Grand Lake is fishing fairly consistent right now, and the ice is holding right around 12 inches in most places. With crowds starting to dwindle a bit after the 3 Lakes Tourney, the fish seemed to have calmed down a bit and are not as lock jawed. There are fish all over the column, so be sure to keep looking at the entire screen.

One safety concern is drilling too close to some of the garage doors. The ice in these areas does not grow as thick as one would think, so we recommend staying off a private building a couple of feet.

The latest rainbow bite we found was very active right below the ice. We were in 30 feet of water, and the rainbows were cruising about 5-12 feet down. These fish are hungry and will smack about anything you put in front of them as long as it is small. A small grub-like jig (SiFly Simcoe Bug) or tungsten (CPT Drop Kick) tipped with a Silkie or maki plastic is really all you need for these fish. Again, keep your eye on the entire water column because finding the suspended is a lot of fun.

The lake trout have been pretty active, as well. Small white tubes and swimbaits have been producing well for us when guiding. These fish are starting to suspend, and that bite is a lot of fun if the fish come through. We would suggest you focus your efforts on the 50- to 80-foot range for these fish, and applying a small amount of scent to your bait will also add to success. When fishing the lower section of the water column, tipped jigs have been the best as of late.

— Guide Jake Foos

Williams Fork: Travel on the lake is good right now, and we are solidly into the mid-ice bite, with the fish present but picky about what bait and action they are liking. Fishing for lake trout, downsizing baits and moving to find the feeding fish are key with the best bite in 60-80 feet of water.

Main lake points and transition areas at the bottom of drop-offs are holding the most fish. Small spoons or tungsten jigs tipped with a small piece of sucker worked right on the bottom has been the most consistent bait.

Lake Granby: With the very cold temps and little snow, we have good travel conditions on the lake with very few slush pockets. The bite has been fair, but be willing to work and earn those bites. Rainbows and browns are still being caught along the shorelines with the bite tapering off as the sun rises. Small pink or silver spoons and a more active jigging presentation seemed to work the best.

All sizes of lake trout are being caught at various depths ranging from 20 to 85 feet. Being mobile and actively searching out the fish willing to bite is a necessity. Work through a range of baits once you find fish: Jointed PinHead Mino in bright colors, small tubes or tungsten jigs tipped with a Silkie consistently produced the most bites. We’re starting to see a few suspended fish showing up over the deeper water, so keep an eye on those electronics!

— Guide Dan Shannon

The Fishing with Bernie team has been guiding in Grand County for over 25 years. For more info, check out FishingWithBernie.com, Facebook.com/FishingWithBernie or our Instagram pages.