This middle park fishing report is brought to you by Fishing with Bernie. Lake Granby has been good to excellent for rainbows and browns along the shorelines. Tiny jigs like the Clam drop kick tipped with wax worms in water less then 10'deep should illicit strikes until the sun comes up. Lake trout have started to suspend around the lake. Look for this in 100+ foot of water. The lakers should be suspending 50-70 feet below the ice. Leech flutter spoons, plain janes, marabous and tube jigs should work very well for the next few weeks. We did get a couple new pressure ridges on the ice last week, use caution crossing these.
Williams Fork has been fishing fair to good this week. The weather seems to be the biggest factor. The bite doesn’t last as long on the clear sunny days so make sure to get there early for your best shot at success. The best action for all species has been before 10 AM and after 4 PM, but the lake trout will bite all day sometimes. Folks are still catching the best numbers of lake trout in 40-80 feet of water. The usual baits are doing the trick. Tube jigs with sucker meat, gulp minnows and jigging spoons are all catching a few. Try downsizing on the tough days. Trout and a few pike are still being caught, mostly in the bays in shallow water. Keep moving if you don’t find them right away.
The ice is still solid even with all the warm weather recently. The patchy snow on top is melting quickly though, so make sure to take cleats with you. The daily melt/freeze cycle is making the ice very slick near shore in the mornings. Tucker Bamford, Guide- Fishing with Bernie
Grand Lake - The warm weather last week tried hard to soften up the ice but its holding up strong. Slush is showing up in a few spots, but overall conditions are still great. Fishing for all species has been good, sunrise and sunset are definitely the prime times to be out. Rainbows and browns are being caught with small jigs or spoons tipped with salmon egg or wax worm in depths up to 20 ft, and lake trout are biting on heavier spoons and tube jigs tipped with sucker in 50-70ft of water. Ice season isn’t over here in Middle Park yet, get out and enjoy! Dan Shannon, Guide – Fishing with Bernie
Bernie Keefe has been a fishing guide in the area for over 20 years.
Middle Park fishing report for 2-27-2017
Grand Lake - 2/27/2017
The ice is holding up great despite the warmer temps last week. The top layer that was slush is now frozen and snow covered, though it is still very bumpy I spots from the old slush. Fishing has been varied from fair to excellent depending on the day. Rainbows and browns are being caught all day long on small spoons like the Clam Leech Flutter Spoon tipped with wax worm between 6' and 20' with the best action being early and late. Work the whole water column fish are being found throughout. For the lake trout work depths between 35' and 75', stay mobile and use your Vexilar to find them. When you find one, you should find several. Heavier spoons such as the Reelbait Plane Jane, tipped with sucker has been my go to bait. Dan Shannon - Guide, Fishing with Bernie
Williams Fork has been good this week. The best numbers of lake trout are mostly hanging in the 40-80 foot depth range near the bottom, with a few fish suspended up to 20 feet off the bottom. The fish can be in vastly different locations day to day, so keep moving until you find action. Various colors of large tube jigs are catching most of the quality fish. The smaller fish are eating tubes in the 3 to 3.5 inch range tipped with sucker meat, as well as jigging spoons and other small baits. Pike action is hit or miss. They’ve mostly been in less than 10 feet of water. A few rainbows are being caught in the bays early in the morning, but if you’re after fast action you may be better off chasing down the lake trout.
The ice is still about 14” in most areas, but gets a bit thinner as you get closer to the dam. The snow on top of the ice has been patchy and only an inch or so deep making it easy to drag the sled anywhere on the lake. The ice is very slick near shore so use caution and take ice cleats if you have them.
Lake Granby has been fishing excellent for lake trout, watch for them to suspend over the deeper water. Tubes, Leech flutter spoons, marabous, Gulp minnows and blade baits have all been working very well. Rainbows and browns are hitting small baits tipped with wax worms in shallow water early in the morning or right before bark. Bernie Keefe has been a fishing guide in the area for over 20 years.
