Granby June 29 to Jult 1st

Met my friends Scott and Becky and two of their grandchildren in Granby. The kids caught, cleaned, and ate fish for the first time ever. They like it too! Fishing was pretty slow, but we managed 6-10 a day. Last day I got a 30.5"er. Pretty good trip.

Water temp 60-61. Best depth for big marks, 48ish.

Granby 6/22 to 6/25

Water temp 61ish Lake really full, still rising.

First day was windy from 6am till we got off the lake. Managed 4 fish over 24 inches sharpshooting big marks back in A bay; caught a bunch of dinks too. Some small fish in the channels. Overall a little slow. Next 2 days were slow and windy AF. First and second day the swells were big enough that my trolling motor ripped up from the bow of the boat. First day I just put a new lag bolt in and tightened everything up. Second time it happened I replaced all the hardware with 1/4-20 stainless steel with big fender washers, lock washers, nylon insert nuts, and red lock tight. Even added a few extra bolts. Think it should be good now...

We fished through a hail storm and huge waves..actually felt pretty safe the whole time. Drove around in it a bit. Trimmed the motor up and gave it just enough gas to move as quick as we could without getting on a plane. This kept the bow up really high.

The third day we found big marks in A-bay, we moved around every 10 minutes looking for a new mark. I got 2 really big bites, when I felt the weight of the fish it was like I hooked a stump. Both got off. I did manage to sharp shoot a thick 24"er. Because of this I ordered all the stuff needed to pour my own jigs finally. I also plan on look at a new rod. One that's somewhere in between by St. Croix and Fenwick. The St. Croix is great, nice and light, but I think the tip might be a bit too soft. The Fenwick is super stiff but also heavy AF and feels like it has no tip at all.

Saw some big marks on the 3rd day on the 51 FOW hump right off Shelter. No takers, I'll be back for them :D

Diane and I got our 2018 master angler patches and certs today :D

Used the new bigger net for the first time. Its pretty heavy and does not slide expand like our other net. It is a lot wider and the net is a little deeper. Still not as deep as I would like. The gunwale on my boat are kind of high, I want a net that I can easily hang over the side and keep the fish comfortably in the water while I'm removing hooks, getting ready for pics etc.

Chatfield w/ Satyia 6/17

My buddy Satyia was in town this weeked. Took him to Chatfield hoping the walleye would be stacked up on the roadbed. Didn't really see much on the roadbed so we trolled cranks. Only managed 4 fish. One skinny keeper walleye and a good sized rainbow. Water temp was high 60's iirc.

Epic Granby Trip 6-7 to 6-10

Great fishing trip. Spent the first day at Williams Fork trying to get one of the big fish to bite. Could not get any fish on the point to bite, but did manage to get a 29" to bite on the flat. Next day we fished Granby and had a 50 fish day back in the channels. Nothing big. At the end of the day I decided to check shallower for big ones. Found some big marks and missed a good bite. Next morning I started shallow at Granby. Caught a 33.5" and a 31.5" right away. Went a little deeper in the channels and got 33" :D. Diane hooked a nice 33" too. Next day we managed another 33"! Also hooked a really nice Brook trout in Monarch. The fish was really dark with white tipped fins. Took me a minute of this fishing dragging me around on the float tube to get it in.

Water temp was 57 to 59. Depth was 35 to 50.

Williams Fork June First

Diane and I were supposed to go to Eleven Mile Reservoir this weekend but decided to go to Williams Fork at the very last minute. Eleven Mile is a far drive and we get skunked 50% of the time. Williams Fork is a pretty cool lake that offers the change to catch big Lakers and trophy Pike.

We left for Granby Friday at 3pm. Checked in to our hotel about 5:30. Since it was still early we decided to hit Monarch lake and fish a little. This was my first time to use my float tube. We both caught a couple of brook trout. I caught one that was pretty decent size and put up a good fight.

