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M

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I recently relocated from Northern, MN to Littleton, Co. Ive been driving around the metro and searching the internet for places to ice fish around here and haven't had much luck. So far I have only tried Chatfield and had no luck. I am specifically looking for a place that I don't have to pay a fee just to get on the ice. Being that I am from Minnesota I have never paid to get on the water, and quite frankly I don't feel like starting! I am interested in catching walleye, bluegill, crappie, perch, and pike. I don't mind if its a lake, res, or pond, any advice on where to go would be appreciated!???

Thanks!
 
pistoldog

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#4 ·
Hi MNfish, Colorado has some pretty decent fishing and some good warmwater too.

But...you can't Colorado to Minnesota, different animals.

Different opportunities.

There are a few guys on here who do well warmwater thru the ice, but the easiest game is going to be trout at the mountain lakes if you want to get your ice fishing mojo on.

Also I'm hard pressed to think of a eye and perch lake here that isn't going to be a fee place, we just don't have the Big Winnie, Lake of the Woods, Vermillion and 10,000 other lakes here, so the ones we do have with warmwater species are State Parks with a fee.

Again, I'd change the game up and look at trout and just so you know we don't plow the **** out of every street and side road every time it snows because the sun melts it off in a day or two.

Welcome to Colorado.
 
M

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Discussion Starter · #5 ·
Thanks for the quick replies and the warm welcomes!

The fees are understandable, they just came as a surprise to me. I also noticed that most bait stores in the area aren't stocked with minnows as I am accustomed to in MN. I bought wax worms the other day at discount fishing and hoped for some pan fish at Chatty but like I said, no luck. For those that do ice-fish here, what type of bait is your go-to? Ive seen wax worms, nightcrawler, and artificial but couldn't decide which to go with.
 
dallasdb

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#6 ·
Discount Fishing Tackle is usually stocked with minnows but I've seen people come in and buy 4-6 dozen at a whack. A few of those customers back to back would clean them out.

I haven't had much luck with minnows. Others may have a difference experience but I've only gotten one fish this year using a minnow and it was a dink trout.
 
N

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#9 ·
Welcome to Colorado MNFish and to the site.

Waxies, butterworms and mealworms are all good choices depending on the fishes mood. I'd also check out the regs for each lake you intend on fishing before purchasing live minnows. Not all places allow them as bait.

Good Luck
 
M

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#10 ·
The free lakes around town don't usually let you ice fish on them since they don't get thick enough ice. But for the summer time good freebies I've liked are Thornton Gravel Ponds, Kendrick Lake, Main Reservoir, Hine Lake. But yea for free ice fishing you'll have to go up to the mountains.
 
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