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Mike Kennedy, Parker
Neil and Wannee Thompson
Sgt. 1st Class Paul Woempner
Mike Bakarich, Parker
Jon Butler, Master Angler Winner |
SUMMER FISHING
Updated July 21, 2008 -
LATEST REPORT: (Also see individual lakes under "Mikes Report" for more information.)
CHATFIELD RESERVOIR: Chatfield is on it's normal summer pattern. Fishing low light periods for bass or walleye will
be the most productive. You can catch both during the day but most will be small but still be fun to catch; and,
every now and then you can get a nice sized fish. Crayfish is a primary forage for bass so small green
Bitsy Tubes will be a good weapon worked slowly along the bottom. I use scent on most baits I'm fishing slow. If you
want to make sure you
catch something use a 3-inch Yamamoto SENKO, in chartruese, green or brown rigged Wacky style. Wacky rig is when you
put the #2 Gamagatsu G-Lock hook through the middle of the worm with 1/2 of the worm hanging off each side of the hook.
the rig looks pretty wacky; but, as Neil Thompson can confirm from a July 12th trip to the lake, it sure is effective.
Neil caught somewhere between 25 and 50 fish using mostly the wacky rigged Senko near the Massy Draw picnic
area in 5-10 feet of water and near the tower at the dam. Even a 12 or 13 inch smallmouth can be fun to catch. It's hard
to fish a Senko
wrong unless you fish it too fast or too deep. It imulates a worm that has fallen into the water and is very slowly
sinking to the bottom. Because the wacky rig has no weight added (only the weight of the hook and worm), it takes a
long time for it to sink to the bottom. Usually it is most effective in 10-feet or less. If you're not catching fish
off the bottom with the wacky rig, as you are very slowly bringing the lure back, make frequent pauses to allow the worm
to sink a little before continuing to wind the Senko in. Fish suspended in mid water column will frequently nail the
Senko during this mid column fall as you are reeling in. Another good techinque is a Robo worm on a drop-shot rig. A
drop shot rig is when your #2 hook is up on the line about 18-24-inches and you put your weight (a special drop-shot
weight) on the very bottom of the line. This specially designed drop-shot weight is meant to cut your line if the weight
gets hooked on something or caught in the rooks, thus freeing the rest of your rig. One thing you have to remember is to
make sure the line on the rod you are using is heavier, or at least as heavy, as the line of the drop-shot
rig itself. If not, your main line will break and you will lose the entire drop shot rig. Use a floating Robo-worm with
a nose hook in
any brown, green or combination color and dangling it straight down over the side of the boat is a sure bet for your second
rod. You don't need to add scent to either the Senko or the Robo Worm. The salt in the
lure is ample attraction. Walleye: Most people fishing at Chatfield are after the walleye. Without a doubt the best tasting fish in the lake.
The problem with walleye in Chatfield is that they are heavy targeted and the big boys are very cautious. This time of
year fishing at or before first light, at dusk, or during night time hours will be most productive. You can catch walleye
during the day but at least 9 out of 10 fish will be under sized. It is almost impossible for shore fishermen to catch
walleye during the day. Shore fishermen should stick to low light periods. One of the best ways to catch walleye at
Chatfield is to use a bottom bouncer and 2-hook worm harness. Trolling about 1mph (fast enough to make the blade turn
on the worm harness) fish over the old road bed and on the flats that come out of the South side marina area. If you
feel a slight nibble, point your rod toward the fish, giving him a little line allowing him to take the bait before setting
the hook. Do NOT let too much worm hang past the back hook. Another method is to use a curly tail grub tipped with half
a worm worked right on the bottom using slight 6-12 inch jigging action. Again, if you feel something, give them a little
line then tighten up until you feel resistance and set the hook. Please do not keep under sized fish and only take home
what you can use for dinner. Using the bottom bouncer until you locate fish and then switching to the grub and worm can
be your most effective pattern. AURORA RESERVOIR: Water has warmed to the low 70s and trout are moving deep and seem to mostly to be hugging bottom.
While a few weeks ago you could
catch your limit fishing 20-feet or less; now, unless you're fishing very early or very late, you'd better go deeper.
The fish are also hard to find on really hot days out over the 50 foot plus water. There are some fish suspended at
30-feet over deep water but not like earlier in the year. It seems that a large percentage of the fish are staying
right on or near the bottom in 30 to 40 feet of water. Using a bottom bouncer and worm harness was the most effective
technique for trout; walleye; and perch on my last trip out on July 19th. The walleye were under-sized but I got the
nice 18 1/2 inch rainbow on a bottom bouncer in 35-feet of water. Power Bait fishing just above the weeds in 30-40-feet
of water is also effective. I believe the hotter than normal water
and perhaps a shortage of forage fish have most species hunting the bottom for food and cooler water.
