Grand Lake - Already starting to fish a little but different due to the amount of pressure that the fish are seeing. Now that the ice is gaining much needed thickness, a lot of the lake is now possible to access. Hopping around and changing depths seems to be the game right now. On my last guided trip, I drilled roughly 60 holes that day to find that special depth and structure. The rainbows and brows have still been in the shallows (5-9') but have been sliding off quite a bit deeper as soon as the sun starts to penetrate the ice. Once the sun rises, we tend to do better in the 20-25 foot range. By far, the most productive baits for us have been the CLAM Leech Flutter Spoon or a small Simcoe Bug by SiFlies tipped with a waxworm or spike (I like spikes because they last longer). When fishing the deep water, pay special attention to the entire water column because the rainbows have a tendency to come in suspended and that is a really fun bite. The lake trout have been pretty active as of late despite the crowds. All fish we caught in the past week were on small tube jigs tipped with a piece of sucker meat. Color didnt seems to matter just as long at the jig was fished as slow as possible and touching the bottom on every jig stroke. Again, start a bit shallower in the early morning (20-30') and slide off into the depths (40-70') as the sun hits the ice. The bite has generally been tapering off around 11:00 am. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Jake Foos
Williams Fork - We have had some crisp and cold days in the negatives and ice has been growing well. 8-10" of good ice with minimal snow pack, there is some slush pockets around the west end but most of the lake is easy traveling. The road grader made its way around the lake so parking has been much easier with more options. Top producing baits have still been small jig heads with meat, flutter spoons, and tube jigs. I have seen some good action from fish chasing far up the water collum but it has been day by day. If fish are chasing vertical then 3-8" flukes have been getting lots of attention but the hook up ratio has been low. Depth ranges from 40-70FOW have been the most productive zones for my groups this week. Fishing with Bernie Guide, Rhett Feltman.
Lake Granby - Ice conditions vary lake wide right now. We are seeing 4” to 10” of ice depending on location, with quite a few slush pockets for this early in the season. Also starting to see some ice heaves as the ice sheet grows, be very cautious traveling on this early ice and have your safety gear on hand. Fishing has been good for all species. Rainbow trout are being caught in water under 8’ on small spoons, or tungsten jigs tipped with a wax worm, chartreuse or pink have been best colors. Target the areas where water is moving into the lake. Brown trout are biting best along the rocky shorelines, black maribou jigs or 1.5” tube jigs worked just off bottom tight to the rocks has been most consistent. Lake trout - currently catching fish at various depths 20’-65’. Key has been moving to find the active fish. Most productive baits right now have been dark colored plastics such as tubes, grubs and minnow imitations. Tipping with sucker or using a scent does not seem to matter if you are in the right location. 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
