Rampart Reservoir Fishing Report

Current Fishing Report: Good

Fly fishing is not covered in this website, but brown trout are being caught on plenty of other lures and bait.

SUMMER. Once Summer is here to stay, the warmer water drives brown trout deeper, 15 to 20 feet deep, and deeper. Early in the morning and at dusk, they are being caught shallow in these low-light conditions. Trolling around structure, using downriggers or leaded line, and drift fishing with bait, are currently the most productive methods. Anglers fishing from the bank are using fairly heavy weights, on a Carolina rig to get baits into deeper water.

FALL. Cooling water temperatures again draw browns shallower. Successful anglers are catching them 5 to 15 feet deep on points, rocky structure, humps, and mouths of bays where baitfish are gathering. Decent catches are coming on jerkbaits, miniature crankbaits, small spinnerbaits and swimbaits. Now that they had a full summer to grow, there are some bragging size brown trout catches this time of year. When they move out to structure in deep water, spoons, jigs and bait are catching browns.

WINTER. When Winter sets in, and the lake freezes over, ice fishing prohibited. After ice out, jigging spoons and jigs tipped with bait are catching most limits of brown trout, in 15 to 30 feet of water.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, brown trout move from their deep winter holding areas to shallow, warmer water, especially into inflowing creeks and backwaters. The most productive fishing is happening from mid morning to late afternoon, during the warmest water of the day. A wide variety of small spinners, jerkbaits and flukes are catching most of the fish.

Current Fishing Report: Good

Lake trout feed on small fish, so lures imitating baitfish, sunfish or small trout are good choices. Other choices include nightcrawlers or Berkeley Power Crawlers, fished on drop-shot rigs. Flashy spoons can be fished at any depth, either jigging, trolling or cast and retrieve. For big lakers, use larger baits.

SUMMER. Summer heat drives lake trout deeper, around 100 to 150 feet deep. They look for depth variations like ditches, channels, humps and ledges, but are being caught in the deeper water around this structure.

FALL. Lake trout are returning to shallow water as Fall weather cools the water. They spawn in the Fall, and can typically be found 10 to 30 feet deep on points, flats and humps that have a rocky bottom. Trolling or casting jigs and jigging spoons are both catching lakers consistently.

WINTER. Favoring water temperatures in the 40's, lake trout find areas to their liking in 100 to 150 feet of water, and tend to stay there throughout the cold months. After ice out, patient anglers willing to work slowly in deep water are catching some nice lake trout.

SPRING. Shallow water, warmed by the Spring weather, attracts lake trout, along with baitfish, into 10 to 30 feet of water. Lakers are being caught in areas of the lake which have deep water next to the shallow feeding spots. Jigs and spoons are catching the majority of these big feeders. Slow trolling with leaded line allows small crankbaits and spinners to be worked in deeper water, which also produces some nice lakers.

Current Fishing Report: Good To Very Good

The use of new technology is helping anglers catch more rainbow trout. Forward-facing, and side scanning, sonar is currently the best way to locate trout, especially when they school in deep water. Rainbows are caught trolling, casting or jigging, once located on these sophisticated fish finders.

Fly fishing is not covered in this website, but rainbow trout are being caught on plenty of other lures and bait.

SUMMER. Once Summer is here to stay, the warmer water drives rainbow deeper, 15 to 25 feet deep, occasionally deeper. Trolling with spoons, spinners and crankbaits, using downriggers or leaded line, and drift fishing with bait, are currently the most productive methods. Following drop-offs along structure or creek channels, into deeper water is a major key to getting bites. Anglers fishing from the bank are using nightcrawlers or Berkley PowerBait, with heavy weights on a Carolina rig, to get baits into deeper water.

FALL. Cooling water temperatures are beginning to draw rainbow trout shallower, especially around creek mouths and channel drops. Anglers are catching them 10 to 20 feet deep on points, rocky structure, humps, and anywhere baitfish are gathering. Now that they had a full summer to grow, there are some bragging size rainbow catches, with 2 to 4 pound fish caught with some regularity. Small spinners, spoons, miniature crankbaits and swimbaits are catching trout, as are salmon eggs, worms and prepared baits.

WINTER. When Winter sets in, and the lake freezes over, ice fishing prohibited. After ice out, jigging spoons and jigs tipped with bait are catching most limits of brown trout, in 1o to 20 feet of water. concentrate on areas around the mouths of creeks and inlet channels.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, these stocked rainbow trout move from their deep winter holding areas into 5 to 15 feet of water. This a popular time for anglers fishing from the bank, using PowerBait, salmon eggs, nightcrawlers, or small spinners, swimbaits and spoons. Most rainbows are being caught from mid morning to late afternoon, during the warmest water of the day.