting, trolling, and jigging have all been working.
Mackinaw Lake Trout– These fish are in 30-70 feet of water now. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– The kokanee fishing over the last week has been excellent! The surface down to 40 feet is holding the biggest concentrations of fish, but we have found some deeper. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! Make sure you cycle through several different colors and styles and tip these with white shoe peg corn.
May 7, 2012 Blue Mesa Fishing Report: Big Full Moon changes bite..slightly!
Water Temp: 48-50
Inflow (cfs): 1039
Outflow (cfs): 875
Lake Elevation: 7483′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marinas: Elk Creek- Open 7-5 Lake Fork-Closed
Fishing continues to be good across Blue Mesa Reservoir, despite the very bright, full moon! Rainbow trout, brown trout, and lake trout fishing has gotten a little tougher over the last few days, but the kokanee salmon bite has been excellent!
Rainbow & Brown Trout– We have been finding rainbows and browns most consistently in 5-20 feet of water along rip rap shorelines. Crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs have been consistent producers as well as kastmasters, krocodiles, and blue fox spinners. Casting, trolling, and jigging have all been working.
Mackinaw Lake Trout– we are finding these fish in 20-60 feet of water. Fish are roaming several different types of structure right now, but the edges of flats in 40-60 are holding the best numbers of fish. Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.
Kokanee Salmon– Every day has been a little bit different. One day we were catching these fish at 25′ consistently when the clouds moved in and the action DIED! I brought a leadcore up to one color (5′) and the action resumed! About an hour later, the clouds cleared out and our shallow bite died so I dropped a down rigger to 30′ and once again, we were back in the action! These fish move up and down a lot depending on the conditions so don’t lock yourself in to a certain depth. Pinks, oranges, greens, and reds have all been producing on our favorite Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw! Tip these with white shoe peg corn and run them behind a Rocky Mountain Tackle dodger.
*** Come tune your kokanee salmon skills up at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Colorado Springs this Saturday at 12 noon, where we will be giving a seminar on how to consistently find and catch these fish!
April 25, 2012 Colorado Fishing Report: Now it feels like spring on Big Blue!
Water Temp: 48-50
Inflow (cfs): 646
Outflow (cfs): 1277
Lake Elevation: 7484′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Marinas: Closed
Blue Mesa came alive this weekend with nearly as much boat traffic as the 4th of July!!! Fishing was excellent with limits of kokanee being caught as well as some trophy lake trout. Unfortunately, a lot of the bigger fish I heard about being caught were killed including the beautiful monster that I released one week ago. The only reason I am sure it is the same fish is a divot out of the top of this old fish’s tail where some white coloration had grown in. Catch and release works, especially on fish that are 20-40+ years old! That fish gave me a memory I will never forget and the guy who caught it yesterday a memory he will never forget, but the lifetime memories for that fish stop here. PLEASE consider getting a replica if you are fortunate enough to catch a trophy! Replicas last a lot longer and look just as good! I hate to sound like a broken record, but this is very important if we as fishermen and women want to sustain a fishery with trophy lake trout! Check out the trophy lake trout under water release video below!
The surface temps jumped up 5 degrees yesterday and the salmon came up with them! We are finding salmon from the surface down to 40 feet and catching them on the usual array of dodgers, spinners, squids, and spoons. The color changes daily so try several until you dial them in. The trout fishing is still good, but they are going to drop deeper as the water temps rise.
April 16, 2012 Colorado Fishing Report: Now it feels like spring on Big Blue!
Water Temp: 41-43
Inflow (cfs): 708
Outflow (cfs): 886
Lake Elevation: 7485′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Marinas: Closed
The last four days have felt a lot more like spring time conditions, with cold temps, snow, and lots of wind! Fishing has been consistent for all species, although bite windows vary day to day. The weather really fired up the kokanee salmon and on Saturday I thought my sonar was on demo mode because they were EVERYWHERE!!! Last week I had the opportunity to take a couple of my buddies from high school fishing. We had a tough day of fishing in the cold, but were blessed with an incredible fish! This lake trout was very old and as a result, very big! We took very special care in handling her and releasing her and she swam away strong to grow and give somebody else a chance at a memory that we now share! Practice CPR (catch, photo, release) on trophy lake trout because it takes these fish 15-20 years to grow to 20 lbs! If you are blessed with the opportunity to catch a trophy lake trout, handle it with caution. Keep your hands out of its gills. Never hold or weigh it vertically. Support it’s body evenly so that no damage occurs to its vertebrae. We use a cradle to weigh and release our fish. This tool is very handy and protects these awesome specimens! Help us spread the word about protecting these trophy lake trout!
April 9, 2012 Colorado Fishing Report: Blue Mesa is about 100% ice free!!!
Water Temp: 40-44
Inflow (cfs): 938
Outflow (cfs): 662
Lake Elevation: 7485′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Marinas: Closed
Fishing continues to be excellent! All species are biting and the lake is 100% ice free. It’s hard to not find fish! Kokanee are all across the lake in 5-40 fow, rainbows and browns are cruising shallow over deep water and concentrated along rocky shorelines and lake trout have been the toughest to find, but they are showing up on flats, humps, and points as usual. There is now a courtesy dock at Lake Fork and Elk Creek is supposed to have one soon!
April 5, 2012 Colorado Fishing Report: Blue Mesa is about 90% ice free!!!
Water Temp: 39-43
Inflow (cfs): 938
Outflow (cfs): 662
Lake Elevation: 7485′
Boat Ramp Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Marinas: Closed
Today was our third day on the open water and the 2012 season is off to an exciting start! The trout fishing is off the hook, some nice lake trout have been showing up and today we did a number on the kokanee! I anticipate this year to be incredible for kokanee salmon and I think today was just a sneak peak at what the future holds! I have seen some incredibly large schools of salmon in the last few days. Water temps are sitting between 39-43 degrees across the lake and as the water warms the fishing should only get better. Fish are holding in large concentrations in certain areas so keep moving until you start seeing fish on the finder. These areas are changing daily as the fish are moving a lot in search of food so don’t “fish a memory!” Fish rocky shorelines for trout and look in 5-50′ of water for salmon. The lake trout are spread out and at every depth right now so the key is to cover a lot of water to find them. If you want to fill your freezer with salmon or get in on some incredible fishing action give us a call today! Dates are limited!
March 28, 2012 Colorado Fishing Report: Ice out is near or here for most Colorado lakes and reservoirs!!!
An above average warm winter is resulting in earlier than normal ice-out conditions. Antero, 11 Mile, and Blue Mesa are all starting to show areas of fishable open water! I had one last ice trip on Blue Mesa yesterday. We left around noon and I wouldn’t advise anyone getting on Blue Mesa ice any more this year. Taylor still has 30″ of good ice with minimal snow and slush on top. Eleven Mile is about 80% open water and Antero is close to that. ICE OUT is here!!! This is one of the most fun trout action times of the year so, be sure to take advantage of it! Large numbers of hungry fish are going to be cruising shallow looking for an easy meal! If you are interested in a trip now or during some of our peak kokanee fishing times, please call and reserve your preferred date(s) soon because a lot of the better fishing times are booking up fast!
