Colorado Springs Maps And Info For Carp Fishing - Quail Lake

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.

Quail Lake 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
Wiper - 10
Striped Bass - 10
Walleye - 5
Saugeye - 5
Channel Catfish - 10
Black Bullhead Catfish - unlimited
Green Sunfish - 20
Bluegill - 20
Black Crappie - 20
Hybrid Grass Carp - unlimited
Common Carp - unlimited
Northern Pike - unlimited
European Rudd - unlimited

Literally the same fish species that can be found in Propect lake and Pikeview reservoir are found here, and there could very well be more! This is the only body of water out of the three that I know for certain has Northern Pike.


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
Caddis
Damsels

Beetles
Ants
Hoppers

And probably more! These are just the hatches and terrestrials I've witnessed during my time spent there. 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 Quail's lower elevation compared to the more popular places such as Elevenmile and Spinney.

Crustaceans:

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!

Colorado Springs Maps And Info For Carp Fishing - Prospect Lake

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.

Prospect Lake 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
Wiper - 10
Striped Bass - 10
Walleye - 5
Saugeye - 5
Channel Catfish - 10
Black Bullhead Catfish - unlimited
Green Sunfish - 20
Bluegill - 20
Black Crappie - 20
Hybrid Grass Carp - unlimited
Common Carp - unlimited


These are just the species my friends and I have caught, and there could very well be more! I have even noticed over the last couple of years that someone thought it would be cute to release koi/goldfish into the lake, and they are there in surprising numbers.


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

Ants
Beetles

And probably more! These are just the hatches and terrestrials I've witnessed during my time spent there. 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 Prospect's lower elevation compared to the more popular places such as Elevenmile and Spinney.

Crustaceans:

The only crustacean that I know of is the crawfish. I have talked to people who have used scud shrimp and landed fish, but I don't know if scuds were put there by the CDOW after they last drained and relined the lake. I will keep you guys posted if I find out otherwise.

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!

Recent Photos From Elevenmile Canyon Fishing Adventure

Jan. 26th was my first guide trip for 2014, and it was a great time! My clients were completely new to fly-fishing, and they were capable and enthusiastic learners. The biggest thing working against us was the 40 m.p.h. wind... However, they fought through it and were rewarded with a colorful 11 Mile Canyon bow, and some great memories. Here's the photos...

Fly Fishing Film Tour Coming to Colorado Springs This February 7th!

To purchase tickets follow this link or stop by Anglers Covey on the corner of Hwy. 24 and 21st street for more information! Doors open at 5pm, and I suggest you get there early to find a parking spot. Proceeds benefit Project Healing Waters. Check out some of the trailers for the films!



320 Trailer from Cpt Jack Films on Vimeo.

See What I Discovered at Fountain Creek After the Floods and Sign a Petition to Protect Browns Canyon From Mining!

I recently decided to check out Fountain Creek above Manitou Springs to see what I could find, and the results were both depressing and promising. Click here to check out my On The Fly column in the Gazette and read all about it.

Also, the Browns Canyon section of the Arkansas river is facing potential threats from mining. Click here to read more about what's happening, and sign the petition to protect this precious resource!

Tight Lines!

Sticker Envy - Colorado Stickers Round 1

First, I'd like to apologize for the lack of Colorado Fly Fishing Magazine contribution! We took a bit more time to spend as a family during this holiday season. Mostly because last year was an extremely busy year -which is a good thing.

The "Sticker Envy" segment is actually one of my favs even though I'm not a big sticker guy. Lately, there have been a ton of stickers coming out with the Colorado flag on them, and they look fantastic! The support for Colorado from the fishing community after the recent fires and floods has also been awesome. I'm a firm believer that if you put the Colorado flag on any piece of art it enhances the product. Here are a few great examples... (note: all stickers are currently available at Anglers Covey, so stop by and pick yours up!)

These two are definitely my favorites! The stonefly in particular tugs on my trout bum heart strings, but both are great.

 

The Rep Your Water stickers were some of the first that I had seen in the store. This was one of those impulse buys
where I didn't even hesitate the moment I saw it. 

Friend/artist/fellow fly-fishing guide/and owner of Blindside Ski and Snowboard Jon Easdon came up with this design for
Anglers Covey and it pretty much rocks! A edgy looking Pikes Peak with the classic Colorado C, and a trout in the foreground, this one's hard not to love if you're a fan of AC or Colorado. 

Colorado Wildebeest!

Saw these beasties up near Spinney today! This is just roughly one half of the massive herd of antelope...