Grand County Fishing Report Week of 1/10/22

Finally! With the recent storms and cold temperatures in the county, Ice Fishing is starting to kick off on the nearby lakes. The snow has put some tremendous weight on the thin ice causing for some very inconsistent ice conditions. We always ask that Ice Anglers please keep in mind that safety comes first when venturing out on the ice and ask not to forget to pack your safety gear. First Aid Kits, Throw Ropes, Spud Bars and making sure that you are properly dressed for the conditions are just a few suggestions to make sure when planning an trip. By looking at the extended forecast, conditions will improve. We are only a couple of weeks away from the 3 Lakes Ice Fishing Contest and we cant wait to see all of the new and familiar faces.

Lake Granby- The lake is completely capped and the ice is very inconsistent throughout the lake. There are areas holing at 3” of ice and there are areas with six inches. Testing the ice as you walk out is very important right now during this phase of the season. Currently, we are NOT seeing many snowmobiles or other off-road vehicles quite yet. Rainbows and Browns have been pretty active in the early mornings before the sun beats down on the ice. These fish are definitely keying on shallow structure like rocks, river channels and points in about 7-15 feet of water. The best presentations for these fish have been small jigs tipped with a wax worm or a small plastic on a dead stick. With the second rod, a search and attractor lure like a Tikka Minnow or Leech flutter spoon have also been producing. The lake trout have been biting fairly well for the guys walking out looking for some deeper water. Most of the fish have been being caught on small tube jigs with a piece of sucker meat in 25-45 feet of water. The early mornings have been best with the bite tapering off around 11:00 am. With the lake gaining more ice on a daily basis, more areas will open up giving more opportunities to target specific areas that hold fish. Please keep in mind that the lake is VERY low this year and areas will fish differently that years past. We suggest that you look at a map and put a game plan together before venturing out. - Fishing with Bernie Guide, Jake Foos

Williams Fork-   Ice conditions are relatively good, some slush pockets are to be found and the ice is anywhere from 3-6" thick that I have found. A spud bar is still going to be essential the next few days as I have heard reports of thin ice near the inlet and around the west end points. Roads are not being maintained around the lake so your best bet is to park in the main lot or near the dam. Most of our snow has been blown off the lake so walking is manageable. The lake has been fishing well for all classes of fish. Small and large fish have been found from 30-50 FOW. The hottest baits have been a bare jig head with an small piece of meat or a spoon jigged aggressively. Lots of fish are showing aggression to baits that are falling towards the bottom. Don't be afraid to quickly pull a bait several feet away from a fish, just to have it fall back down and get hit on the way. Move until you find the fish your after and then work through them until they shut down. At that point you can either wait for a new pod to move in or relocate to fresh fish.  Fishing with Bernie Guide, Rhett Feltman.

Grand Lake-   The ice season has started off strong on Grand Lake. Ice conditions do very throughout the lake but for the most part, we are finding 4-9 inches. Snow has become a problem accessing the water on the East end of the lake but is still very manageable. Rainbows and Browns have been eager to eat small jigs  early in the morning in the shallow water next to shore. The most effective patterns have been 1/16th-1/80th oz jigs like the CLAM Caviar, Drop Kick as well as the Leech Flutter Spoon fished in 5-11 feet of water between 6:00 and 9:00 am. Lake Trout have also been chomping pretty well on 2-3” tube jigs tipped with a small piece of sucker meat in 30-70 feet of water and fished very slowly and as close to the bottom as possible. Please pay special attention to you electronics when fishing for lake trout on Grand because you never know when that hungry suspended fish will come in looking for its next meal. One of our Guides found some brookies the other day while fishing with some clients and that just shows that you never know what you are going to hook into out of this lake. -  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

Grand County Fishing Report Week of 9/27/21

Grand Lake - Boat ramp hours are 6a-6p. All around fishing has been good for all species. Rainbows can been seen hitting the surface all around the lake until mid morning and are biting small spoons and spinners readily. Watch for the rising fish and cast in the general area. Lake trout fishing has been good throughout the day in 35-50' with small spoons being the most productive by far. Tip with sucker meat and jig the bottom. Some fish have been more responsive to aggressive jigging 2-3' off the bottom and tight lined back to the bottom. If they are not being aggressive then slow things way down and jig 2-3" off the bottom. Water temps are cooling off and have been in the mid-high 50s. With over night lows staying in the 30s water temps should be dropping steadily.  - Fishing with Bernie Guide, Rhett Feltman

Williams Fork - Boat ramps closed. Hand launch only.

