Fishing Report For Twin Lakes Reservoir, CO

Current Report: Good To Very Good

Lake trout feed on small fish, so lures imitating baitfish, sunfish or small trout are good choices.

FALL. Lake trout are returning to relatively shallow water, as Fall weather cools the lake. Of the two lakes, the eastern lake is the deepest - up to 75 feet or more. Most of the lake trout prefer 15 to 30 feet deep, and will occasionally move up or down from there. They spawn in the Fall, and for a few weeks can typically be found 10 to 20 feet deep on points, flats and humps that have a rocky bottom. Lake trout feed on small fish, so lures imitating baitfish, sunfish, perch 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 casting and retrieving. For big lakers, use larger baits. The narrows between the two basins is a popular choice as schools of bait transition through. Cloudy days, early mornings and early evenings are the best time to catch big lakers. Later in Fall they return to 30 to 35 feet deep, or deeper. Spoons, jigged vertically within the target depth can entice bites. Trolling with spoons, brightly-colored jerkbaits, and spinners with a variety of rigging methods to get these lures to run deep. For big lakers, use larger baits.

WINTER. Favoring water temperatures in the 40's, lake trout find areas to their liking in 30 to 50 feet of water, and tend to stay there throughout the cold months. When the lake freezes over, ice fishing for big lake trout can deliver some nice catches. Learning these areas before the lake ices over can get you into some of the better area for ice fishing. Patient anglers willing to work slowly are catching some nice lake limits through the ice. After ice out, trolling with leaded line or downriggers, or vertical jigging with spoons and jigs, completes the cold-water season in 80 to 100 feet of water, or deeper.

SPRING. Spring weather finds lake trout, along with baitfish, into 15 to 35 feet of water. Early Spring is a prime time to catch big lakers. Lakers are caught in areas of the lake which have deep water next to shallower, feeding spots. Jigs and heavy spoons are catching the majority of these big lakers. Slow trolling with leaded line or downriggers allows small crankbaits and spinners to be worked in deeper water, which also produces some nice fish. Later in Spring they typically drop into 20 to 50 feet of water.

SUMMER. Summer heat drives lake trout deeper, generally below the thermocline in 20 to 50 feet deep. Lake trout prefer to stay deep, except early and late in the day when they move into 15 to 25 feet of water to feed. They look for depth variations like ditches, channels, humps and ledges, but are being caught in the deeper water around this structure. Heavy spoons and jigs, as well as very slow trolling, with leaded line or downriggers, produce many of the lakers being caught during Summer. In late summer concentrate on 80 to 120 feet of water.

Current Report: Good To Very Good

FALL. Cooling water temperatures in the shallows, draw rainbow trout out of deeper Summer depths. The diet of a rainbow trout consists of insects, small fishes and crustaceans. In addition to flies, rainbow trout are being caught on small lures, imitating their natural food. Small spinners, miniature crankbaits and swimbaits are catching rainbows, as are nightcrawlers, salmon eggs and prepared baits. Anglers are now catching them 8 to 25 feet deep on rocky banks, wind-blown points, rocky structure, humps, and anywhere baitfish are gathering. Now that they had a full summer to grow, there are some nice size rainbow to be caught. Later in Autumn, they move into 20 to 25 feet of water.

WINTER. When Winter sets in jigging spoons, and jigs tipped with bait, are catching nice limits of rainbows out of 20 to 45 feet of water. These baits work well before, during and after ice fishing season. When the lake freezes over, ice fishing is delivering good results. After ice out, deep trolling with leaded line or downriggers, or vertical jigging with spoons and jigs, are the best approach during the cold-water season.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, rainbow trout move from their late winter holding areas to shallow, warmer water 10 to 30 feet deep. A good number of rainbows are typically caught from mid morning to late afternoon, during the warmest water of the day, on 15 to 18 feet deep flats. Shallow flats and rocky structure are quick to warm in the afternoon sun. A wide variety of small spinners, spoons and bait are catching most of the fish.

SUMMER. Once Summer is here to stay, the warmer water drives rainbow deeper, 15 to 40 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 into deeper water, along structure or creek channels, is a major key to getting bites. Early and late in the day, rainbows often move into 8 to 15 feet of water to feed. Anglers fishing from the bank are using nightcrawlers or Berkley PowerBait, with heavy weights on a Carolina rig, to get baits in deeper water.

Current Report: Good

FALL. Cooling water temperatures again draw browns shallower. These hearty fighters migrate around the lake in search of baitfish and comfortable water temperatures, preferably in the 50 to 62 degree range. Successful anglers are catching them 8 to 25 feet deep on points, rocky structure, humps, and mouths of bays where baitfish are gathering. A good number of these browns are concentrated in 8 to 15 feet of water on windy days. Decent catches are coming on jerkbaits, miniature crankbaits, small spinnerbaits and swimbaits. Once they have had a full summer to grow, it's a good time to catch a trophy. 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 is quite popular here. Jigging spoons and jigs tipped with bait are catching most limits of brown trout, in 20 to 40 feet of water. After ice out, trolling, drift fishing and jigging spoons all work well. Slower presentations improve catch rates as these trout have a low metabolism in the colder months.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, brown trout move from their deep winter holding areas to shallower, warmer water, especially into inflowing creeks, backwaters and onto flats - 10 to 20 feet deep. 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.

SUMMER. Once Summer is here to stay, the warmer water drives brown trout deeper, 15 to 40 feet deep, and deeper. Early in the morning and at dusk, they are being caught shallower in these low-light conditions. Trolling around ledges and 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.