[njangler]

HI,
I joined the site so I could get some suggestions on fishing the Arkansas, Granby and the Colorado. I'm familiar with Summit County having gone there for many years to visit my kids in Dillon and Silverthorne. My one son with a couple of teenagers is in the Arvada area. I just sent a couple of spinning rods, reels, Fenwick baseball caps, a paperback on tips for bass, jigs, spinners and a couple of rapalas to them. In the past forum members have been very helpful with suggestions and lure choice. My grandson really wants to catch bass because that is what we fished for here in NJ last Summer ( their first time fishing) but we fished from a boat, here and in CT. My son takes them camping up in the mountains quite a bit but if around Arvada or camping they would be fishing from shore. They just used artificial baits here and we are catch and release only . I'm not looking for any secret spots since loose lips sink ships but any advise that might give them a chance to catch a few. It seems like that SM would be easier to find than LM as a primary target while sunnies and perch help to fill in the catching doldrums especially for novice anglers. I did notice a State Park with ponds about 30 miles north that a member commented about and I researched the gravel pits East of them but look to get a lot of pressure, especially with bait. Any suggestions would be appreciated either on the post or as a conversation.
Thanks

 

[kirbydog]

If you're looking to fish open water then rivers below the dam of a reservoir are decent places to try.

If your looking to fish a lake then Pueblo is the only game out there. Some front range lakes have opened up with the recent warm weather but next week looks COLD and Pueblo will once again be the only lake with open water. Be advised, the bank fishing at Pueblo is hard, especially this time of year, much better if you have a boat, kayak, etc. Its still tough fishing but if out grind it out there are fish to be caught. Hope this helps.

 

[njangler]

If you're looking to fish open water then rivers below the dam of a reservoir are decent places to try.

If your looking to fish a lake then Pueblo is the only game out there. Some front range lakes have opened up with the recent warm weather but next week looks COLD and Pueblo will once again be the only lake with open water. Be advised, the bank fishing at Pueblo is hard, especially this time of year, much better if you have a boat, kayak, etc. Its still tough fishing but if out grind it out there are fish to be caught. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your reply and every little bit helps. I think that cold water fishing would probably be a challenge unless I had them fishing here, I think their chances would go up with 60 +/- 5 degree water temps.
The outflow below a dam is a good start, in fact that is one of the spots I would fish when visiting, the Blue River coming out of Dillon but that was for trout. I noticed that Chitty has an outflow and that looks like it's about 45 minutes South of them?
Below is a picture that I took (2019) of what I think is Standley, only a few minutes away, and it looked like it might be fishable from shore but as you can see I was a distance from the water.

 

[djengle]

Below is a picture that I took (2019) of what I think is Standley, only a few minutes away, and it looked like it might be fishable from shore but as you can see I was a distance from the water.

I fish at Standley Lake several times last year. There is a good stretch that is open bank fishing. In another few week they bring out the mini docks you can get a few feet out from the bank. Caught a few good size trout last year.

 

[longcruise]

Try Arvada reservoir. Rainbows, smallmouth, walleye.