Fishing Buffalo Bill Reservoir

Current Report: Fair To Good

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

FALL. Cooling water temperatures in the shallows, draw rainbow trout out of deeper Summer depths. Anglers are catching them 10 to 30 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. Small spinners, spoons, jigs, miniature crankbaits and swimbaits are catching trout, as are salmon eggs and prepared baits.

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 nice limits of rainbows out of 30 to 50 feet of water. After ice out, trolling with leaded line or downriggers, or vertical jigging with spoons and jigs, finishes off the cold-water season in 20 to 30 feet of water.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, rainbow trout move from their late winter holding areas to shallow, warmer water 10 to 25 feet deep. A good number of rainbows are being caught from mid morning to late afternoon, during the warmest water of the day. 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, 25 to 50 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.

Current Report: Good

Lake trout feed on small fish, so lures imitating baitfish, sunfish, perch or small trout are good choices. Flashy spoons can be fished at any depth, either jigging, trolling or cast and retrieve. For big lakers, use larger baits.

FALL. Lake trout are returning to relatively shallow water, as Fall weather cools the lake. They spawn in the Fall, and for a few weeks can typically be found 20 to 40 feet deep on points, flats and humps that have a rocky bottom. Trolling or casting jigs and jigging spoons are both catching lakers consistently now.

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. 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 100 feet of water, or deeper.

SPRING. Spring weather finds lake trout, along with baitfish, into 60 to 100 feet of water. Lakers are being caught in areas of the lake which have deep water next to the shallower feeding spots. Jigs and heavy spoons are catching the majority of these big feeders. Slow trolling with leaded line or downriggers allows small crankbaits and spinners to be worked in deeper water, which also produces some nice lakers.

SUMMER. Summer heat drives lake trout deeper, around 80 to 140 feet deep. Lake trout prefer to stay deep, near the thermocline throughout Summer. They look for depth variations like ditches, channels, humps and ledges, but are being caught in the deeper water around this structure. Heavy jigs and spoons, as well as low trolling with leaded line or downriggers produce many of the lakers being caught during Summer.

Current Report: Fair To Good

Spring and Fall are the best seasons for catching walleye, as they spend a great deal of time shallow.

FALL. Fall brings cooler temperatures to shallow water, drawing walleye and baitfish shallower. Jigs, swimbaits, spoons, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits are all historically good for catching walleye this time of year. Early Fall finds them in 20 to 50 feet of water. Later in Fall, they move out deeper again. Dragging jigs or worm harnesses with nightcrawlers or leeches, or bottom bouncers, around ledge drop-offs catches walleye fairly consistently. Watch for the bigger walleye to be slightly deeper than the majority of the school.

WINTER. This Winter fishing for walleye was pretty good through the ice. Before, during and after the ice, anglers report catching them in 25 to 60 feet of water, along creek channel edges, rocky humps and ledges. They primarily feed on small fish, staying close to the bottom. After ice-out blade baits, jigs, swimbaits, spoons, deep-diving crankbaits, and worm harness spinners, are all working while deep trolling or slow drifting.

SPRING. Early Spring brings warming water in the shallows, and draws walleye here to feed, especially rocky areas and inlet channels. Here they will spawn once the water warms to the mid to high 40's. Afterwards, they move to 30 to 60 feet deep around shallow points, flats, shoals and ledges, nearby shore, often staying in close proximity to their spawning locations. When they move shallow, bright colored jigs, tipped with minnows or nightcrawlers typically catch them in 5 to 20 feet of water. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and crankbaits are also working when walleye are up shallow.

SUMMER. Water temperatures rise in Summer, and walleye fishing is good if you can get your bait deep enough. Walleye tend to concentrate in 40 to 80 feet of water, preferring the cooler temperatures. Throughout Summer, early in the morning, and from dusk to long after dark are good times to catch walleye. At those times they move slightly shallower to feed in low-light conditions. Night fishing is often good in Summer, as well. The rest of the time they are cruising flats and creek channel edges, where they are harder to locate and catch. When the bite is slow, grubs and nightcrawlers, fished just off the bottom are catching walleye, some anglers prefer using a bobber to hold ideal depths.