Blue Mesa Blues..

Water Temp 65-68
Inflow (cfs) 4315
Outflow (cfs) 5164
Lake Elevation 7518
Boat Ramp Hours 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Marinas Elk Creek & Lake Fork Open 7-7

The incoming full moon has shaken things up! There are bite windows, but they are shorter than normal and unexpected at times.  The lake is virtually full and should stay this way for the next few weeks. We have had hot weather with day time highs in the mid to upper 80’s. This has surface temps in the 65-68 degree range, which is warm for this time of year and pushing fish deeper! Debris is still something to watch for, but not as bad as it was last week.

There was some really bad news annonced last week. Blue Mesa has been confirmed to have gill lice. So far it has only been seen in rainbow trout , and a small percentage at that.  However, as seen in 11 Mile, Green Mountain, and several other Colorado reservoirs, the kokanee usually end up getting infected and it has the potential to devastate the kokanee population! If you catch a kokanee with gill lice, please report it to the CPW or email us and we will report it. We can only hope that Blue Mesa isn’t hit as hard as 11 Mile.

*** Insider Fishing Reports- We are now offering a weekly or monthly subscription to our very detailed Sport Fish Colorado insider fishing reports! These reports are a weekly series of videos, pictures, and more that cover what’s working where and are aimed at saving you time and money!  Check them out! Blue Mesa Insider Fishing Report

Trout- fishing is still good most days! They can be caught casting or trolling a variety of baits including Venator Wobblers, Rapalas, and maribou jigs near shorelines or out in the open basins.  Trolling squids and spinners has been very effective as well. We have been finding rainbows from the surface down to ’40 and browns from 20′ to 70′! The east end of the lake seems to hold the greatest numbers of trout, but there are concentrations across the entire lake.

Kokanee Salmon- The salmon bite continues to be hot and cold, with a lot more cold days lately  There are still a lot of smaller kokanee showing up, which is a good sign for the next couple of years as long as they release okay now.  Most of our salmon are coming at depths of 20 to 40 feet. Every basin seems to have some fish in it and the key to finding them is covering lots of water and combing the water column. The best action has been early as of late. Per usual, cycling through a variety of Rocky Mountain Tackle, Raical Glow, Kokanee Killers, Venator Wobblers, and a few other baits has been producing the best results. Make sure you tip your baits with corn! Pinks, purples, whites, and greens have been some of the better colors.  With the salmon numbers down, it is more important now than ever to not take more than your possession limit!

Lake Trout- We are catching smaller lake trout 40-80 feet, but the big fish have gone deep!  The smaller lake trout can be caught trolling with spoons, squids, and kokanee killers.

Perch- The water temps are over 60 degrees and the perch are moving shallow in great number!  Submerged structure/brush is the ticket! Cover water until you get action as these fish are usually in fairly larger schools. A small jig or spoon with a piece of worm will produce!

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