Next morning we got to Williams Fork at 5:15am! only to discover the boat ramp did not open until 6am. While waiting for the boat ramp to open I started to get the boat ready. It was then I discovered the drivers side windshield was completely broken. Glass was everywhere. I spent the next 45 minutes cleaning up the glass, my hands got cut up and it just sucked overall. I have a replacement on order, should arrive in two weeks, cost $485 :(

I did not let this stop me from fishing. We launched the boat and headed to a spot on the lake I heard about. I then spent the next 1/2 hour mapping this section of the lake with the sonars autocharting feature. Once I found a nice flat in about 50ish feet of water I started seeing huge fish everywhere! We fished for about an hour when I hooked into a HUGE fish. My pole was completely bent double and line was screaming off the reel. I pumped the rod and reeled in some line, huge head shakes, this went on for about two minutes...then the fish was gone!!! I was little bummed, but more just in shock and happy to have the experience. Managed to catch a could of fat 28 inchers. We caught some dinks the next day.

I know have decided I want to make/pour my own jigs. I also want to order some rock tamers for my truck.

Note to self: Some guy caught a 44" pike there that weekend. Pike bite is on.

Memorial Day @ Blue Mesa

What a trip. Had multiple 50 fish days and even a 100 fish day. Caught 12-14 fish between 22" and 32". All the fish there are so fat that anything over 20" looks huge and puts up a good fight. Learned how to sharp shoot Lakers using sonar. Learned you can basically lindy rig for Lakers by dragging a tube really slow. Probably one of the best fishing trips ever.

Granby 5-18 and 5-19

Took my friend Joe fishing at Granby. Water temp was about 45-48. We fished the channels in about 38-40 FOW. Did really well. 35ish fish the first day with one 26". It was just me the second day and I only fished about 2 hours. Got 10 or 11 with one measuring 27.25". The 27"er put up a really good fight, I thought I had hooked into a 30"er.

This weekend I set a new goal for myself. Calling it a 'hat trick'. A fish each in the same day from Granby, Willow Creek, and Williams Fork. The best I have managed so far is a bunch from Granby and one from Willow Creek in the same day.

That weekend I also hit Willow Creek and Williams Fork. Managed one small Rainbow from Willow Creek. We were only at Williams Fork for about 15 minutes before we got blown off.

Granby 5-10 to 5-13

Fished the channels in Granby Thursday to Sunday. Water temp between 42 and 46. Depth about 38-40 feet. Fishing was great, I personally had a 30 fish day on Saturday. Between the wife and I we caught about 90 fish in 3 days. Sunday we went to Williams Fork and tried trolling and got skunked. Also hit up Monarch and Willow Creek in the evening. Caught a small trout on my 9 weight at Willow Creek.

I definitely plan on going back to Williams Fork. I want to target pike but not sure how to do it from my boat with the wind blowing it around. Think I just need a longer casting rod.

Twin Lakes 4-30

Friend from work went to Twin Lakes on my suggestions. They caught four over 30 on fly rods!

Granby 5-5 and 5-6

Water temp: 39-41 Depth: 36'-40'

Great trip. Caught about 65 fish in two days. Diane got at 32.5" and a 27".

Twin Lakes 4-30

Decided to go for big Lakers at Twin Lakes one more time. Kept hoping to catch big Lakers from shore after ice out. I think it can be done but you just have to be there at the right time. Twin Lakes is just too far to keep hitting and hoping for big Lakers. The boat ramp is not even open so you have no choice but to fish from the bank.

That said we still had a great time. We arrived Friday about 6pm. I was really itching to catch my first fist with a fly rod, so that's what I started with. I was using a clouser minnow that was really too big for my rod I think. Either way I caught my fist stocker trout within 10 minutes. This trend continued all weekend. Diane and I both also caught a few on conventional gear. I feel I got a lot better at casting this weekend.

Next I really want to catch something besides stocker rainbows on the fly.