Outdoor Column: Season’s ripe for good fishing

COLORADO

Highline — Cat fishing continues to be fair to good with crappie still being the target in the lake. Water is still on the cloudy side. Overall fishing will improve when the run off calms down.

Connected/Local Ponds — High water levels along the Colorado are at the brim of some of these ponds with some already being spilled over and made inaccessible. Fishing is good to great in these areas. Make sure if you have any nonswimmers with you they stay clear of the rivers. The debris is heading downriver at full force right now. Watch the banks as they are weak and could break underneath your feet at any moment.

Crawford — Small pan fish are there for the taking. Crappie are starting to suspend now and bank fishing will be getting more difficult as the weather warms. If you’re not going to eat the occasional pike and bass make sure they get back into the water healthy to stabilize the fishing population and the stunted fish in this lake may some day be a thing of the past. At the Anglers Roundtable in Montrose last week, we learned the DOW is contemplating putting walleye in Crawford to help this problem out. They only want to put triploid walleye (sterile fish) there instead of having a self-sustaining population. It’s proven they can’t escape into the river, so it’s anyone’s guess why they would go a route where they wouldn’t want such a stable and sought after fish such as this to be able to breed on it’s own and keep things in check for the long term health of the fishery.

Juniata — At any moment this lake will take off. It is still on the slow side, but the clock is ticking. A few more hot days and it will be ready for consistently good fishing all summer.

Blue Mesa — Mackinaw fishing is hot right now. Start out at about 20 feet and go to about 60 feet as the day wears on. Twilight is still the best bite in the shallows. Kokanee fishing will continue to get better, but is not showing any depth consistency at the moment. Jigging with large tubes or bucktails with sucker meat seems to be the ticket for the lakers and browns. It seems to be a 50/50 split in the catches in the 20-30 foot depths after twilight. Lake is way down due to letting water run out instead of fill for more run off as the weeks progress.

Rivers — Both the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers are running high, fast and wild. Be careful doing any activity here with these water levels and fast currents. Make sure you know the terrain and area before heading out. If you’re not sure, don’t do it. It’s not worth it. Everything to large mature cotton wood trees are going down river. Hopefully it won’t be too long where things will start to stabilize and clear.

UTAH

Lake Powell — Striper males are extremely active and fishing remains excellent. With the water rising daily bass will be constantly moving to new cover that once wasn’t there. Fish are going to be moody, and you will have to adjust your techniques accordingly on a daily basis. Largemouth bass will still hang deeper than normal as the water rises. Walleye action is still consistent on the mud lines and gradual breaks in structure. Watch for the large female stripers to move north as spawning gets closer. Overall fishing is great for all species. Be careful with rising water levels and make sure your shallow alarm is on and boat with care since the lake is changing daily.

Flaming Gorge — Mackinaw fishing is still excellent. Typical target area right now is 30 feet on the onset to 70 feet mid-day. Marsh creek, Anvil Draw, Buckboard, Current Creek and the skunk slopes are all doing well. The larger lake trout are being found between Big Bend south to Sheep Creek Bay. Remember, only one lake trout over 28 inches is allowed to be harvested to protect the fishery. Kokanee is still on the slower side and small mouth will pick up as well in just a matter of days pending the weather. Try drop-shotting the smallies until they get aggressive.

Starvation — Every day is getting better and better. Any day this lake could just explode with warmer weather. Walleye, perch and smallmouth are picking up and a good number of large browns are being taken. Mid-June is typically the sweet spot for the onset of all species to take off.