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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Colorado Springs Maps And Info For Carp Fishing - Pikeview Reservoir

Warning: The information provided is subject to change. Stocking programs change, the ecology of the lakes change, and the list goes on... We will do our best to provide you with updates as new info comes in.

Regulations: All statewide limits apply. We have taken the liberty of posting those limits next to the present fish species listed below. Bow hunting for carp inside city limits is illegal! I will turn you in if I see you shooting my pets.

Pikeview is a typical Colorado Springs stillwater fishery. By this I mean that it is fed by city water, is fairly shallow, and many different cold and warm water fish species call it home. All three major lakes (Prospect, Quail, and Pikeview) are what I like to call "mutt" lakes. By this I mean that -depending on the time of year- these lakes are home to so many different fish species it can be hard to tell what's on the end of your line. This list includes...


Rainbow Trout - 4
Snake River Cutthroat Trout - 4
Largemouth Bass - 5
Spotted Bass - 5
Wiper - 10
Striped Bass - 10
Walleye - 5
Saugeye - 5
Yellow Perch - 20
Channel Catfish - 10
Black Bullhead Catfish - unlimited
Green Sunfish - 20
Bluegill - 20
Black Crappie - 20
Hybrid Grass Carp - unlimited
Common Carp - unlimited
European Rudd - unlimited


This is another place where goldfish/koi can be found. Also, Tiger Musky were present at one point, and still could be. I have not seen any musky, and I have fished here a ton for them. I got report that the musky put in the reservoir a while ago were sterile, so I imagine a predatory fish like that would get fished out pretty quick from a place that gets as much pressure from anglers as Pikeview does.


Of course, where there are thriving fish there is a ton of food in the form of insects, crustaceans, and forage fish. These food options include...

Insects:

Chironomids
Callibaetis
Damsels

Beetles
Ants - TONS of ants...


And probably more! These are just the hatches and terrestrials I've witnessed during my time spent here. Literally, chironomids start coming off the moment the reservoir is free of ice, and the callibaetis and damsels start earlier as well. This is due to Pikeview's lower elevation compared to the more popular places such as Elevenmile and Spinney.

Crustaceans:

Crawfish - TONS of crawfish...


Forage Fish:

Gizzard Shad
Golden Shiner


The only other potential food source I can think of is the resident fish species themselves. Yes, they do eat each other...

Guide Tip: You will start to see clouds of black bullhead catfish fingerlings around late June/early July. These giant schools of baby catfish stay shallow because they make for easy targets for predatory fish. You will notice that as the size of the fish in these schools get larger, the size of the schools get smaller. The other fish in the lake really key in on these little guys, and it's a great time to toss a dark olive or black colored wooly bugger. Black also seems to be a good color for common carp during this time.

Click on the boxes and interest points on the map to learn about each spot! To better avoid the annoying white information box click on the full screen icon on the upper right corner of the map! 

Enjoy and please subscribe to keep this website going!

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