You can still get some of the small stocker trout in shallow water but the big boys, and girls, have moved out to
water over 30-feet. In a trip on July 6, 2008, Neil and Wannee
Thompson and I caught our limit of rainbows mostly over 60-70 feet of water with 4 to 5 or more colors out. Generally,
at a speed of 1.5 mph. Using 18-pound lead core your lure will drop about 5-feet per color. Neil and Wannee are shown
here with a nice 18-inch, 2-pound 5-ounce rainbow. If we get a few cooler days and either fry rainbows or a spawn of
minnow or other forage start schooling over the deep water, then deep water trolling (50-feet plus water) will start being
effective again. Some of you who followed my articles in Fishing and Hunting News in the past might recall my explanation of a "We Fish".
A "We Fish" is when your fishing buddy catches a large fish and you don't...that's what you call a "We Fish". "Yeah We
caught a XXXXXXXX (insert fish of choice). Fishing buddy Neil Thompson came up with another good one called the "They Fish".
A they fish is when a big one gets away. Yeah "They" lost a good one. Now if YOU happen to lose a good fish right at
the boat, that's called "Professional Early Release". You didn't want to harm the fish, and you were going to let it go
anyway, so you just let it free itself at the side of the boat. NOTE: Just be careful that your nose don't start growing.
Thanks Neil for the new material." Walleye are still feeding on perch along what I call "Walleye Flats", between Marina and Senac coves; off points and
in the mouths of coves. Most of the time they are hugging the bottom so tight you won't even see them on your electronics,
but they are there. A bottom bouncer with a perch pattern worm harness trailing is your best bet. Don't troll too fast
and you can't hardly troll or drift too slow with a bottom bouncer. I prefer .8 to 1 mph but even a little slower is fine.
Use a 2-hook worm harness and don't let your worm hang out past the stinger hook. If you want a large walleye from the
shallower water you'd better be there when the gates open or fish evenings right up until you have to leave the lake at
closing. Walleye are very light sensitive and as soon as that sun starts getting bright they will slip down to 25-30-feet
or more. During the middle of the day you can still use a bottom bouncer in the deeper water. When you locate fish, go
back and try vertical jigging with a curly tail grub or slab spoon, like a Crippled Herring and tip both with worm or
leech. Your boat will be inspected when you enter the park.
Park rangers, and all of Aurora are concerned about the possible spread of Zebra Musles from Pueblo Reservoir. Make
sure that you have no water in your boat anywhere, motor, live wells,bilge, etc. or they won't let you on the lake.
Also, if you bring minnows keep them in a separate container, don't store them in a boat live well and don't release
unused minnows in the lake. You must discard minnows away from the park.
For more information call the ranger station at 303-690-1286. ext. 1,
then ext. 3 for the fishing report and ext. 5 for a park employee. ELEVEN MILE: Sergeant 1st Class Paul Woempner, Ft. Carson, and I fished Elevenmile Reservoir on May 31st.
It was a beautiful day with calm morning winds and air temps from 44 to 70. Winds picked up in the early afternoon.
Most everyone was fishing the shallow water with bait or lures, and we tried that but with no success.
The fish we caught, only two rainbow trout, were caught trolling over the deeper water 50-60 feet. One fish was caught
using pop-gear and a worm harness
and the other nailed a Lucky Craft Pointer 78 in the Nakita pattern. Elevenmile can be a hit or miss body of water.
You can get skunked but you also can catch the fish of a life time. Contact Larry Falk at the Elevenmile Sports and Marina 719-748-0317. CHERRY CREEK: For information call the Park Office 303-699-3860. JOHN MARTIN: Jon Butler caught this huge 31-pound 3-ounce Drum at John Martin Reservoir in June 08. The fish
won Jon the DOW Master Angler Award for that species. White bass and crappie can be caught off the dam. QUINCY RESERVOIR:
John boats are available for rent call the Quincy ranger station at 303-693-5463. PUEBLO RESERVOIR: A lot of people will stay away from Pueblo this year because of the Zebra Mussles. If you fish Pueblo
then go to other lakes they may not let you in before you completly clean your boat and dry all water. However, anglers
like Jon Butler, pictured on the left with a 17 pound wiper he caught there last year may choose to only fish Pueblo.
Butler caught the huge wiper on a bottom bouncer and worm harness near Bogg's Flats. If you do fish Pueblo, for your own
good as well as those of others. Have cleaning rags and strong cleaners to wipe down all parts of your boat that was
touched by water as you leave the lake. Then, may sure and completely dry your boat inside and out. Assure all water is
gone from live wells, minnow buckets, bilge areas, motors and anywhere else that these creatures can hide. Fail to take
the right precautions and they may build up in your motor or on your boat and cost your a fortune to repair or replace. |
Mike Kennedy, Fishing Enthusiast. Parker, CO.
