ANTERO RESERVOIR — Between the tumultuous winds and record high-country snowpack, it’s reasonable to call this spring a rough one for fishermen. But the light at the end of the tunnel could very well be a chrome-sided rainbow.
Truth be told, the fishing hasn’t been half bad for those willing to layer up in element-proof outerwear and find an unfrozen pool to wade. Most of those would be south of Grand County, where thin ice clings to a withering sovereignty in places like Grand Lake and Williams Fork Reservoir. The slow rise of area rivers this spring has offered a good early-season option, although cold water has held back prolific insect hatches.
And then there is South Park.
Never known for postcard-perfect weather, the windswept region surrounding the tiny town of Hartsel still somehow manages to attract a lopsided amount of attention come spring. The reason amounts to a trilogy of South Platte storage facilities by the name of Antero, Spinney Mountain and Eleven Mile reservoirs.
And while the term “storage” implies water, those in the know understand that it doubles as a reference to football-sized fish. Of the three, though, none can compare with the reputation Antero has earned as the top of the food chain for oversized trout.
“What you have here that you don’t have at other lakes is that opportunity to catch those smoking big fish,” said Nathan Zelinsky, operator of Tightline Outdoors and a former competitive walleye fisherman who grew up fishing Antero. “Over at Spinney, you catch a lot of fish, but catching that fish over 22 inches is tough. I like to fish here because they fight harder and you’ve got a good chance for those big fish. You’ll get a 26- or 28-inch fish every couple trips.”
Zelinsky, who guides on the lake several times a week (), has landed (and released) a 14-pound trout taped at 30 inches in Antero.
But it isn’t just the big fish crowd that’s attracted to the first reservoir in the South Platte River chain. Because you’re allowed to fish with live bait and keep two trout of any size, the meat fishing mob looking to pluck a plump meal remains a regular along the shoreline.
And, with confused stocker trout currently stacked up on the boat ramp in a futile attempt to spawn, the fishermen don’t have far to go.
“It’s just been ridiculous all day,” said Zach Joslyn of Denver, as his twin brother, Dillon, hoisted up a 30-pound string of fish caught with the help of friends Casey Jones and Dexter Galley. “We’ve been here three times since Easter and every day has been pretty good, but not like today. I think our biggest fish today is probably over 6 pounds.”
That was Monday, which is noteworthy not only for the quality fishing harvest, but for a couple other reasons as well. That’s also when Denver Water began gradually drawing down water in the already shallow reservoir by two vertical feet over the next month. The drawdown, done to reduce water pressure and seepage on an antiquated dam, coincides with the opening of boating season at Antero. And some believe it could have a significant impact on both boating and the fishery itself as the season progresses.
“I’d say 50 percent of this lake is only 8-10 feet deep or less. When they lower this lake two feet, it will make a big difference,” Zelinsky said. “Obviously it’s going to shut down a lot of areas to boat fishing. But anytime you get lower water, you get more sunlight penetration, so we’re going to get more weed growth. Usually weed growth is great for this lake, because we get more scuds. But this year, with two vertical feet less, it’s almost going to be choke-out type weeds. A lot of these areas aren’t going to hold fish because the weeds are going to be too thick for them. It’s definitely going to change the game.”
Zelinsky’s advice is to get to Antero early this season, before the impacts of the drawdown begin to be felt by the fishery in mid-June or July. Boating will likely become tricky by then as well, potentially even affecting the confined south launch ramp.
For better or worse, the timing of an early Antero trip overlaps with a late spawn that has trout scattered around the lake. Fish gathered along the shoreline are being caught on worms, tube jigs and scuds and egg pattern flies. Trolling with Tasmanian Devil spoons in deeper water was successful Monday when the afternoon winds picked up and the natural food sources were jostled from the weed beds.
“Your whole spawn is going to stretch out six weeks by the time you have pre-spawn, spawn and post-spawning fish,” Zelinksy said. “The magic happens in mid-late May, when all of it is done and they all group back together. That’s when you just crush them.”
