A cutthroat trout may stand as the icon of Colorado’s aquatic wonders, but the largemouth bass is America’s fish.
More anglers dream of that big ol’ green fish with the bucket mouth than any other, fins down. No matter where they roam, fishermen never lose their love for bass fishin’.
As one of the nation’s premier melting pots, Denver long has attracted a steady stream of immigrants from points south and east. Take Lance Tillotson, for example.
Born in North Carolina, he moved with his parents to Colorado long enough to graduate from Overland High School, returned for a spell to Tobacco Road and finally moved back to Aurora, presumably for good, nine years ago.
At no time did his box of bass plugs leave his side.
“I love fishing farm ponds back home. We used to get some hawgs out of those,” Tillotson said, his gaze drifting wistfully toward a sky painted Carolina blue.
More recently, Tillotson has been touring the gravel pond circuit around Denver’s metro, catching large numbers of fish at places like Thornton’s Sprat Platte Lake. But none of these go much past 13 or 14 inches, barely worthy of being called a bass.
To catch a real fish, something that puts a serious bend in a stout rod, he chooses Quincy Reservoir. Yes, that Quincy Reservoir. The one that also ranks as the best place in the Denver metro area to catch a trout and still holds the area’s premier population of tiger muskies – not to mention a serviceable number of smallmouth bass and bunches of yellow perch.
There are times, when the sun begins to dip behind the mountains and the twinkling lights of the Denver Tech Center sparkle across the lake, that Quincy seems to fairly squirm with life.
Most of the visible activity comes from rainbow trout dimpling for midges so eagerly that the rise rings link together as tightly as the Olympic logo. These Tillotson ignores as the mark of some inferior being. His true prize lurks somewhere below.
Earlier in the afternoon, he tries for them with a variety of soft plastics that he tugs along bottom with a twitching motion that sons of the South must practice in their cradles.
“We can catch bass here all day long, but the real action starts when the sun starts to go down,” he said in a voice that never will lose that certain liquid drawl.
That’s when anglers in the know tie on lures such as buzz baits, surface noisemakers designed to rub a fish with an attitude the wrong way.
Tillotson and his bassin’ buddies tell of occasional 70-fish days at Quincy, orgies made all the more memorable by the fact that the lake average is 2 pounds, with the promise of a 5-pounder waiting at the end of every cast.
“This is just a quality place,” Tillotson said, pushing past stands of cattails that lend the lake an aura of naturalness that belies its location in the midst of the metro.
With its lush shoreline of cottonwoods and willows, Quincy forms a marked contrast to its sister lake in the Aurora Utilities water collection system. Aurora Reservoir, several miles farther east off Quincy Avenue, also boasts a good largemouth population, along with what may be the biggest smallmouth bass in the state.
But in a place without visible structure and similar landmarks, these can be more difficult to find. Both are managed under the umbrella of Aurora Parks and Recreation, with daily or annual fee requirements and strictures against power craft beyond electric motors.
Both have limited hours of operation, generally a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset. Quincy is restricted to artificial flies and lures; all legal angling methods are allowed at Aurora.
Quincy, lined with trees everywhere but along the dam, is best approached from the water. On a magical evening last week, a blend of waders, kickboats and assorted small craft prowled the east end of the lake searching for pre-spawn bass moving into the shallows.
Where tall cottonwoods cast shadows across the water, Tillotson waded past brush piles where long, dark shapes waited to ambush a well-aimed lure.
It almost felt like home.
Listen to Charlie Meyers at 9 a.m. each Saturday on “The Fan Outdoors,” KKFN 950 AM. He can be reached at 303-820-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
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Bass in the shallows
Largemouth and smallmouth bass generally have migrated closer to shore in waters along Colorado’s Front Range, either in a spawn or pre-spawn mode.
You will find them in a variety of locations – at larger reservoirs such as Chatfield, Aurora and Carter, or in a variety of smaller ponds, most notably those formed by former gravel mining operations.
For the best information on public fishing opportunity, consult the pamphlet “Fishing Close to Home,” distributed by the Colorado Division of Wildlife and available at most tackle shops.
