TroutFishingBear said:
here is the smallmouth thread. Now where is that pike thread....
http://www.coloradofisherman.com/forum/index.php?topic=4718.0
jibber, click on the above thread and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
The CDOW and USFWS efforts to remove smallmouth from the yampa have failed abysmally. They have never put the slightest dent in their numbers (although pat martinez, funnily enough, says the smallmouth removals, "certainly are working" even though anglers know better). So, the smallmouth really haven't come back; they never left. Fishing is superb for smallmouth ranging from 4"-20" and even larger. You have to catch quite a few 8" or so fish until you get one of those big fat 18" usually, but I'd say in a hard day of fishing you can get between 5 and 20 of them over 15".
The pike are fairly stupid on this river- very aggressive for colorado. Big loud, noisy lures are effective. Buzzbaits and #12-15 panther martins in holographic colors are the best. The bigger smallmouths love these lures too. Also, 4-6" swimbaits if they are in a deep hole if it is hot work great too. I also caught a 15# pike on a rattletrap before, a 1/8 oz banana colored one. The average pike is 30" and around 8-9 pounds- very, very fat fish. I have caught pike of over 40" in this river (the biggest, low 40" range, was fairly skinny for this place though, probably only 20-21#), and seen a few fish that must've been 50". USFWS removed a 52" also.
Around hayden it is quite common to catch a 3# smallie, a 10# pike, and a 4# brown in the same day. Pretty cool. Catfishing is also excellent in the lower reaches of the river. There are also large carp.