TTG "On the Water" Reader Report

Spinney Mountain Reservoir Colorado (End of November)

Spinney is simply the premier big trout lake in Colorado. Period. Anyone who has fished it will know what I’m talking about. Anyone who hasn’t fished it… those guys need to get to Spinney and check it out.

Spinney is a Gold Medal designated fishery. That means, artificials only, minimum size that you can keep is 20”. And, there are many 20”+ fish. I’ve had days on Spinney where I’ve caught 15 fish, with an average size of 19-20”. Thick, chunky fish that fight hard. What more can you ask for?

I had some time off, so I fished Spinney four times in two weeks. I knew Spinney would ice up soon and wanted to test it out several times during the last week or two before then. Our average was 15 to 20 fish per outing for my wife and I. Spinney closed Nov 29 and will probably reopen in March or April (the Parks Dept will open it when ice-off happens.)

We didn’t get into any of the real lunkers that we know are there. [The fish my wife has here is a typical 22” Rainbow.] Although… I probably had two of the really huge Northern Pike that are also there on my line. Both times, my rod snapped down very hard, I had a heavy weight surging hard for 20 or 30 seconds. Then, nothing. Sawed off. In one case, it was my favorite 6” AC Skinny, Rainbow Trout color that had caught a bunch of good fish. The other was a 5” AC Real Trout, again Rainbow Trout color. I typically use 8# P-Line Fluorocarbon as my leader for trophy trout. Works real well on larger trout. But, I should use a wire leader for Northerns. If I do that, I won’t catch any trophy trout. Can’t get around this dilemma.

There are two minor issues with Spinney to be aware of. Northerns are in the lake, they were probably in the Platte River prior to it being dammed up. Or, perhaps its another example of some well intentioned angler stocking them into the lake. But, they’re there and some of them have grown to immense sizes. A friend had a Northern in the range of 50” (over 30 pounds) attack a 20” rainbow on his line. So, the word from the Colorado Dept of Wildlife (DOW) is to kill and keep all pike that you catch. One day last summer, my wife and I took 10 pike home. I urge everyone to do that, too.

The other irritant is somewhat unique here. Pelicans are protected, I’m not sure if they’re on the endangered or threatened lists, but you can’t harm them. The pelicans know a good thing when they see it… If you release a trout (any size) that’s not fully recovered from being caught… it’s a meal for the pelicans. Last year, I had a 24” cuttbow that fought hard and I ddin’t try to horse it in. Literally, as I released it, I had a pelican dive out of the sky and gobble it down. Very brazen. Last Father’s Day, my wife and I were fishing just outside of the hordes of belly boaters (over 200, looking somewhat like a bunch of Cheerios in a bowl of greenish milk). There were three pelicans in the midst of the belly boaters, waiting for the next trout …

Oh, the bottom line? Fishing is very good during the last few weeks prior to ice on. It’s almost as good as in the spring right after ice off. But, there’s a great reason to fish in the fall. No pressure. In the springtime, its common to see 30 or more boats on a Saturday. All the parking lots are full. For these recent trips, we only saw two or three other boats the entire time. I love it. I’ll be back next year!

TTG Reader Mark O.