Middle Park fishing report for 2-7-2017
Fishing at Williams Fork has been fair to good depending on the day. Lake trout are still providing the best action in 35-70 feet of water. Most of the fish being caught are in the 12-17” range. Natural color tubes 3” to 3 ½” tipped with sucker meat are drawing the most interest. Gulp minnows, Leech flutter spoons, and various other jigging spoons are also catching a few. You may have to move around a bit to find a good concentration of fish. The big fish bite has been hit or miss lately.
A few rainbows are being caught in shallow water in the mornings with the best action being before 9 AM. Micro jigs tipped with meal works or salmon eggs are a good bet to catch them. Occasional pike are also being caught in the shallow bays, but pike action has been a bit spotty.
The ice is holding at 12-14” in most spots with 4-8” of snow on top depending on where you are on the lake. There are still a ton of deer hanging around near the lake, so don’t forget to drink your coffee before driving through Middle Park. Tucker Bamford, Guide Fishing with Bernie
Grand Lake 2/6
The lake is snow covered and has at least a foot of ice in most places. As usual there is open water and thin ice in the channel area. The bite has slowed from the early season action. For best results fish early and late. Stay mobile till you find the active fish and use those electronics. A variety of depths, locations and lures have been sucessful, but mobility has been they key for all species. Dan Shannon, Guide - Fishing with Bernie
Lake Granby
Rainbow and brown trout fishing is great to excellent in water under 6 feet deep. Clam "dingle drop" tungsten jigs tipped with waxies are working very well. Inside turns with rocks near by seem to produce great numbers early, once the sun hits the ice that bite is over. The lake trout are feeding all day. Use electronics to find the fish then switch up colors and profiles until they bite. This latest snow is causing a little bit of slush again. Bernie Keefe has been a fishing guide in the middle park area for over 20 years.
Middle Park fishing report for 1-30-2017
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
Lake Granby are fishing report for 1-16-2017
Granby has froze over again. This time most of the slush has frozen over also. This gives us 1-4" of good clear ice, 3-6" of water and 4-6" of frozen slush.
Lake Granby are fishing report for 6-2-16
As the water temps continue to climb the trout are still very aggressive. Browns are crushing minnow baits fished along the rocks.
Lake Granby Area Fishing Report 4-25-2016
This middle park fishing report is brought to you by "Fishing with Bernie". Water is opening up along the inlets and shorelines. Ice jigs under bobbers will work very well for trout. Worms along the bottom will entice browns, rainbows and suckers. The rivers are fishing very well with egg and worm patterns. Browns are biting very well at Shadow Mountain reservoir on small crank baits. Bernie Keefe has been a fishing guide in the area for over 20 years. For more info please check out www.fishingwithbernie.com or Facebook fishing with Bernie
Lake Granby Area Fishing Report 2-29-2016
Lake Granby Area Fishing Report 2-29-2016
This middle park fishing report is brought to you by "Fishing with Bernie". We are starting to see spring ice conditions and it should only get better. Large fish have been very tough to entice, the smaller fish have been very eager to please. The lakers have started suspending around the deeper water, 3-4" power minnows and other type minnow baits seem to work well. Rainbows and browns have been in water less then 10' deep. The best bite is early mornings or cloudy days for shallow water fish. The pump canal and interconnecting channel is fishing good with small jigs or flies under a bobber. Shadow Mountain spillway is fishing good for brown trout with jerk baits worked very slow on sunny afternoons. Bernie Keefe has been a fishing guide in the area for over 20 years.
Lake Granby Area Fishing Report 2-21-2016
Lake Granby Area Fishing Report 2-21-2016
The wind and sun has packed down the snow and the most of the slush has froze. We are starting to see spring ice conditions and it should only get better. Lakers have been eating small jigs tipped with sucker meat. The lakers have started suspending around the deeper water, 3-4" power minnows and other type minnow baits seem to work well. Rainbows and browns have been in water less then 20' deep. The best bite is early mornings or cloudy days for shallow water fish. The pump canal and interconnecting channel is fishing good with small jigs or flies under a bobber. Shadow Mountain spillway is fishing good for brown trout with jerk baits worked very slow on sunny afternoons. Bernie Keefe has been a fishing guide in the area for over 20 years.
