The Jewell Wetlands in Aurora is a good site to take young kids fishing. It's a small pond with bluegill, white crappie, and carp. It is really easy to catch bluegill on worms or salmon eggs (kid friendly baits). It is just .57 miles east of the Jewell/Peoria intersection, and it will be on your left heading east on Jewell. It has good shore access and tends to put out a lot of bluegill everytime I have gone there. Another positive is the lake recieves fairly few fishermen, making the fish easy to catch. My tip for the lake is to go to the far end, by a large rock and fish around it.
Reply by: zeke1000 Posted: 4/30/2007 11:23:38 AM Points: 4
Hi,
I took my five year old to this pond on Sunday April 29th. Real nice pond, thanks for the tip. Saw some carp and some turtles but no bluegills or crappies although we hit it pretty hard. Any chance it winterkilled for those species? Any one else got bluegills or crappie from this pond this year?
Any other recommendations for a pond within 40 minutes of central Denver that is loaded with bluegills for a five year old?
If you wanted to come to Ft. Collins I could give you a pond we caught them non-stop at all weekend, with some small crappie and bass mixed in. Lot of fun with the fly rod.
I believe Jewel Lake is only about 5 feet deep (according to Fishing Close to Home) so it probably killed out. I would definitely get a copy of Fishing Close to Home, it has oodles of info in it. I would stay away from anything shallower than 8 feet, because that means it probably killed out.
Bass Lake in Prospect Park Ponds has some bluegill and some bass. Unfortunately, it is FLIES AND LURES ONLY. However, a fly under a bubble should get you into bluegills. Also, try Redstone Park Pond in Highlands Ranch, It has some good sized catfish and it is stocked with a lot of trout. I would also try Washington Park Lakes, it is full of crappies. Washington Park Lakes also have a kids pond.
Can I get some cross streets. My cousins got a 6yr old boy and we would like to take him. We were going to take him to Hugo but that's like 11/2 hours away. Also a friend of mine took his grand son and his buddy to Jewel and said they caught a couple of little fish did not know what they were but thought small crappie. Thanks for any info.
Good ole worm under a bobber is good (of course) but waxworms seem to get bigger and more fish. If you have to fish with lures, my favorite is a prince nymph, size 14, or a small Pistol Pete about three feet behind a clear Adjust-a-Bubble. Small marabou jigs will jet you into bigger bluegills as well.
Reply by: Flyrodn Posted: 5/11/2007 8:13:45 AM Points: 184622
Don't know where you live, but when it comes to 'gills and such, check out the ponds closest to you. Case in point, I have a pond about five blocks from where I live. Last night I finally walked down with a fly rod in hand to check it out (I moved here a year ago). In less than two hours I caught dozens of fish, almost every cast produced and often 2-3 at at time. Mostly 'gills and crappie, with a few bass. However, few were much over 6 inches. Still it would have been great for a young'n as there were no obstructions to tangle on and it offered non-stop action.
Point is often the little ponds close by home have good numbers of fish and are seldom fished. Plus, they're easy to get to, takes little preperation, and make for pleasant, short outings. A fly and bubble works great. Its easy for kids to cast, the kids get to be active all the time with casting/reeling and it works. I caught most of my fish on either a number 12 pheasant tail nymph or a number 10 halfback (peacock woolly worm). Kids just like to have fun and lets face it catching/doing is more fun, even if the fish are small the sitting and waiting for something to happen. Good Luck!
I'll echo thepctech. I grew up in Illinois. There, we had fertile farm ponds where you could honestly go out on a given spring or summer day and catch between 40 and 100 keeper bluegills and crappie. Here in Denver, it is quite different. I have found ponds where you can catch lots of panfish, but they will be small, with occasional keepers.
