The area fishing has remained fair to good with fish in their summer patterns. They are using dawn and dusk as prime feeding windows, this trend will continue until the water temperatures start to cool. We are starting to see the area reservoirs are no longer filling and are instead starting to be drawn down which is normal for this time of year. If headed out on the water, be sure to keep your eye on the sky as afternoon thunderstorms, often with strong winds and lightning, can come in quickly and change conditions rapidly on the water. Hope everyone has had a great summer filled with plenty of fishing!
Grand Lake - Boat ramp hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Water temperatures have been 64 to 68 degrees depending on time of day. Fishing for all species has been fair. You will find the best rainbow trout and brown trout action early in the morning right at sunrise. Dynamic J-spec rainbow trout and brown trout colored jerk baits and Kastmaster spoons in silver or gold have been producing fish. Focus on the rocky shoreline areas in 8 to 15 feet of water. Lake trout action has been fair. Look for lake trout in 55 to 100 feet of water. A three inch black tube jig or a twisty tail grub tipped with a small piece of sucker meat has been the most consistent bait. When the bite gets tough in the late mornings switch up to a jigging spoon in glow color to get a few reaction bites. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon.
Williams Fork Reservoir - The east boat ramp hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The water level is 99%. Inflow is 43cfs, outflow is 67cfs. Water clarity is excellent; baits drop out of sight around 15 feet. Surface temperature early morning is 65 warming to 68 mid-day. The kokanee salmon fingerlings that were stocked in the spring have doubled in size and have made their way to all areas of the lake. This new food source has affected the lake trout bite but we’re still finding plenty of biting fish. This year the fish seem to be more scattered and running in smaller groups compared to last season. Early morning we're getting some fish as shallow as 65 feet. When the shallow bite drops off move out to 80 to 90 feet of water. Small tubes tipped with sucker meat jigged with a short lift then a long pause on or just off the bottom is working best for us. Patience and good technique will put a limit of Lake Trout in the boat. Northern pike has been slow. I've heard some reports of a couple fish being caught in the shallow bays. Please practice catch and release on all northern's caught. Rainbow trout haven't been stocked for several years so it's doubtful there's any catchable fish in the lake. The recently stocked kokanee are very small and won't be catchable for a few years. Fishing with Bernie Guide - Randy Hall
Lake Granby - Boat ramp hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Water level is at 95% or approximately 3.5 feet below full. Rainbow trout bite has been fair. Best success for shore anglers is at sunrise and sunset. Little Cleo, Dinner Bell, or Blue Fox spinner worked along the rocky shorelines has been producing fish. Bait fishermen have reported success with Mike’s shrimp eggs and nightcrawlers. Brown trout fishing has been good when conditions are right during the windy evenings. Look for them along the windblown rocky shorelines and mud transition areas. The most consistent lure for brown trout has been a white 2-inch swimbait on a 1/4 ounce jig head. Lake trout bite has remained good. Fish are in 55 to 90 feet of water. A small tube jig or grub in pink, purple or smoke color tipped with fresh sucker meat has been very productive. The keys to success this week have been finding active fish and detecting those light lake trout bites. Stay mobile to find the active fish, and use good quality line with the right weight jig head for your set up for maximum sensitivity. 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