Lake Granby - Boat ramp hours are 6a-6p. Fishing is picking up for all species as water temps cool. Rainbows and browns are active during the low light hours. Target shallow bays and use small crankbaits or rainbow colored spinners retrieved very slow. Lake trout bite has been best first thing in the morning and tapers off as day goes on. Look for fish in 40-70 ft of water, spoons or tubes in glow colors tipped with sucker are producing strikes. Water level is consistently dropping each day. Use caution traveling around the lake, may be submerged hazards that aren’t marked. — 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 Week of 9/6/21

Grand Lake - Ramp hours are 6am-6pm. Water temps continue to cool and less traffic on the water has helped the bite. Fishing has been fair to good for all species. Rainbow trout and Brown trout bite has been good, fish along shorelines and docks with erratic retrieve of spoon or crankbait, color does not matter but make sure to pay attention on the pause of the lure. Lake trout are being caught in 50-70’ of water, look for them with your electronics then fish on the bottom with small jigs and plastics tipped with sucker, glow colors have been best producers. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon

Williams Fork - The new ramp hours are 7AM to 7PM. Water capacity is 75%. Inflow is 31 cfs, outflow is 275 cfs. The lake is 17 feet low. Surface temp is 63 early AM warming to mid 60's. This will be my final fishing report for the season. The boat ramp will be closing by September 12th or sooner due to low water level. The Lake Trout bite is slow to fair the first half of the day. The fish are up and moving around in the AM but by noon most of them are belly down on the bottom. Look for them in 70 to 100 feet of water. Tubes or small grubs tipped with sucker meat worked slowly on the bottom is working best. Keep your bait moving or a crawdad will get it. Northern Pike are slow but catchable if your very persistent. Early AM and late PM is the best time to fish. Crankbaits, jerk baits or swimbaits fished with an erratic slow to medium retrieve may get hit. Shore fishing for Rainbows is slow due to low population, but as the water continues to cool large resident Rainbows will be feeding along the shore line. Kokanee trolling is very slow as CPW has not stocked the lake since 2019 in an effort to rid the Kokes of gill lice. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Randy H

Lake Granby - Ramp hours are 6am-6pm. Cooling water means the bite is picking up! Lake trout have moved to prespawn locations in 50-70’ of water. Small minnow imitations on a jig head tipped with small piece of sucker has been go to lure, chartreuse or orange colors. Rainbow trout and Brown trout are active and moving shallower, target these fish by trolling spoons and cranks in 12’ of water along shore lines or casting crankbaits and tubes along rocks and transition areas. Great time of the year to be on the water, the elk are talking along the shore of RMNP and fishing is getting better by the day! 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 Week of 8/30/21

Grand Lake - Water temp has started to cool, fishing should start to pick up again in next few weeks. Rainbows and Browns are being caught trolling Tasmanian Devils and spoons in 10-20 ft of water, shore anglers are reporting success around the inlets and town docks on worms fished on bottom. Lake trout are being caught on glow plastics tipped with sucker fished on bottom in 65-100 ft of water, with some suspended fish over the deep water. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon.

Williams Fork - Ramp hours are currently 6AM to 8PM. On September 7th the ramp hours will change to 7AM to 7PM. Water capacity is 79%. In flow is 20 cfs, outflow is 319 cfs. The lake is 14 feet low. Surface temp has cooled to 63 early AM warming to mid 60's. The Lake Trout bite is still slow but it has picked up from last week. The fish are up and moving around a bit more so they've become a little easier to locate. Look for them in 70 to 100 feet of water. Tubes or grubs tipped with sucker meat fished tight to the bottom is working best. Bank fishing for Rainbows is slow but as the water continues to cool large resident Rainbows will cruze the shore line to feed early AM and late PM. Kokanee trolling is very slow due to low population. Northern Pike are also slow. Look for trophy size Pike in 10 to 15 foot of water on sunny days, shallower on cloudy days. Juvenile fish will be close to the shore line out to about 10 foot. Crankbaits, swimbaits, or spinners fished on a slow to medium retrieve are your best bet. Randy H - Guide Fishing with Bernie

