With subzero weather on tap for most mountain reservoirs, Colorado’s ice-fishing scene should heat up quickly, pardon the oxymoron, over the next few days.
Ice depths at Elevenmile Reservoir ranged from 1 to 4 inches Monday, but the temperature plunged to 20 below Monday night.
“We’re growing ice quickly,” said park spokesperson Bernie Wears, who cautioned anglers to take a cautious tack in approaching the big impoundment.
A better early bet might be Tarryall Reservoir, east of Jefferson. Smaller and more shallow, Tarryall will freeze faster for its first ice season in several years. When the lake refilled this summer after being drained for dam repair, Division of Wildlife biologist Jeff Spohn immediately planted 35,000 rainbow trout 10 inches long, along with 8,000 5-inch browns.
“Anglers should get rainbows from 12 to 14 inches this winter. There’s lots of them,” Spohn said. The catch also might include an occasional large brown that drifted down from the creek.
Spohn expects Elevenmile to produce better catches than last winter, including more kokanee salmon in the range of 12 to 14 inches. He advises trying for kokanee near the buoy line toward the dam. Spohn advised anglers trying for Jefferson Lake to use snow machines.
The current cold snap also might put a cover on some Denver-area impoundments. Anglers should be extremely cautious when approaching lakes with newly formed ice.
