COLDWATER: Lake John
Lake John, a shallow North Park impoundment that suffers periodic fish kills in severe winters, makes up for it by growing big fish fast. That’s because the 556-
acre lake sits in an old alkali sink high in nutrients. Trout can grow 8 inches in one summer of feasting on zooplankton, aquatic invertebrates and crayfish, and add another 2 inches in winter. Hence, the DOW sees no need to stock anything bigger than 5-inch “subcatchables” in spring, confident they will reach 13 to 14 inches by October and 14 to 15 inches by the time the ice comes off the following year. There has been no winterkill for two years, and anglers are starting to pull in some big fish. One group using crayfish imitation bass plugs caught rainbows weighing 3 to 8 pounds. Others have been scoring with Gitzits, Thomas Buoyants, Kastmasters and Little Cleos.
WARMWATER: Douglas Reservoir
Douglas Reservoir, a rather bleak and treeless impoundment west of Wellington, has not been featured as a hot spot before but may deserve that honor this week because it is yielding some nice wipers, often to surprised trout fishermen trying to catch stocked rainbows.
Mark Coleman fished the lake three times last week, catching wipers and stocked rainbow trout. He caught two 20-inch wipers on a Rat-L-Trap and another 15-incher while fly-
fishing with a chartreuse-and-white Clouser Minnow. He nailed five stocker trout trolling a small deep-diving Shadrap. Douglas Reservoir, located off Larimer County Road 60 and La Vinda Drive, covers 565 acres. It is stocked with wipers, walleyes, smallmouth bass, channel catfish and rainbow trout. The water level is good, and the boat ramp is usable.