Lake Granby - Water temps are starting to cool and fishing should start to pick up soon. Rainbow and Brown trout fishing has been good along the rocks and in the moving water areas of the lake. Fish early or late in the day along shorelines out to 15ft, spoons, spinners and small crankbaits fished in an erratic retrieve will produce bites. Lake trout bite has started to pick up, small tubes and grubs in crayfish colors tipped with a small piece of sucker has been the most productive bait, fish tight to the bottom in 60-80ft of water. 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 Week of 8/23/21

Grand Lake - Fishing has returned to somewhat normal since we have not been getting constant heavy rains. Expect Fair to slow conditions, which can be normal for this time of year on Grand Lake. Focus your best efforts early and late in the day for best success. Lake trout are being caught jigging and trolling with some suspended fish. Use your electronics to locate fish, for suspended fish look for them 70-85’ over the deeper water, trolling downriggers with spoons, squids and dodgers tipped with sucker at the level you are marking the fish. Jigging we are finding fish hugging tight to the bottom in 70-100’ Glow colored plastics tipped with sucker has been producing the most consistent. For rainbows and browns look for them shallow in the inlets early, then deeper later in the day. Small spoons trolled 10-15’ or cast from shore has been working, pink and blue have been the best colors. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon

Williams Fork - Ramp hours are 6AM to 8PM daily. Water capacity is at 86%. Inflow is 21 cfs, outflow is 251 cfs, the lake is 10 feet low. Surface temp has cooled a bit running in the mid 60's early AM warming to the low 70's in the afternoon. The Lake Trout bite has been hit miss with mostly juvenile fish biting. Small tubes or twister type grubs fished in 70 to 100 foot tipped with sucker meat is getting some hits. The fish are holding tight to the bottom and difficult to located a group on sonar. Rainbow and Kokanee fishing is slow mainly due to low numbers. Northern's are pretty tough to come by, but some are being caught in deeper water along the rocks and steep drop offs on jerk baits. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Randy H

Lake Granby - Fishing for all species has slowed a bit with the water temps peaking. The rainbow bite has been best in the early mornings, worms, and bright colored spinners are best producers. Brown Trout bite has really picked up in late evenings and into the night, crankbaits and small tubes worked along rocks has been the pattern. Lake trout are using deep structure to find the cooler water, focus on depths in the 70-90’ range and even deeper if not finding active fish. Bright colored or glow grubs tipped with sucker worked along deeper structure has been producing fish. 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 Week of 8/16/21

Grand Lake - With the lack of heavy rain over the past week fishing and water clarity has improved some. Finding rainbows and browns near the east inlet and in the entrance from Shadow Mountain Res. Bright colored spoons tipped with nightcrawler trolled along the shorelines has been working. Lake trout are in typical summer spots, target 70-110 ft of water, using electronics to show where the fish are. Glow grubs and tubes have been top producers fished right on the bottom tipped with sucker, keep the sucker fresh for best results. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon

Williams Fork - Ramp hours are 6AM to 8PM daily. Water capacity is at 86%. Inflow is 21 cfs, outflow is 251 cfs, the lake is 10 feet low. Surface temp has cooled a bit running in the mid 60's early AM warming to the low 70's in the afternoon. The Lake Trout bite has been hit miss with mostly juvenile fish biting. Small tubes or twister type grubs fished in 70 to 100 foot tipped with sucker meat is getting some hits. The fish are holding tight to the bottom and difficult to located a group on sonar. Rainbow and Kokanee fishing is slow mainly due to low numbers. Northern's are pretty tough to come by, but some are being caught in deeper water along the rocks and steep drop offs on jerk baits. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Randy H

