Thanks to everyone that came to fish the 3 Lakes ice fishing contest. By now the fish have settled down and will eat. Lake Granby is fishing very good for all species. Rainbows and browns are being caught in water less then 15 feet deep on small jigs tipped with wax worms. Spoons are a great attractor. Most Lake trout are being caught at 40-70 feet of water. Tube jigs, hair jigs, spoons, and plain jig heads tipped with a small piece of sucker meat are enticing bites.
Williams Fork, The fishing dropped off a bit this week, but there are still plenty of 12-17” lake trout being caught on the usual baits. Focus on structure in 35-65 feet of water for the best action. Tube jigs tipped with sucker meat and various jigging spoons are consistently producing a few strikes. Smaller baits like bare jigheads with a chunk of sucker and gulp minnows are also catching a few. The key is moving around to find the highest concentrations of fish. Bigger lakers have been tough to entice recently but there is always the possibility of a trophy at this lake. The best tactic for rainbows has been to fish early in the day in shallow water in one of the bays with micro jigs or crappie tubes. A few pike are also being caught in shallow water bays but action for them is hit or miss.
The ice is about 12-14 inches thick across most of the lake with a slightly thinner area near the dam. There is still about 6 inches of snow on top of the ice. There is still no slush anywhere on the lake. Tucker Bamford
Grand Lake, The Rainbow trout and Brown trout continue to be active and hungry with the best bite being early and late in the day. They are being found between 8ft and 16ft of water depending on time of day and are being caught on a variety of baits, but the Leech Flutter Spoon by Clam tipped with a wax worm has been my go to bait. Lake trout are being caught all over the lake, but it takes some diligence and searching. Get out drill some holes and use that Vexilar to determine where the Lake trout are and what their mood is for the day, seems to change every day. Ice is in good shape on the town side of the lake, use caution if venturing out, and beware of the areas with moving water, as the ice varies significantly there compared to rest of lake!. Be safe and good luck. Dan Shannon, Guide – Fishing with Bernie
