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Hey everybody-
I'm curious what everybody's favorite Colorado ice fishing lake is. Personally, year in and year out mine is probably Lake John, maybe parly because the night fishing can be so fun.
What's everyone else's favorite and why? Thanks.
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Nice fish. Love the colors on those top 2 browns. Thanks.
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Hey Neal-
Why is Williams Fork on your list? I don't think I've ever fished it. Any info would be appreciated. I haven't fished Wolford for several years. How has it been through the ice the last couple of years?
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I like Williams Fork because it is never crowded, the ice is always safe, and the diversity of fish species.
It has Bows, Browns, Lakers, Pike and Kokes. Something for everyone. It is fickle though! Just like 11-Mile.
Wohlford is excellent for numbers and an ocational big fish. Bows, Browns, Kokes and Splake. Great place to take a kid, for lots of action! I would go there alot more, but the ride home just sucks[mad]
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Thats a tuffy, I don't know if I have a favorite. When it comes to trying to land a large mack through a hole, Blue Mesa is the champ. 11 mile can be pretty exciting when I have the rare great hard water day there, mainly cause its so fickle. But Sanchez , Twin lakes, Turquoise and Taylor are all at the top of the list.
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Oats-
What do you fish dfor at Sancez? Pike? What do you fish with down there? I used to fish it a lot in the Spring and Summer about 15 years ago. Back then we caught a lot of jumbo perch, some good walleyes (a few in the 5-8 lb. class) and plenty of pike.
The biggest brown I ever saw was in Sanchez. It was chasing minnows on the surface on a glassy calm day in the middle of the day. It came swimming toward the boat and was so big I thought it was a pike until mit turned sideways and I could see all the colors and spots!!! Holy mackerel - well over 30". As soon as it realized I was there it was history and I never got a cast to it.
I've been hearing rumors of big pike through the ice down there for the last couple of years, just haven't made it down yet.
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Don,
Its mostly pike through the ice that I catch and the occasional jumbo perch. Walleye's are tough almost impossible through the ice at Sanchez.
I've talked to people that have been ice fishing it for years and never caught one. They must feed almost exclusively during the night when its iced over. Most of the pike are 20 to 25" with the occasional 4 or 5 pounder. Average anywhere from 6 to 12 fish a day.
I just started fishing it with success last winter and location is the key at this lake, there not too picky when you find them. I've had pike hit spoons while they were just sitting there. The amazing thing is that I read an article recently that had a very indepth article on Sanchez and walleye take up over 70% of the fish biomass, but pike are all most people catch until it warms up.
There used to be a lot of perch but not nearly as many now and I've never caught a trout out of that lake.
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Sounds like a rough place to be a Perch! Lots of teeth!
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Seriously Oats, 6 - 12 pike per day at Sanchez THROUGH THE ICE??? The most I have ever caught through the ice is two. Usually I get skunked. Strange though that no walleye are caught. Well most people prolly leave before they start to bite, which is almost exclusively at dusk or dawn. What do you use for the pike oats? Bait on tip ups or jigging lures?
Tyler
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To answer the question, I love Taylor, Blue Mesa, and Vega, but Ruedi Reservoir is my favorite. It has tons of lakers and some of them are big. I hooked a 30 plus pounder last year there and lost it close to the hole. I usually can catch 10 or more macks per day here, most are 2 - 6 pounds. But those little macks are a blast. I know where a big one lives there now though.
Tyler
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My Favorites:
1. 11-Mile,can have a career day in 15 minutes.
2. Antero early ice,mostly big fish(back in the day....)
3.Williams Fork,never know what youre gonna get,lost some huge pike in the hole!
4.Cherry Creek,Big perch and crappies some years!
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