Lake Granby - Fishing for all species has been fair, best bite remains in the early morning before the sun has fully risen. Rainbow trout and brown trout are being caught along the rocky shorelines in 15-20’ of water, trolling spoons and small crankbaits has been most productive. Shore anglers are doing well on nightcrawlers fished just off bottom. Lake trout are scattered throughout the deep depths, use your electronics to find the groups of fish. Finding most fish in 70-90’, go to lures have been those on the smaller side, 2-3” tubes and Powerbait Twitchtail minnow tipped with sucker worked right on the bottom, color depends on the day so have an assortment on hand. Kokanee are being found in 30-40’ suspended over deep structure, try trolling small spinners and spoons through the area to get a few bites. 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 Week of 8/9/2021

Grand Lake - With the heavy rains last week came lots of ash and debris in the lake. Water clarity is minimal and fishing is slow for all species right now.

Williams Fork - Ramp hours are 6AM to 8PM daily. Water capacity is at 88%. Inflow is 60 cfs, out flow is 67 cfs, the lake is 8 feet low. Surface temp is 67 early AM warming to low to mid 70's in the afternoon. Lake Trout have been slow to fair. Groups of fish are difficult to locate on sonar as they are holding tight to the bottom most of the day. Look for them in 70 to 90 feet of water. Patience and frequent moves are key right now. Small plastics or tubes  tipped with sucker meat on the bottom is producing some bites. Rainbow and Kokanee fishing is slow mainly due to low numbers. Northern's are pretty tough to come by, but some are being caught in deeper water along the rocks and steep drop offs. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Randy H.

Lake Granby - Granby weathered the rainy weather better than Grand Lake, the water is cloudy in the area around Stillwater Creek inlet, but other areas of the lake were not effected. Fishing has remained fair to good for all species. Rainbow and Brown trout continue the pattern of biting best during the low light hours, dry flies, wooly buggers and small crankbaits in rainbow trout color worked along rocky shorelines have been producing best. Lake trout have moved to their deep summer spots. Focus on 65-100ft of water, small plastics and jigging spoons tipped with sucker worked on the bottom will produce strikes, color does not seem to matter, but when the fish start looking instead of biting swap to a glow color. 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 Week of 8/2/2021

Grand Lake - Fishing has been fair with the trend continuing that the early morning hours are key to the best bite. Heavy rains have brought in some runoff from the burn area, but has not effected fishing when you get away from north inlet area. Trolling and covering ground has been the key to finding the rainbows and browns. Spoons, spinners and small deep diving cranks fished in 15-30’ of water, change colors until you find the color of the day. Lake trout have continued to move to deep summer pattern with some suspended fish around. Target 65-90’ with tubes, grubs and small minnow imitations jigged right on bottom, and don’t forget the sucker meat, Keep it fresh and change it often. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon

Williams Fork - Ramp hours are 6AM to 8PM. Water capacity is at 87%. Inflow is 36 cfs, outflow is 240 cfs, the lake is 9 feet low. Surface temp is nearly 68 early AM rising to 74 in the main channel on calm sunny days. The Lake Trout bite is fair. Look for them in 60 to 90 feet of water. Small tubes or grubs tipped with sucker meat fished slow on the bottom is getting bites early AM with the bite slowing as the day wears on. The shallow bays are unusually warm. Large Northern's have moved to deeper water. Suspending or jointed baits fished with a slow to medium retrieve is producing follows or an occasional hit. The Northern's have contracted a skin disease that can be transmitted to an uninfected fish via landing nets. Rainbow and Kokanee fishing is slow due to low populations. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Randy H.

Lake Granby - Fishing has remained good despite the warm temps. Rainbow and brown trout are active early and late in the day, target the inlet areas as well as rocks for best action. Crankbaits, small tubes and spoons have produced well, with bait fisherman finding the most success with nightcrawlers. Lake trout are in their summer habitat, look for them in 55-90ft of water. Tubes and grubs fished on the bottom with small piece of sucker has been most productive with bright orange and lighter colors seeing the most action. 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 Week of 7/26/21

