With the end of the ice fishing season approaching, the ice is still in decent condition.

Grand Lake

The ice has remained in pretty decent condition except for the inlet areas as well as the east portal area. Please use extreme caution when fishing remotely close to these areas. The conditions can change daily and even more so when the pump that pushes water through the system is running.

The rainbow and brown trout fishing has been a little bit on the slower side as of late. Most of the fish are being caught when anglers are moving around and drilling a lot of holes. The bite has been early in the morning and late in the day, and it has really tapered off when the sun is beating down on the ice.

We are fishing very small jigs with small live bait for the majority of our action right now. The best presentations have been brightly colored tungsten jigs with a wax worm in 20-30 feet of water and spread throughout the entire water column.

The lake trout fishing has remained pretty good over the past week with most of the fish being caught over 60-80 feet of water. Right now, it seems that the majority of the fish are hanging out near the bottom in these depths, and there is also some suspended action over the deep. The suspended fish are hungry as they are already anticipating ice-off, so they can run up shallow.

When fishing the bottom, tube jigs, simcoe bugs and any soft plastic with some sort of maribou has been getting the best of the action. When fishing the suspended fish, it’s been all spoons. Regardless of what you are using, make sure to tip your hooks with a small amount of sucker meat and load that jig up with as much scent as possible. There have been a few big fish landed, and they were all taken on the smaller presentations.  

— Guide Jake Foos

Williams Fork Reservoir

The water level is continuing to drop and is now at 71%.

With the current lack of kokanee and rainbow stocking, the best action is lake trout due to the low populations of other species.

The lake trout bite has been good in 50-60 feet of water. Small jigs, such as tube jigs or grubs tipped with sucker meat, have been the top producers. When fish get finicky, try small spoons worked 1-2 feet off the bottom.

Walking conditions are excellent right now as there is very little snow and no slush.  

— Guide Sam Hochevar

Lake Granby

The water level is at 65% or about 29 feet low, and the ice conditions are excellent right now with very little snow on top of ice and very little slush. The ice thickness is holding up at between 12 and 16 inches of ice and frozen slush combined. Clear, hard ice is around 6-8 inches.

Fishing for rainbow trout is excellent. Look for them along the riprap dam faces in 15 feet of water or less. A small pink or chartreuse tungsten tipped with a waxie or Clam flutter spoon in blue/pink color has been producing fish.

For brown trout, target the natural rocky shorelines in 20 feet of water or less where it transitions to mud. A brown or white Dynamic twitch tube has been the primary lure.

The lake trout bite has been very good for fish under 20 inches. We are finding groups of fish who like to look and not bite, so it is imperative that you stay mobile to find the active fish or it can be a frustrating day.

Target them in 40-70 feet of water along the river channels. A 3/8-ounce jig head with a 2-inch white tube has been the primary lure, but we have also been doing well with small grubs in natural colors and a contrasting-colored jig head. As always, tip with fresh sucker meat and load that lure up with your favorite scent.

— Guide Dan Shannon

The Fishing With Bernie team has been guiding in Grand County for over 25 years. Find more information at FishingWithBernie.com.