This weekend I fish both afternoons into the evening at two dramatically different fisheries and situations. Yet, both were very satisfying in their own ways.
Saturday, was Horsetooth Reservoir, which I “had to” fish. Why, will soon be evident. Bear with me on this one, but I’m excited about the why! Anyway, I met Lance at the parking area above Eltuck Cove on Saturday around 2 in the afternoon. Now I was rather surprised to find that in terms of fishing, we had the entire cove to ourselves, and it stayed that way all day. Oh, there were a few folks and boats throughout the afternoon. All enjoying the reservoir and surrounding areas without casting a line, leaving the fish to a pair of fly fishing float tubers.
No need to tell you what I was using, but for the one or two who might not already know, sinking lines and large Clousers were my choice. Lance did try a crayfish pattern, that produced a walleye, but the smallmouth came on Clousers. Fishing wasn’t hot for us, but we did manage some nice smallies, all over 12 inches. While windy most of the time, things were manageable, the company was good, and did I mention, we had the entire cove to ourselves.
If you’re thinking about fishing the ‘Tooth, now is a good time, and a source whom I trust indicates that the main lake structures are fishing very well right now, much better than the coves. A situation that will soon change, in my opinion, as the reservoir fills, then the coves and “flats” will heat up.
Sunday was in stark contrast to Saturday. Cody called Saturday evening to firm up Sunday’s plan. Originally it was to be the ‘tooth, but when he said he’d just driven by Boyd and the marina inlet was running water, plans changed and we opted to fish Boyd.
Sunday, we met around noon. Needless to say, the solitude Horsetooth offered was not to be found. The north shore of the channel had good numbers of fishers from the inlet past the trees, the fishing dock was populated, and a number of fishers were fishing the south shore. There was a tube on the water when we got there and a couple of boats. Solitude was out of the question, and while the faces changed throughout the day, the number of fishers remained high.
Long story short, everyone was well behaved (even me!) and enjoying the fishing. Those on the north shore were seeing the best action, and doing well on trout. No question as to what the most popular bait was, as there was a Powerbait “hatch” on the water. We stayed out in the current and managed fair numbers of white bass.
So this weekend was rich in contrast, few fishers versus many, smallmouth versus white bass, but both days were good fishing and enjoyable in their own ways.
