Fishing and Ice Conditions Report

Lake John/Delaney Butte/Cowdrey Lakes

Good afternoon! With the Front Range receiving ever increasing spring-like conditions, we are getting more and more calls inquiring about ice and/or open water. The weather in North Park has turned a little more spring-like, teasing us with a real nice day or two each week and temperatures increasing much more this coming week. This past week our average low temperature was 16 degrees and our average high temperature was 38 degrees.

The area lakes are seeing some change and we are starting to lose ice thickness. Lake John is still pushing about 12-16 inches of good ice, North and South Delaney are still pushing about 17-19 inches of solid ice, and Cowdrey is at roughly 11-13 inches of good ice. However, if you hit any one of these lakes on a sunny, warmer day, the top few inches will be slushy by mid-afternoon and the west banks of Lake John and South Delaney are seeing a few small open water patches, but the majority of the lakes are ice for now. Cowdrey’s north side is seeing some open water patches as well.

The main roads are all presently in great condition, however you can expect entrance roads and parking areas adjacent to the lakes to get muddy and rutted with melting, while things warm up as the day progresses. All secondary access roads alongside the Delaney lakes and Lake John are still accessible. No vehicles are traveling Lake John’s ice surface anymore as of this past weekend, but they are still venturing out on North and South Delaney’s.

This past weekend we saw some good action for many anglers on Lake John and some of our friends who fished South Delaney on Sunday had a decent day of 17-20” rainbows. The Lake John fish aren’t too picky right now, with anglers using a variety of offerings to entice a bite. Of course, some days and some fishermen are better than others, but at the present time the trout are cooperating nicely. If the bite does happen to be slow, change your presentation and depth. Lately, the target has had a liking for a jig or lure with a piece of meat. Meal worms, night crawlers or a piece of shrimp are all good choices and oddly enough power bait with garlic has been picking back up. Cowdrey is biting well with a small jig and mealworm and producing 16-18” rainbows as well.

We will keep an eye on the ice, open water spots and temperatures and keep everyone posted! Please feel free to stop by and share your fishing pictures and updates with us.