Guide and Master Angler, Barry Reynolds published one of the best books ever written for catching Pike, titled “Mastering Pike on the Fly”. If you get the chance, pick up a copy of this book. It is worth every penny!
Williams Fork Reservoir, located in Grand County, Colorado is labeled a “Trophy Pike” fishery by Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife. The Northern Pike are generally BIG!
The best time to fish for these predators is springtime, after ice off. Pike spend this time of the season warming themselves in the shallow water where the sun warms the water up pretty quick, especially if the lake bottom is darker colored. The warmer water raises their body temperature, and their metabolism, so their appetite increases. Williams Fork has a large expanse of shallow water on the south side of the lake, which is where you should focus your efforts.
5 Tips and Techniques For Spring Time Pike at Williams Fork Reservoir:
- Temperature Of The Water Is Critical. Spring pike tend to bite once the water warms up, so feel free to sleep in, as the morning temperature of this reservoir always starts out cold!
- Change Your Fly And/Or Your Retrieve. Once pike become active, you may notice that they will follow your fly, but not strike it. Seeing this is both encouraging and discouraging, so how do you turn a follow-up into a strike? Try changing to a smaller fly or a different color fly, change the speed of your retrieve, or change the direction of the fly by pointing your rod a different direction. The pike will let you know what they like and don’t like! …and if this doesn’t work, Move!
- Move: There is a LOT of shallow water on the south side of the reservoir to fish, so pick a spot, cast out different directions, move and repeat. If you spot a pike that just won’t bite no matter the changes you make, move! Pike that ignore you once will ignore you 99 more times!
- Get Their Attention: Pike are the top predators, and are designed to detect a meal using their “lateral line” to sense vibrations in the water. Don’t be afraid to cast a heavy fly that spats the water, which will definitely get their attention. Once the fly lands, let it sit for a few seconds so that the fish can locate the fly, then strip it.
- Flies: Pike will eat anything that fits in their mouth, so don’t be afraid to experiment. That being said, my favorite pike flies are baitfish patterns like Clousers and Deceivers and top water patterns that pike will explode on, including a Nervous Neda. These flies are all available through DiscountFlies Online Fly Shop.
Pike Spawn in the Spring. If you spot a fish that is more interested in other pike vs. your fly, don’t be offended! Once the spawn is over, you can expect that they will be very hungry, and more attentive to what you are offering!
