04-12-2002, 01:40 PM
For those of you thinking about visiting Colorado for some spring fishing, the forecast for some of our empoundments isn't good. Boyd Lake (northern part of state) is still undergoing repairs and is drained down to a mud puddle. However, Carter Lake is full (Berthode, CO) and enticing to all. The trout are biting on just about anything you throw at them, good size, line-stretching ones too.<br> The Dept of Wildlife (DOW) stocked the lake with walleyes during the freeze-over (maybe because the lake didn't entirely freeze). These walleyes were brood stock and were replaced with fresher stock. I was told by a game warden that some of the female walleyes were in the 14-15 lb range with most of them in the 10-12 lb range. 3000 lbs total just waiting for warmer water, its still 46 degrees.<br> North Sterling Reservoir is 2' above full but not really exciting as yet. They closed the outlet and this scattered the schools of catfish, walleye, saugeye and wiper to the far ends of the lake. Trout is slow, bass extremely slow (you'd have time to grow a beard before getting a bite). The cold water is maintaining a slow bite right now, give it another couple of months, then hold on to your jock strap.<br> Jackson Reservoir is also full from snow melt but the fishing is slow, slow, slow. This empoundment is well-known for its walleye and wiper populations and will be ready for action when the water warms a little bit more.<br> We may be getting good weather right now (forecast is for cloudy skies with a high temp of about 75 today (04-12-02) but we can still get snow through the end of this month and it has snowed into July. Thunderboomers in the afternoon is the norm for a few months with rain at "any" time.<br> While I live near Denver, I do get all over the state to visit different fishing spots but prefer the northern portion of the state, just too many places to try and squeeze in in a short time. The lakes at higher elevations are still frozen over and the ice is unsafe so I advise staying away from them for a while yet.<br> I heard through a reliable source that Bonny Reservoir (on the Kansas stateline) is really low and there is difficulty even launching a boat. Scratch that lake for a while yet.<br> Now if you will excuse me, I hear a trout calling me at Carter Lake. A great place to visit. Until next time, John in Colorado.<br><br>