Ice fishing season is in full swing in the area. Fishing is good on all our local water, but stay vigilant as we have warm temperatures in the forecast and conditions can change fast! Stay safe and get your ice fishing time in now as spring is already knocking on the door!
Grand Lake - The ice is averaging 12-14” in most of the popular fishing spots and right now you can walk out or ride an ATV/Snowmobile with ease. There are a couple of dangerous areas that still exist and they are in front of the bridge where the pump canal feeds into the lake as well as in front of the East Portal outlet portal. Please use extreme caution of you are going to be fishing in these areas because if the water is pumping, these areas will most likely have open water of have just a thin skim of ice on top. The rainbow and trout fishing has remained consistent with the best bite being very early in the morning. Plan on getting to your location before the sun beats down on the ice for the opportunities. Right now, small jigs tipped with wax worms are producing the best results. The CLAM Caviar, Dropkick and Maggot Drop have been producing but don’t be afraid to drop a finesse presentation with just bait. Most of the rainbow and brown trout are being caught within about 25 feet from the shore or in front of the lake houses. The lake trout fishing is also very good right now with most of the fish being taken in about 45-75 feet of water. Any small soft plastic tipped with a very small piece of sucker meat and smothered with crawfish or shrimp scent will bring fish topside. The colors we recommend are pearl, brown and of course dark green. If you are not seeing a lot of action, move up or down the slope into shallower or deeper water to understand at what depth the majority of the fish are feeding in. As always, keep your eye out for suspended fish if you plan on fishing in deeper water that is over 75’. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Jake Foos.
Williams Fork Reservoir - Water level is 54%. Ice varies from 0 inches to 11 inches, there are open pockets and cracks to avoid as well as the conditions changing from morning to evening. Little to no snow on the lake so walking is easy, might consider ice cleats. Lake trout bite has been very good in 50 to 60 feet of water. Small tube jigs in the 1 to 3 inch range tipped with sucker meat have been producing fish, jigging slowly along the bottom has been effective. When the bite slows down switching to smaller tungsten jigs tipped with sucker meat has often been the answer at producing more bites. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Sam Hochevar.
Lake Granby - Water Level is 61% or approximately 33 feet below full. Ice is holding up for now, shorelines and areas around pressure ridges are getting soft and water logged. Seeing thicknesses from 6 inches to 12 inches depending on location. Travel is easy, very little snow. Top inch plus of ice is getting soft in the afternoons. Rainbow and brown trout fishing is good early and late in the day. Target the rip-rap dam faces and rock to mud transition areas in 15 feet of water and less. Pink Sierra Slammers, Little Cleo Spoons and Psycho Shad have been working well. Lake trout bite has been good. Look for them in 40 to 80 feet of water. Smoke or green colored tubes tipped with a very small piece of sucker have been the most consistent baits, but don’t forget about a glow head jig with dark plastic body if the bite slows. 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
