Getting a really big dump of snow here in NW Colorado!
Had a cold spell come through earlier in the week with just a little snow but the one today is dumping a ton of snow! Supposed to keep dumping thru tomorrow!
Pray for a long dry warm spell after this or the deer will be hurting...
Woke up and found out I’m off of work today. Keystone got 11 inches, Vail 17 inches and Breckenridge 19 inches overnight. Biggest decision of the day is figuring out where to go play on my snowboard...Life is good!!!
Plowed 6” last night. Another foot followed by freezing rain due today with tonight predicted at -11 and heavy winds. The deer are cozy in the winter yard on my land and munching on the maples and one huge hemlock I dropped for them. They do a good job of limbing my firewood and future hemlock siding for my barn.
Was along the Colorado/WY border 2 weeks ago. There was more snow and the snow was nastier (crusted and drifted) worse than any year in the last 15 other than 07/08. Unless something changes we are looking at 07/08 condition in the area again. This added to the CPWs hopes to kill all the mature bucks by increasing buck licenses and then compounded by the shift to later seasons. NW Colorado deer are done. They were already hammered hard this last year, but it will get worse...
South of Wamsetter the snow berms for the oil and gas roads are taller that a pickup and getting deeper. These berms are killer on any wildlife in the area.
On the bright side, all the snowpack is going to make for a great fishing season once the runoff is over. Personally, I think the drought years are harder on the big game than the heavy snow years, just based on observations around my place.
View of my house from the GFs deck. Supposed to continue through tomorrow. She loves snow, so she's out plowing the driveway and I'll send her over to plow mine after she puts another log on the fire and makes my breakfast. :-p
I'm with your GF, Lou, I love firing up my tractor/loader and plowing snow. After my season ending crash last year, I've kinda lost my passion for skiing, so plowing is about the only satisfaction I get from a heavy snow storm these days. All things considered, I'd rather be on my fishing boat in Florida.
Have to spend too much time digging out to enjoy winter.
Used to love skiing when I lived on the front range.
Quit when I moved up to the mountains.
Used to get some lion and coyote hunting in the winter as well. Don’t have any time for that anymore with having to be in Denver so much. Get home and have too many “honey-do’s”...
Just hoping that we don’t lose a bunch of deer with this kind of storm...
My daughter just said over 20" right in Kremmling and still snowing. Many hundreds elk and deer winter around there. Not good. She said Trough Road, Rabbit Ears and Berthoud all closed.
Rur Nut, real men use hand augers only. Ice fishing isn't supposed to be easy. Those eAugers are cheating. :-) But I wish my 35 year old fire breather would just quit so I can justify an eAuger. It keeps running like a champ and shows no sign of slowing down.
I don’t think they did much “hole hopping” in the GOOD OLD DAYS! ;-)
Jaq- get yourself one of the new high torque brushless 18v drills like the Milwaukee Fuel or Rigid Octane. You can use it for projects around the house in Summer and then ice augering in the winter.
Jaq, what augar do you have GF use when you folks are ice fishing ? Or do you have her manually dig a hole in the ice? Maybe if you got her a new electric she could get to the rest of your chores faster (if we really believe everything that you said before ). Kidding aside, l do not icefish but my son does and wonder what diameter holes you recommend on a large resovoir that holds some big trout. Thanks.......badbull
X2 on the Milwaukee 18v Fuel or a battery powered Milwaukee hole hawk. It drills 10 inch holes like butter and you don’t have to worry about trying to start the damn thing when it’s -20 on the lake. Very dependable, light weight and beats the brakes off an ol hand auger, more lightweight and dependable than that ol gas auger too. Seems to still be working for CNelk as those are some beautiful lakers that he’s pulling through the ice. Great job Brad, but RutNut is right, 1981 just put out an APB on that old ass auger.
And then when you see the traffic heading into the mountains Friday afternoon and Saturday to stand in lift lines and back down Sunday makes you wonder. Maybe OTC hunting not so bad!!
Of the 3 deer that survived last years print button 2 got whacked by cars... I sure hope that big girl has twins. But one thing is certain, you can count on LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY.
That was the gondola from Vail Village. Once you get up the mountain it thins out a little. There are other ways to get up the mountain. I still would not be there on a day like that. A friend that lives up there, told me he went to a different resort, an no lines at all, on the same day.
14 inches two days ago, followed by a balmy -35 Saturday night. So far, 6” today. Leaving to plow. Yesterday was sunny and in the single digits after the -35. Took my beagle out after hare and it was a great run for 4 hours. Built a fire, cooked sausage, and had a tea after I caught up with my beagle a mile from my truck. I was 7 miles in a logging road so it was peaceful. Just a grader plowing out the wood yards. With about 3 feet in the woods it is going to get rough on the deer, but they have had it easy up to now. My beagle pushed a lynx out and he ran on top of the snow like it was bare ground.
I gotta hand it to you ice fisherman. I've tried it and didn't care for it, at all. Give me a fly rod, a drift boat, a good buddy or 2, and sunny warm temps and I'm a happy camper.
I think Dirks chart clearly shows there's no reason to fret about the wildlife this winter, yet. With the highest area only 31% over median snowpack, and the rest of the state between 4% and 25% above normal, the animals should be doing just fine. And this spring should be green and luscious for them. The fish are going to be fat and happy too.
Have never understood how ice fishin works? Ya gotta have the spot spotted before freeze up? Seems to me ya can't move. Good luck folks, would like to try it sometime with someone that knew what they were doing. In KS we never get ice I trust.
Took the family skiing the same day as that Vail pic. Maybe 15-20 people in the lift lines at our spot and its 1/2 hour closer with very little traffic.
Prople who don't ice fish can't understand the attraction. First time for my gf in December and within a couple minutes a big rainbow was sharking around her lure, she got so mesmerized watching it that she forgot to set the hook. Now she has it down, and there's a lot of laughing and squealing going on while we're reeling them in.
As far as moving, with a portable insulated flip hut you just flip the top, pull the sled to a new spot, drill a couple holes, and you're fishing again within a couple minutes. For deeper water where sight fishing isn't practical, we use color flashers so sensitive they will show a water bug swimming by.
I've won several thousand dollars in derbies and tournaments but nowadays I only fish for fun close to home.
Those Palominos are a cool fish. They put a couple of those in our stretch with some other stocked Rainbows this summer. I like being able to read the water better by studying how they spend their day in the various columns and how to better fish the real fish (not stockers) in the river. Unfortunately, once the eagles arrive, it's over for my Palominos...
I have a hand auger and a few rods. No shelter, fish finder, underwater camera, or other high tech stuff. I just know the lake pretty well, if the fish are not there when I set up, I wait. They will come through.
Jaq, that is a great pic of GF and fish. She sure shows a lot of spunk to be out there in the cold on the ice and obviously enjoying the fishing. I have a great wife but I don't think that I could ever get her out there (at least for very long). Good for both of you.......Bob
She put down her IPA, bundled-up and emerged out of the 70 degree hut for the photo...
Matt, I stock hundreds of them every year in the lakes I manage. We smoked that one but I usually put everything back because I'm not crazy about trout wxcept smoked. They're strange fish, grow faster than regular rainbows, but regular rainbows like to hang with them so when we see a couple we know there are other fish below them to cast to. We sell a lot of daily guest passes to people who come up from the Front Range to try to catch one.
Golden trout possess white, mushy meat. I too don't care for trout like other people do. I like it but, they are far behind a catfish, bass, or perch caught from cold water. Or, a walleye, crappie, brim, or red eye caught from any temperature water. Anyways, as far as golden trout are concerned, they are the worst for table fare of any of the trout species.