Grand Lake - The water temp has officially become the most important factor regarding success for all species on Grand Lake as of late. The pleasure boaters, personal watercraft and rentals have taken over but that does not mean that there is still a great bite to be had, pending Anglers look in the right places and at the right time. The lake trout are definitely spreading out on very deep structure and in some cases, finding the thermocline that best fits them to get through the “Dog Days” of summer. Right now, it takes a lot of moving around and paying special attention to your electronics for maximum success. We have started downsizing our presentations for numbers of bites throughout the day to maximize action. Most of our fish are coming from the 80’ deep range with multiple bites coming suspended over deep water. The good thing about finding suspended fish is that they are very hungry and willing to take a jig. Small jigs like twisters and grubs have been getting all of the action when tipped with a piece of sucker meat. Rainbows and browns continue to produce a steady bite but that means that you have to fish very early in the day. Surface temps are at the highest you will find and these fish go deeper as soon as the sun hits the surface. The best lures for these fish have been a small Leech Flutter Spoon from CLAM Outdoors as well as a drop kick jig that is tipped with a small crawler and is suspended below a slip bobber. —Fishing with Bernie Guide, Jake Foos

Williams Fork - Ramp hours are 6AM to 8PM. Water capacity is at 89% and dropping. Inflow is 122 cfs, out flow is 196 cfs, the lake is 7' low. Visibility is about 12 foot. Surface temp is 66 early AM warming to near mid 70's in the main body on sunny days. The shallow bays are abnormally warm. The lake trout bite is fair (single digit catches per rod). The best bite is early morning, once the sun is high the bite slows until late afternoon. Look for lake trout in 60 to 90 feet of water. Tubes or other plastics tipped with sucker meat fished on the bottom are working best. Due to CPW not stocking Rainbows or Kokes in an effort to rid the lake of gill lice, fishing for both species is slow. Northern's are also slow, but I'm seeing a little activity early AM and late PM on lures worked with a slow to medium retrieve. —Fishing with Bernie Guide, Randy H

Lake Granby - Fishing remains fair to good for all species. Best bite has been in the morning before the storms roll in. Kokanee are being found 20-30’ deep suspended over deep water along Knight Ridge and mouth of Grand Bay. Rainbow trout and Brown trout are being caught along the shorelines, focus on areas where creeks are flowing in and transition areas where rocks meet mud. Small spoons and deep diving crankbaits have been working wel cast from shore or trolled. Lake trout have continued to move deeper as the water warms and are being caught in 60-90ft of water. Bright colored and glow tubes and grubs tipped with a small piece of sucker worked right on the bottom has been most productive baits. — 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 Week of 7/19/21

Grand Lake - Fishing has remained fair to good for all species with the early morning hours being most productive. The best bite for rainbows and browns has been in the east inlet area with pink or orange colored spoons, the fish move deeper the later in the day it gets. Lake trout are being caught in 60-90 ft of water. Jigs with small plastics such as Fuzz-E Grubs or small crappie sized tubes fished along bottom have been producing best, change up colors often till you find one they are biting. The water gets busy late in the morning, plan on hitting the water early for best results. — Fishing with Bernie Guide, Dan Shannon.

Williams Fork - Ramp hours are 6AM to 8PM. Water capacity is at 91%, or 6' low. Inflow is 69 cfs, out flow is 144 cfs. Surface temp is 66 early morning warming to low 70's in the main body. The Lake Trout bite is fair (single digit catches) to good (double digit catches) depending on the day. The bite is consistent early AM then drops off late morning picking up again late afternoon. We are catching in 60 to 80 foot on grubs and tubes tipped with sucker meat. Northern's are slow but I'm seeing good activity early AM and again in the evening. Trophy class Pike have moved to deeper water, juvenile fish can still be found along the shore line. A slow to medium retrieve is producing follows and a few hits. Shore fishing for Rainbows is slow as it trolling for Kokanee due to low populations. —Fishing with Bernie Guide, Randy H

Lake Granby - Water has warmed to the low 70’s by the afternoon hours. Fishing has remained fair to good for all species. Rainbows and browns are being caught along the shorelines and inlet areas in depth’s to 20ft. Spoons fished with an erratic retrieve or small tubes worked along the bottom are go to baits. Lake trout are being caught in 50-85ft. Small plastics tipped with piece of sucker worked on bottom is most consistent bait, color depends on the day, but bright colors have been top producing. Hit the water early the afternoon wind a storms have been rolling in on a consistent basis, be safe and enjoy the great fishing! — 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