Places to fish Evergreen / Conifer area

OK I'm interested to hear what people know about where to fish in our area.

I'm not talking about places we all know about- but places we don't all know about! I know about Evergreen Lake but I've heard that there is fishing up above near the Mt Evans wilderness area. I hear there are some ponds up there too- but I don't know exactly where they are. Anyone ever fished up there?

I am mostly interested in places like small streams- ponds and the like. Places that don't typically have the denver crowd fishing in them- and places that are open to public fishing without "fees and passes" required.

Of course this info would only be used by the 285bound.com crowd. I sure hope there are some good ideas out there!

Gibson lake, a hike but well stocked, Shelf lake the same . be prepared for a modestly difficult 2-3 hour hike but well worth it.

Georgetown lake is ok on weekdays. Guanella pass has some brookies in the beaver ponds when it is open. Nice lake in Nederland too, not sure how good it is for fishing. Some ponds in Golden gate canyon too I think. Other than that you may need to drive or hike.

The Mount Evans Wilderness & SWA along Upper Bear Creek doesn't open to the public until June 15. It is closed for Elk Manangement/Elk Calving. I was up there 2 weeks ago for work and the ponds in Beaver Meadows were open. Saw a number of brookies. Likewise for Bear Tracks Lakes.

Jefferson Lake should be open by now. Troll big streamers deep for Lake Trout. Yep, you have to pay.
The hikes up to Gibson & Shelf Lakes are do-able but you will encounter snow and partially/mostly iced lakes.

I imagine Echo Lake is open and will be weed free for the next month.
The Road to Sumit Lake is open however the lake may not be, and you have to pay to use the road. It's tough fishing anyway.

If I could go out this weekend it would be along Clear Creek from Taterville up to Empire (The Lawson exit is a great place to start too). Also Bear Creek From Kittredge through Idledale to Morrison is good if you stay away from the parks. I caught and released 4 browns in less than an hour yesterday on Bear Creek below Bears Auto. Flows are only about 35-40 cfs. No waders needed, just put on some old hikers or some sandals, you'll cool off fast.

They (Denver Water) is really messing with the flows again on the North Fork so check the web before you head out. Fishing is improving below Foxton.
http://www.dwr.state.co.us/SurfaceWater/data/detail_graph.aspx?ID=PLABAICO

Joe wrote: Georgetown lake is ok on weekdays. Guanella pass has some brookies in the beaver ponds when it is open. Nice lake in Nederland too, not sure how good it is for fishing. Some ponds in Golden gate canyon too I think. Other than that you may need to drive or hike.

The beaver ponds on the Grant side of Guanella pass are no longer there. They are completely blown out as of last week. It will be some time before they get re-built if the beavers are still there. You can't get over the top just yet and there is no access to the ponds on the Georgetown side due to road construction and rock slides.

Edit: Apparently Guanella IS open.
http://285bound.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=139&t=11318

Thanks for the report Photo-fish. Why is bear creek good if you stay away from the parks? Have those areas been fished out? I'm always leary of fishing bear creek outside parks because I fugured most of that was private property. I'd like to know more about that.

I like to try those ponds at beaver meadows. Just wondering how close to bear track lakes one can get with a 4X4? Is there access near them from the upper bear creek area?

I just discovered a place down the hill for warm and cold water fishing without fees- South Platte reservoir park. It's near 470 and Santa Fe downstream from chatfield. I don't know how good the fishing is there but I'm going to give it a try in the coming weeks.

Thanks for the info on Guanella pass. I forgot about Jefferson Lake, its a real nice lake and close parking. A bit of a drive from Evergreen though.

Lair of the Bear and O'Fallon are packed with people from down the hill on weekends and too crowded for me. I have been involved with the fish shocking surveys on the creek and those 2 parks hold a healthy population of fish. Between Lair and Idledale there is a stretch called Little Park that has less pressure. Below Idledale there are a bunch of turn-outs along the road that give good access to public water.
Those south platte ponds look good. Let me know how they fish. I have been looking for a good place for bass & bluegills.

The closest you can get to Bear Tracks Lakes by vehicle is from the road to Camp Rock, but not until June 15. From there it is about a 4-1/2 mile hike. Or you can take a short 1/2 hour hike up a different trail to Beaver Meadows. They are much smaller and there is a hike in camping area right there.

Got my waders patched and the float tube aired up. I'm gonna hit Evergreem Lake reel early on Monday morning, then maybe try the creek late morning.

http://www.usprimetimes.com/7day.html?dataSet=5&start=0


Edit to add: Too windy to be on the lake although it was stocked week of 5/23. Went below the dam and fished the creek through town for lots of small browns and a couple over 10".

Jefferson Lake is fishing VERY GOOD right now. Last week there was still a bit of a snow beach on the west shore and a bunch in the trees. Moose tracks all over if you hike above the inlet. I caught a bunch of stocked rainbows a few small Makinaw and one very pretty cutthroat. All on a fly-rod.