St. Vrain Angler

Current Fishing Reports

Front Range Warm Water Fishing

The Front Range of Colorado is blessed with a number of warm water impoundments. While there are very few natural lakes, the growth in Colorado during the past century has created a demand for gravel. The spots gravel comes from become large holes in the ground, and when the holes are filled with water habitat for bugs, frogs, turtles, birds, raccoons and other critters is created. Oh yeah, it also creates excellent habitat for fish of the warm water variety!

The Gravel Pits of the Front Range positively teem with bass, bluegill, sunfish, rock bass, carp, crappie and sometimes, perch. Recently, wipers have been successfully stocked in many impoundments and offer fantastic streamer fishing for fast, tough fish. These impoundments area a great place to take kids or folks who are just getting started fly fishing. Bluegills and sunfish are the finest fish going to show someone how to hook, play and land a fish on a fly rod.

The other nice thing about gravel pits is that there are lots of them. This means that you are not far from a spot to do some warm water fishing! That is good new. While we often find ourselves feeling like we don't have time to go fishing enough - it is rare that someone comes in the shops to say they've just been fishing far too often - the convenience of warm water spots waylays the time excuse. When time is tight but the urge is strong, take a spouse, a kid, a neighbor or friend who has been asking you about this fly fishing stuff to a local pond and let them see how you cast, hook, play and release fish.

Warm water ponds may fished in a variety of ways, from walking the banks hunting for cover and likely looking spots, to getting geared up with waders to wade or tube. Fishing from a float ring is a pleasant way to spend a few hours after work during Spring and Summer weekdays. Use the boat to get off the bank and fish back to it; slowly cruise around while you let the fly drag along behind, hunting for fish. Kick out to islands, down trees or some other structure to get to spots that can't be reached from shore. Watch for underwater structure such as gravel bars, sunken Christmas trees, which have been planted by local bass organizations, and so on. See how close you can get to a family of cruising geese.

Let's talk a bit about the fish, how to catch them and what flies should work.

Bass - usually Largemouth - are found in most of the gravel pits in the area. Many folks who presently live and fish in Colorado grew up in areas of the country where bass were king of the waters. Largemouth bass are aggressive feeding machines. They apparently live to eat whoever they can get their large mouths around. As a result, they can readily be caught on flies. Bass like warm water. When the ponds get to somewhere over 60 degrees, there's a pretty good chance bass will be on the prowl. Try fishing with a floating fly line on a 6-weight rod. Use a short leader of 7-1/2 feet that tapers to about 3-4X. For flies, try small poppers, large dry flies such as stimulators, hoppers and so on, and streamer patterns. We like Zonkers in white, olive and black; buggers also work just fine. Bass don't pass on crawdads, so try fishing brown and orange flies, including crawdad imitations. You might want to use a sink tip fly line for the streamers and sinking flies. There are times when bass get a bit picky and size 8-14 Zug Bugs, Prince Nymphs and other peacock-bodied flies produce well. When you see blue and olive damsel flies buzzing the edges of a pond, try a damsel nymph fished just below the surface. Vary how the fly is retrieved. If fast strips don't work, try something slower; if large flies are slow, try something smaller. The point is: keep trying!

Bluegill, sunfish, perch, rock bass and crappie will often feed on the same critters bass do, so similar flies will also work. Due to the fact that the mouths of these fish are smaller, flies tied on smaller hooks may be more productive. Hare's ear and peacock soft hackles, small buggers and humpy, Wulff and other dry flies work great. Crappie seem to like lighter colored flies. If you know you're in an area that has lots of crappie and/or perch, try fishing a chartreuse, white or light gray Clouser minnow patterns in various sizes. When "panfish" are on the feed, it is difficult to keep them off a hook. It has been said that if bluegill got to be 5 pounds big, no one would fish for anything else. I'm not sure that is completely true, but all of the panfish are scrappy, willing denizens that are fun to catch. Try using your lightest outfit when you fish for panfish.

Carp are not what they seem, which to lots of folks is bottom dwelling muck suckers. They are actually one of the more difficult species of warm water fish to catch. Carp will eat a fly that is carefully presented, and when they are hooked, hold on for one of the best fights you'll ever have in warm water. These guys are tough and strong! You'll have to decide to fish for carp on purpose, and the first time you try you'll probably want to look over your shoulder to be sure no one you know is watching. After awhile, though, you might come out of the closet and freely admit that you are, in fact, a carp fisherman and proud of it. Try fishing for carp with small nymphs and buggers, as well as light colored dry flies and Hornberg patterns. You can fish a Hornberg wet or dry and the fly is usually pretty visible in the water. Cast it in front of your carp and watch for the fish to put the fly in its mouth. When it does, set the hook right now, because they'll know its a fake pretty quickly. The catch-22 for me is that after refusing my Hornberg - or spitting it out if I missed the take - a carp will swim to the edge of the lake and eat a gum wrapper. I tend to watch over my shoulder to be sure my friends don't see me being outsmarted by a fish that'll reject a fly, and then eat trash. Just don't spread it around, okay? Fish for carp with any gear you have. Light stuff is fun, medium rods and lines are more realistic for larger fish, and so on.

Wipers, as mentioned earlier, are a relative newcomer to Colorado lakes. A welcome one, too. This is a fish that often feeds in packs near the surface, slashing away at schools of shad and other baitfish. Wipers are a good fish to hunt from a tube or other floating device, including a canoe or small trolling boat. You can wait for them to come to you, or you can chase them around the lake. When you see a school of wipers crashing baitfish, don't wait to make a cast: cast now! Fishing for these guys is good practice for saltwater fishing, and great fun all by itself. For gear and flies, try a 6-weight outfit with a fluorocarbon tippet of about 2X. Flies should be 1-3 inches long and tied in light colors with dark tops. Patterns like Lefty's deceiver, Clouser minnow and Whitlock Shad work well. If the fly is a bit darker on the top, light on the bottom and has some flash in the middle, it has a pretty good chance of fooling a wiper. When you are fishing, keep the rod tip low and strip line. When the fish hits the fly, it is pretty likely to be a savage take which will result in a hookup. If the strike doesn't set the hook, do so with your stripping line hand, not the rod. Commit the rod after the fish is on, then get the line back on the reel as quickly as you can. There's a pretty good chance the line is going to rip, so watch your fingers and have fun, will 'ya?

When you have any questions about warm water fishing - where to go, what to use, and so on, please give us a call: we'd love to help you increase your fishing time by going to close-in spots.

   Longmont: 303-651-6061

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