Rainbows in lakes and reserviors

1244 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Pike Hunter, Jul 5, 2005

farmer ted

Discussion Starter · Jul 4, 2005

Hi all, I am new to this forum and I hope some of you can help me out.

I grew up in minnesota and fished for bass and northerns (we call pike northerns there, ya know) anyway...I always loved catching these guys because they are like garbage disposals which will eat anything, they get big, and put up a hell of a fight.

So now I've lived in colorado for about 8 years and have just gotten back into fishing. I live in Fort collins and have tried the local areas (horsetooth, riverbend ponds, city park lake, etc) and caught a lot of small largemouth and smallmouth.

Last week I was casting a small spoon from shore in Satanka Cove in Horsetooth reservior and hooked into an 18" Rainbow Trout which I've gotta say was the most incredible fish I've ever caught. And although I typically release fish, I ate that guy and it was delicious.

So now I really want to catch some more good sized rainbows but I really don't know anything about them and haven't been able to find any books or info regarding casting lures and lake fishing for these guys, all the info I can find is on fly fishing.

At this point I don't want to do any fly or river fishing (I'll get there eventually) and I dont use live bait. I like to cast lures from shore and If I can scrounge up a canoe, I'll be able to get out on the water a bit.

If anyone can tell me info such as: How aggresive rainbows are, structure and water temps they like, do they school? lures and techniques to use, and local areas to try, I would greatly appreciate it. If anyone needs info on pike fishing, I will do my best to help...all my experience is in MN and apparently the pike are different here. anyway...thanks and good luck.

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roadkill

· #2 · Jul 4, 2005

i like the yellow w/silverbalde panther martins and i here several members talking bout "tomas boyant" lures

try
http://www.coloradofisherman.com/forum/index.php?topic=1775.0

and
http://www.coloradofisherman.com/forum/index.php?topic=1540.0

also do a search (button at top of page) and try different shearches you will find tons more already posted like the 2 i listed

good luck and welcome to the site

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TroutFishingBear

· #3 · Jul 5, 2005

Rainbow trout, and trout in general, are the easiest to catch of any freshwater fish besides a tiny bluegill IMO, much easier than pike. Its not difficult, although flyfishing purists want you to think it is and that you cannot catch fish except with a perfectly presented fly. That is bull. Rainbows hit anything from small panther martins to spinnerbaits, but your best bet is a medium size lure. Good choices are a 3" or 4" curly tail grub rigged on a 1/4 oz jighead, cast this lure, let it sink to the bottom, and slowly reel it in. Sometimes jigging it a little works too. Color doesn't seem to matter, just select something that is visible and sort of resembles the forage (whether crawdads or in case of you eastern slopers shad). Another good lure is a #6 panther martin, best colors are orange blade with yellow body, solid gold, and solid silver. Cast it out and let it sink to the bottom. Slowly reel it in near the bottom. I'm not a huge fan of spoons (castmasters and crocodiles are especially bad IMO), but a daredevil fished erratically sometimes can be tough to beat. Other good lures include rattletraps, tube jigs, and during icefishing season ratsos and shrimpos. (during icefishing castmasters do work though). Trout are extremely easy to catch and I've caught them on everything from #2 panther martins to #15 panther martins to 6" curly tail grubs. They are good fun, and when caught from the PROPER place are hard to beat on the table.

Enjoy!

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pescado loco

· #4 · Jul 5, 2005

Welcome! Quick question for you or anyone else--How do you get to the shore at Satanka Cove if you are walking?

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jeremycallahan

· #5 · Jul 5, 2005

I'd also recomend a pistol pete behind a bubble. I usually start using these later in the summer and i have always had great sucess on them. I acutally get montera marvels (tied locally) but they are the same thing. Olive color with an orange tip works best. I think its refered to as an egg sucking leech. Panther martins work well to. My favorite was called a black zebra. It had a black blade with 3 gold slashes on it, mine had a little fly material on the trebble. But i have caught fish an all different colors.

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farmer ted

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 5, 2005

thanks to everyone for all the info so far.

for fishing from shore at santanka cove, drive over horsetooth dam and park at the boat landing and start working around the shore to the west and south. there are trails back to the far western sections of the cove and some pretty interesting hiking/ rock climbing routes if you want to take those. I have had the best success on the shore just west of the boat landing out to the point that is the entrance of the cove. hope that helps.

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pescado loco

· #7 · Jul 5, 2005

Yep that definitely helps. Thanks!

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Pike Hunter

· #8 · Jul 5, 2005

Yeh try Pine Wood Resivoir up by Lake Carter. and try the inlet and outlet areas. But The INLET you have to walk accross the dam to get to.

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