Every fall as the nights get cooler, I relish the thought of putting on my waders and casting floating stickbaits like the Sebile "Koolie Minnow"around the inlets of my favorite reservoirs. While Brown Trout are spawning they will still hit a stickbait presented over their heads. I grew up without a boat and learned how and when to catch certain species from the shore.
It all started in the late 1970’s at the Delaney Buttes and Dillon Reservoir at night in the fall. We would go out just before dark and throw everything in our tackle boxes at them. Eventually we started putting together a pattern that just seemed to work. We have refined it over the years, so here are the basics of what we have been doing.Starting in late September, Brown Trout stage at or near their spawning areas. We have always worn waders whether we needed them or not. Waders will keep you dry and warm and although we typically do not wade in the water, you never know when you’ll need to get wet.

This lake Granby area fishing report is being brought to you by “Fishing with Bernie”.The weather has cooled a bit and the bite has been getting better every week. The Kokanee in Wolford reservoir are starting to school up and a few are being caught by trolling lead-core or down riggers. PK spoons and Dodgers with squid imitations caught a few last week. Rainbows, Kokanee and browns are biting spoons and flies at Shadow Mountain, fish them just above the weeds in the evening and morning periods. The Lake trout in Granby and Grand lake are still biting, the trick is finding them. Tube jigs and twister tails tipped with sucker meat or a small piece of "Gulp" baits seem to trigger a few more strikes then a bait less presentation. One of the keys to deep water jigging is a sharp strong hook. TroKar hooks have been responsible for landing 90% of the fish in my boat this summer. The streams in Rocky mountain national park, and Winter park are fishing very well during the afternoon wins with Grasshopper patterns.

This lake Granby area fishing report is being brought to you by “Fishing with Bernie”. The heat has driven people into the mountains. I have noticed people from up here are ducking into air cooled areas about noon and the people from the lower elevations are still thinking its cool at 2pm. The rainbows and browns are becoming increasingly harder to catch in Lake Granby, while the lake trout are still biting albeit not very much. Trolling small spoons on Shadow mountain and Grand lake are still producing rainbows and a few Kokanee. The rivers around Rocky Mountain national park are still fishing very well for brook trout in the evenings. The grasshoppers are starting to jump in the Frazier river through Winter park and the trout are eager to eat them. Bernie Keefe has been a fishing guide on Lake Granby for 15 years. Contact him through his websitewww.fishingwithbernie.com

This Lake Granby area fishing report has been brought to you by "Fishing with Bernie". The run off is about over and the bugs are hatching on the rivers. The Frazier river through Winter Park is fishing well for brookies and rainbows. The Colorado river through Rocky mountain national park is fishing excellent for brook trout and the Tonahuto and Adams creek near Grand lake is fishing very well for brookies. Grand lake still has some brown trout hanging around the shoreline as well as a lot of rainbow are being caught also. Shadow mountain spillway and the river below it is producing browns, rainbows and a few lake trout with lures early and late. There are some kokanee biting jigs and waxworms under a bobber very early in the morning. The rainbows and browns in Granby have moved a little further off the shoreline in the lakes but are still catchable. Worms and powerbait are producing rainbows, the browns are still eating rapalas and crawdad imitations. The Lake trout have continued their downward descent into the depths. They can still be caught trolling plugs or jigging. Tube jigs with a small piece of sucker meat have been working well.

After having my boat on the water for over a month, I have decided it is one of the better boats I have owned. It is a Crestliner 1850 Fishhawk with a 150 Mercury Verado, lowrance HDS 10 and a Minnkota 101 I-Pilot.

We have had a great Spring bite and the fish have been hungry. The early spring trips mainly consist of fishing for Lake trout (really no kidding) and Browns. This spring we have caught an abnormal amount of browns around 21 inches. This is also the time where the Lake Trout are moving into colder and deeper water!