Your Resource for
Outdoor Adventure

The river is low and winter fishing is here. Nymphs and night crawlers drifted along the bottom are now your best bet. There is ice on the river and with cold days we have ice flows as well. On warm days the ice melts and the fishing can get very good. We have had some really nice days these last few weeks and this has generated some small hatches on the lower end of the river. The afternoons are best because the water warms enough to get the fish feeding.

Antero is frozen and the ice is thick enough to walk on. The fishing is no as good as it has been in past years but fishermen are still catching some nice fish. Small pink tube jigs and swedish pimples tipped with wax worms or meal worms are working well. Small pink ratso jigs are also working well.

Twin lakes the upper lake is frozen solid and is good for ice fishing, the lower lake has frozen solid except for the upper end around the power plant. The lower lake ice is solid enough to walk on, but these warm days make the is questionable on the lower lake so be careful! The area near the power plant is the best for both rainbows and lake trout. The lake trout are hitting well in both lakes on tube jigs tipped with sucker meat. There have been a number of fish caught this year that are over the slot limit! I know of 5 for sure. The rainbows are hitting very well along the south shore on both lakes with small jigs and meal worms. The Mt. Elbert Forebay is good fishing for rainbows with pistol petes and the lake trout can be caught from shore with tube jigs and sucker meat.

Clear Creek is frozen and ice fishing is good for Kokanee and Rainbows. The Kokanee are mostly done spawning, but next years age class are hitting near the boat ramp using needle fish and small swedish pimples. Rainbows are also hitting well around the lake and along the north shore.

Cottonwood Lake is frozen solid with good ice on it and there are fishermen fishing it. The road to the lake is plowed so access is easy and some nice fish are being caught. Night crawlers and salmon eggs are working really well. Small ice jigs tipped with meal worms or thunder mountain crawlers are working well also.

Turquoise Lake is frozen solid and some nice fish are being caught! Rainbows and cutthroats can be caught along the east shore down by the dam on small jigs tipped with meal worms. Lake trout can be caught along the south shore in deep water using tube jigs and sucker meat.

Chalk lake is frozen solid and fishing is good for rainbows using small ice jigs tipped with salmon eggs or meal worms.

Hayden meadows reservoir is frozen solid and is good for rainbow and browns with small jigs tipped with thundermountain crawlers.

There are numerous lakes in the valley that are good for ice fishing and the ice in now hard enough to make most lakes safe. Always be careful around the inlet and outlets of any frozen lakes. The river is still good fishing, but it is always slower this time of year.