This weather…just what I asked for

This may sound completely crazy to most of you but I literally prayed for this onslaught of cold weather. During the second week of March I watched a lake go from 50 to 55 degrees by the end of the day. The water temps were increasing too much and too fast. The spawn would be ON and DONE in just a week or two at this rate. During the drought periods we saw many a bass spawn come and go too darn quickly.

The recent blizzard only managed to drop lake temperartures a few measly degrees but it did in fact reverse the warming trend. That is a great start. Then the lower temps at night added their affect. This morning I drove by mud puddles that were completely frozen over.

“That is more like it...at least for March” I said under my breath.

Bassers can now breath a small sigh of relief. The spawn is getting back on track and falling into a more seasonal pattern here in Colorado. That means that the actual spawn will happen closer to May and last a lot longer. This goes for the pre-spawn as well. For me, the prespawn is the Super Bowl of bass fishing. Smallmouth and largemouth will be at their peak weight.

During the pre-spawn, the fish will deal with a bit of angling pressure. More so than harassing the fish during the prime time nesting period. It’s my opinion that this hurts a fishery. There are a lot of factors in play with a creature’s reproduction and rather than give you the full poindexter 411 biological breakdown I simply implore folks to release the bass and minimize their impact as much as possible during the nesting periods. Catch and Release/selective harvest (minimal harvest) is the key to better fishing in Colorado…so let’s see more of that!

Rarely does the weather work in my favor. Most of the time it seems to be completely against me. Maybe the weather was just testing me and this cold spurt was the reward for all that previous torment. Regardless...I will be thankful. Things will warm up soon enough and by July we all will have a handful of glorious hawgy bass pictures that we can truly cherish for years to come.

Good Luck and Good Fishing!

Youtube video updates from 2008-finally!

Alright, so I finally found time to edit some video footage from 2008. This is spectacular footage of some great fishing just before I took the new job that cost me the entire Fall 2008 fishing season.

Hopefully I will be able to juggle the new gig and some fishing through 2009. The updates in regards to articles and pictures on the website will start rolling through as well. As always, please comment on the material you see here, good or bad. Your positive support encourages more material.

3 Day Blast with Kim the legend: The only way to describe this trip is “Amazing!” Thanks again to Kim for allowing me to fish with him on this fantastic private lake. It was an honor, a privileged and a darn good time.

Day one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQskarTquxY&feature=channel_page

Day Two:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GbXnFDdw5o&feature=channel_page

Day Three:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YKlmFBki9Q&feature=channel_page

MAD Show-Attack on the Q: This was the first trip in here for Don and I. The return trip should be evenbetter know we have the layout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfd6477ahTI&feature=channel_page

Feel free to view, rate and comment on these videos. Coloradocasters is a non-sponsored endeavor that is intended for your enjoyment. Your positive support is the fuel that keeps this whole thing going. Shoot me an e-mail if you get time and let me know how if there is more we can do here.

Snow bass 2009!

Today was perfect snow bass weather. You know…where the water is above 50 degrees but you have a blizzard outside. Too bad I had to work. Drove all the way in through the morning mess to have them shut the place down an hour later. The drive back was even worse. Total carnage on Wadsworth.



Battled my way through the pile up and over to a local fishing hole. Then some walking in knee-deep snow to the structure. A few casts and Wham!!! It was a beauty fish. Landed it as quickly as possible, spent a few seconds with the shameless photo op and then release.



Gear for snow bass is the same as regular bass. Most of the time you just have to work it a little slower. Here is a video of the fish as well. Sometimes video can show more than a picture so I got a quick clip of some blizzard bassing.

Forget everything you have seen about "extreme fishing"

It is rare when I see someone's fishing style that makes me say, "Wow...that guy is nuts!" Few anglers can make the claim that are out to completely revolutionize the sport. This guy said goodbye to the rod, reel and lures. His only expense is the helicopter. For serious/hard core anglers looking for something to put their own fishing madness in perspective...this is a must see.

http://www.comcast.net/video/1070470010/extreme_fishing

(you might have to copy and paste the thread into the browser.)

Catfish Battle March 2009

As soon as I felt the thump on my jig and grub combo…I knew I was in for a fight. Ever hook into one of those fish that refuses to budge? My 6lb copolymer can handle quite a bit for a measly 6lb line but when you hook into something over 10lbs in weight all you can do is set the drag loose and go to work.

Crank, lift and pull before lowering the rod slowly while reeling and then crank some more. No slack! (Never give a fish slack. Let the drag be your grace). As soon as I would get him close to the pontooner, the fish would explode with a burst of energy and take off again. I must have brought Mr. Kitty to the boat seven or eight times before we made eye contact…then a few more times after that. The fish was heavy and used every ounce of its weight in the battle. This thing would hold its ground by sheer dead weight and then employ the fin muscle at the last minute.

So many things could have gone wrong and usually do when I get into the best fish of the day. How many fishing stories end with “Oh you should have seen the one I almost had…” Not this day my friends. Like a Colorado Avalanche hockey win; It usually aint pretty but sweet nonetheless, big catfish are the same way for me. Not exactly what I was gunning for but pretty darn cool when I land them.

If I catch anything bigger than this it will probably pull me right off the darn boat!!!

First bass of 2009...small

(Solo-shot from the pontooner and knew camera...still working on gear options for 2009)

Small-iEEEE that is. I couldn't help but put that title up there as I was absolutely stoked when I saw this fish coming in. As soon as I saw the bronze color instead of the green flashes on Saturday morning, I knew it was a bronzeback instead of a bucketmouth.

I found fish by targetting the warmer portions of the lake. Structure with good exposure to sun and access to deep water is key. The black and blue jig was the only presentation that got any love whatsoever and I pretty much threw every slow presentation that I had. I picked up a bucketmouth as well. This guy was in the same area as the smallmouth and hit the same jig. The rest of the day...nothing.



All morning I kept asking "Where the heck is this fantastic weather we were supposed to be having?" It wasn't until the pontooner was pulled off the lake, broken down and stowed before the sun finally broke free of the clouds and warmer temperatures surrounded me.

"Aint that the way it always goes?" I laughed rolling on home

Trout on the T

Decided to try some water around RMNP on Saturday. There is a stretch of water that runs down Hwy 34 from Estes. I used to fish this slip of water when I lived in Loveland. This “river” is not considered trophy fishing by any means but it brought back memories slinging the spin gear once again through the smaller pockets of water studded with rocks and pine trees.

(Open water for the first few miles provide several fishing holes like this.)

The river is open at the spillway and a few miles down. Things start getting ice-choked from there. I had to drive and fish little pockets here and there all the way to Drake. And that was my goal for the day, just get reacquainted with the place.

(Some areas are still ice-locked with one or two pools of open water.)

Fishing pressure can be steady on weekends and the fly guys arewere in good numbers by noon. Everyone was concentrated on the best waters and it looked the fish were beaten or wary by 3PM.