Fishing with Bernie: New Boat Ramp Hours

Great Lake

New boat ramp hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. It was a fair catch for all species. Rainbow and brown trout action is best at sunrise. Dry fly and hopper patterns were produced either with fly equipment or with spinning and bubble equipment. Kastmasters and Little Cleo spoons are also producing fish, the best colors being silver with a bright contrasting color.

The lake trout action has been fair. Look for them in water 50-90 feet deep and pay close attention to electronics, as we see a lot of fish suspended. Glowing grubs and flapping spoons held on the bottom with a small piece of sucker work well with the spoon producing better for those suspended fish when they reel in to them.

Williams Fork

New East Boat Ramp hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The water capacity is 97%, which is just under 2 feet. The inflow is 51 cubic feet per second, and the outflow is 211 cubic feet. The surface temperature was 66 degrees Fahrenheit early in the morning and rising to 68 degrees. Visibility is about 15 feet.

The lake trout bite has been up compared to the slow bite last week. Mixed age groups can be found at 70 to 90 feet at the top or at the bottom of steep slopes. Small tubes, hurricane grubs, or paddletails filled with sucking meat gently fished off the bottom will produce bites. If the sting slows down, start adding scented gel or spray. If you don’t catch the bite, it’s time to act.

Large fish cling very tightly to the bottom (they hide from larger fish), which makes them difficult to locate. But if you find one stopping point, it means there are more fish in the area. Kokanee salmon and rainbow trout are considered slow due to small or non-existent populations. The northern pike is also slow-moving due to low population numbers. The best opportunity for installation is during an approaching storm. Please practice catch and release on all northern pike to help conserve the dwindling resource.

Brown trout are active early in the morning in the inlet and along the rocky cliffs north of the east boat ramp. A small number of three or four Mepps spinners or sinking countdown jerkbaits are producing some fish.

Lake Granby

New boat ramp hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The water level is at 96.5% or approximately 5 feet below full water level. Water temperatures are in the upper 60s and should start to cool as the days get shorter. Fishing for rainbows and browns has been a fair deal. The best rainbow trout action has been in Columbine or Arapahoe Bay.

Trollers report success using cowbells and a spinner tipped with a piece of worm in 12-18 inches of water. For shore anglers, they look for rocky shorelines that are falling fast, and smaller baits like the Dynamic HD Trout or Rapala X-rap in rainbow trout colors are producing bites. Lake trout action has remained good, look for them in 60-100 feet of water. There is better action with dark-colored jigs this week using a small black or pumpkin-colored tube tipped with a sucker as the best productive baits.

Hunting with Bernie has been guiding in Grand County for over 25 years. For more information please check out FishingWithBernie.com,Facebook.com/FishingWithBernie/ Or our Instagram pages @Fishing_With_Bernie @FishingWithAltitude.