{"id":221,"date":"2016-06-25T03:06:52","date_gmt":"2016-06-25T09:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemesafishing.com\/admin\/?p=221"},"modified":"2019-06-02T08:48:22","modified_gmt":"2019-06-02T14:48:22","slug":"the-blue-mesa-summer-salmon-bite-keeps-getting-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemesafishing.com\/the-blue-mesa-summer-salmon-bite-keeps-getting-better\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blue Mesa Summer Salmon bite keeps getting better!"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a lot going on at Blue Mesa, between rising water levels and quickly rising water temps, but the salmon don’t care! \u00a0The lake is getting close to stabilizing and the floating debris really isn’t that bad. \u00a0Water temperatures have really shot up over the last week with some very warm day time highs and we have seen some water temps as high as 70 degrees mid day, which is usually what we see in late July. \u00a0Hopefully our daytime highs, cool down a bit so we don’t see high water temps, algae blooms, and low oxygen levels like we did in 2013. \u00a0Right now all of the boat ramps are open from \u00a05:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. except for Ponderosa which is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday through Monday.<\/p>\n

Trout-<\/strong>\u00a0the trout fishing has been fair to good, with a lot of rainbow trout hainging out with the salmon and shallow along the shores. Bait fishing from shore has been producing the most rainbows, while trolling an assortment of Rocky Mountain Tackle and Radical Glow squids and spinners has been the producer for browns running 30-60 feet deep. \u00a0I encourage you to keep your limit of brown trout under the 20″ mark, as there are plenty of them! \u00a0We are starting to see more brown trout over the 20″ mark, which has the potential to be an incredible resource and add even more value to the fishery at Blue Mesa, especially if we can release those fish to keep their genetics dominant in our lake! \u00a0The picture below is of a brown that spit up a 4-5″ salmon!<\/p>\n

Kokanee-\u00a0<\/strong>salmon fishing has been very good! The story is the same; there are a lot of small fish, but there are also plenty of good sized salmon to be had and they are growing quickly as their metabolism peaks with these water temperatures! \u00a0The majority of the fish are feeding from the surface to about 20′ deep. However, we are catching salmond as deep as 55′ deep as well. It all depends on the school. \u00a0The small fish will pretty much hit anything, but the bigger fish are more particular so don’t be afraid to pull off a lure that is working for small fish in an attempt to find one that the bigger fish are liking. \u00a0It is important that we do the best we can to release the small fish (future generations) fish in good health. \u00a0I try to avoid touching them by leaving them in the net and using pliers to get the hooks out. \u00a0Get them back to the water as quick as possible and more often than not they will release just fine as long as they weren’t hooked bad. \u00a0If you do have one die (it’s almost inevitable), it does count as part of your possession so please don’t throw it out to the sea gulls! \u00a0The salmon have pulled out of the deep water and most fish are hanging out from the surface down to about 40′. \u00a0Read your electrconics, tip your baits with corn, and if you know you are running through fish, but you not getting bit, change your bait until you find a combo that they like. \u00a0Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and Radical Glow spinners have been dominating as far as producing kokanee! **Don’t forget that the daily bag limit has changed to 5 fish this year! \u00a0The rangers have been checking and handing out tickets to those who are over possession!<\/p>\n

Lake Trout-<\/strong>\u00a0With the rising water temps, the bigger lake trout have gone deep and scattered! \u00a0The smaller lake trout can be found on all of the classic structure that they like to hang on (points, humps, flats) in 45-75 feet of water. \u00a0A 3.5″ tube jig in white, glow, or green with a small piece of sucker meat will do the trick. \u00a0We are also catching some trolling spoons that imitate kokanee salmon. \u00a0Remember to only keep what you can eat!<\/p>\n

Yellow Perch-<\/strong>\u00a0The perch have moved shallow and the bite has been good! Look for them in 10-40 feet of water and if you can find brush, you can find perch and right now there is a lot of submerged brush. \u00a0Cove areas can be good too. \u00a0A small Pk spoon with a piece of worm will put plenty of fish in the boat, but a small crappie jig is a good choice as well!<\/p>\n

**This fishing report is brought to you by Robby Richardson of Sport Fish Colorado. \u00a0My reports are based off of my daily outings. \u00a0Good luck and God Bless!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n