I thought it would be fun to reach out to some locals that like to fish at lake Dillon and get their perspective. Frankly, As a business owner and guide, my perspective on Ice Fishing Lake Dillon has a motivator in there to market myself and this service. I wanted some content with all that taken out of it.
Thanks to Adam Jones (AJ) from Lone Tree Colorado for this great blog about early ice fishing at Lake Dillon.
The time of the year is upon us, when the light breeze gently moves between the mountain canyons of the Rockies making their way to the eastern plains. As temperatures start to change and old man winter arrives suddenly you get the ice fever and the urge to get on the ice, but it’s not quite the time for the lakes to freeze and this is where the wait seems to be forever. Yes, folks we are less than a month away from ice fishing. I don’t know about you but I’m itching to get out and hand drill my first ice fishing hole drop my favorite lure down and get me some salmon.
As in the years past lake Dillon will be among one of the first lakes to offer some fun family and friends fishing on the ice. A village of people with their variously colored ice huts as well as those that enjoy bearing the cold air will get out to socialize with other fishermen and women to spend some quality time together. You can find the first patch of ice towards the town of Keystone in the Snake River inlet where the salmon are scouring the river channel into the lake.
Preparing for an ice fishing trip requires a bit more work than shore fishing the fall or spring months. Make sure you have all the necessary gear needed to be safe and the appropriate lures and baits to get into fish, after all this is what it’s all about. You could avoid all the hard work and set up a time with a guide to get you out and show you ways to catch those pesky salmon. Of most importance is getting to lake Dillon on time to get yourself into a good spot and be there for the hot bite. I recommend leaving the house depending on your drive a couple of hours earlier. I live near Lonetree, CO so I usually leave the house at 4:45am hoping to arrive to Silverthorne by 6am, just shy of the sunrise.
I could go into a lot of detail on all things required for safety, lures or baits needed to bring home a lot of fish but I’m going to just cover the basics. Allow yourself the comfort of being warm, wear a thick coat that will protect you against below 0 temperatures, hat and gloves are very important during those days where the wind chill can be brutal on your ears and fingers. Lastly make sure you have some good shoes that will keep your feet warm and wet free. You must always be cautions when you’re on ice so always make sure you have ice pics.
Depending on if you’re coming out with your friends, a wife or children make sure everyone has a pole light or medium action so that you can jig your lure up and down and feel the subtle bites. Little kastmasters, ratfinkes or tungsten jigs in pink, orange or neon green will all work well without bait, but your chances will improve tipping your lures with shrimp you can pick up at Petco or any other pet food store. Your typical baits such as wax worms, crawlers and meal worms will do the job as well.
We are less than a month away from some fun ice fishing action at lake Dillon and I am very excited to get my ice fishing gear out and in full use. If you’ve never ice fished it is an experience that will create some amazing memories to talk about for years to come.
