[fishfreak53]

Hey Folks!

My wife and I just moved to Divide from northern Michigan and are looking to get our lines wet this weekend. I've been ice fishing the Midwest since I was a kid, but am not too familiar with the tips, tricks, gear set ups, baits, dos, donts, or specific regulations for colorado ice fishing. My background is with panfish, walleye, and perch so trout is something new for me.

Could anybody point us in the right direction for some fun action this weekend? We don't mind driving to a good lake. Looking for more quantity than quality since the wife's relatively new to ice fishing. If you could give a general bait presentation description that would be great as well!

Also, are atv's allowed on the ice? Any lakes have ice thick enough yet?

Thanks guys and gals for any help or recommendations!

 

[shutupandfish]

Welcome! I'm not too familiar with the divide area, but you will be surrounded by lots of trout! Elevenmile and Antero are real close to you. You can fish for them kinda like you would panfish... jigs and spoons tipped with shrimp or waxworms. Anywhere from 5-30' can be productive, and they can be anywhere in the water column. As far as atvs go, rules vary from lake to lake. Most don't allow them...

 

[fishmanlee]

Elevenmile, which is a lake you'll want to get know, is not far away at all and it wS just stocked with awhe sheep load of trout this week. Set up camp near the marina area and ya'l be in da fish

 

[TthePikester]

11 Mile Ice Tournaments start tomorrow, I would wait to venture out there until next weekend!

http://www.11milesports.com/

 

[fishfreak53]

Thanks guys! What size jigs and spoons? What pound line? Are they pretty light biters?

 

[tl1000r]

go to antero, find a weed edge and go to town with shiny or pink jigs tipped with butterworms. i run 10pd test. id run at least that at the mile or youll be donating lures. antero can keep you busy.
welcome to colo and the site.

 

[fishfreak53]

Any recommendations on where to fish antero? North? South? Any place I can get some bait and tackle without going to the springs? What time of day is common fishing hours? Is it a long hike to the fishing areas? My shanty is attached to my atv, are they allowed?

 

[fishfreak53]

Thanks for all the info so far everyone!

 

[boondock]

ATV's allowed on twin
Think thats the only one semi close to ya
No ATV's on any of the south park lakes.

 

[aofisher]

Any recommendations on where to fish antero? North? South? Any place I can get some bait and tackle without going to the springs? What time of day is common fishing hours? Is it a long hike to the fishing areas? My shanty is attached to my atv, are they allowed?

I would recommend the south shore by the dam if you are new to the lake. Anywhere deeper than 10 ft usually holds fish, but they can be shallower against the shore at the dam too. Small tube jigs (2" or less) or small marabou jigs are my go to lures. Tip the jigs with waxworms. Dead stick one rod, jig the other one. Others prefer hard baits: small lipless cranks, kastmasters, or spoons. Jig those somewhat aggressively to attract fish and slow down the presentation when you see fish on the sonar. If you don't get bit within 20 minutes, move. You don't have to move very far most of the time. I'll usually drill a set of 6-12 holes in a 15-20 yard squared area and go from hole to hole. Move from that set of holes if you don't get bit after a while. GL

 

[aofisher]

I forgot to say, make sure your dead stick rods are secured. The smaller fish usually bite pretty lightly, but some of the fish (especially the larger ones) like to run. A friend of mine lost a combo with a Shimano Stradic Ci4 there in November... Luckily, the fish ran into my line later and I was able to pull both his combo and the fish in.

 

[fishfreak53]

Thanks for the great tips aofisher! Are there any bait shops near the reservoir?

 

[aofisher]

Thanks for the great tips aofisher! Are there any bait shops near the reservoir?

Not sure about bait shops but some of the gas stations in Fairplay have waxworms. Actually, if you have shrimp in your fridge, that works too. Just put a small piece on your jig for scent. You shouldn't need more than 3 shrimps for a day of fishing. If you go through more than that, you are using too much shrimp. Most of the time, that's what I use for trout in the mountains.

 

[fishfreak53]

Thanks. I'm going to have to pick up some smaller tube jigs, the ones I have are larger for pike/bass. What time of day are the hot bites? Are they an early morning only fish?

 

[aofisher]

Thanks. I'm going to have to pick up some smaller tube jigs, the ones I have are larger for pike/bass. What time of day are the hot bites? Are they an early morning only fish?

Antero usually has a hot bite early in the morning, but it can bite throughout the day too.

 

[shutupandfish]

Thanks. I'm going to have to pick up some smaller tube jigs, the ones I have are larger for pike/bass. What time of day are the hot bites? Are they an early morning only fish?

In my experience, trout typically bite best early in the morning, and then taper off as the day goes on. But I have had the opposite happen as well.

 

[tl1000r]

all good info. really anywere on anteros good. small white or pink tubes, ratsos tipped with butterworms. jig a kastmaster, in gold. theyll slam it, great fun to watch also. bc at antero you can sight fish most of the lake so youll know when your in the right spot.
also get there presunup. be setup for when the sun comes up..... a good deadsticks good but, imo nothing lke a slam while jigging. while most are 16 to 18ers. they are quite spunky. id like to think a few bigguns are still lurking.
if your exploring, look for good weeds. find a edge or line and fish it. theyll come by. sometimes in groups of five to ten.
i run 10lb flouro bc i dont want to donate lures to the lake.
co tacklepro off 24 has bait and lures youd need.

 

[lvrider]

The only thing I would add is to put a spring bobber strike indicator on your dead stick. Trout bite very light.

X2 on colorado tackle pro.I love their custom micro ice jigs.

 

[fishfreak53]

Just wanted to say Thanks for all the great info everybody. Had a great day fishing on antero and a great meal to top it all off. We hooked on to 10 fish but only managed to get 6 on ice. It was Her first time so she lost a few learning the ropes. Ive got the day off tomorrow so I'm going to try it again tomorrow morning.

 

[Opry99er]

OH HELL YEA, MANG!!!! GREAT WORK!