Frustrated Fisherman

[Bob7830]

How's it going? I've lived in Denver for five years now and can probably count the number of bass I've caught out here on my fingers (maybe a few toes).  Given the hours I've put in, I figure I'm doing something wrong. 

I grew up in IL, and fished all the time and consider myself to be a pretty good angler.  I've had limited success out here at Quincy, Lowell, and various other ponds.  But like I said, "limited" is the operative word there.  Any suggestions on locations or techniques that tend to produce in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Also, if anyone was ever looking for a fishing partner, I'd love to go!  I don't have a boat, and fishing solo from shore can get pretty tedious.  I'd love to find someone to fish with.

Anyways, any suggestions and/or tips would be appreciated.  And, just so you know, I ALWAYS PRACTICE CATCH AND RELEASE!!!!  I love Colorado but miss catching fish!  I'm determined to make '09 the year of the Colorado Bass!

[HogMaster]

Bob dont give up!  The Q is a great Lake!  Let me know what hours you work I will give you some pointers on Quincy or Aurora.  As long as you pratice C&R I will give you a hand and getting into some fish.  PM me for some info.

[Farmer Ted]

I came from Minnesota 12 years ago and also had some fishing shock here when I got back into it. The fishable waters here are very limited and HIGHLY pressured when compared to the midwest. The fish here see so many things dropped in front of them that you need to go the extra mile to catch them. Look for ponds and places off of the beaten path. If it takes effort to get to it, that rules out 95% of people right there. Find a couple of places you can concentrate on and spend as much time fishing them as you can to learn the local seasonal patterns of the fish...keep a journal and record water temps and weather conditions as you fish.  If you are serious, it will take a year or so of hard fishing to figure things out but once you do you should have a pretty good handle on local bass fishing...Or if you get really frustrated with the amount of pressure and yahoos keeping bass at local fisheries you can just take several trips back to the midwest over the summer (like I am starting to do) and concentrate on fishing there.

[Basso Profundo]

do not dispair, man.
I grew up here but lived in the mountains and fished trout exclusively. I was a guide in the summers and eventually got burned on the yuppies and just trout in general....
some tips-
-go to co dep of wildlife and buy the book "fishing close to home".-tons of ponds that see no pressure
-use google maps to find ponds off the main paths
-look to the north (N of I-70). Hogmaster is absolutely right, the Q ,A-town and chatfield are great lakes but they are about it in the south metro.
-Lakewood is named that for a reason
-get a belly boat. lots of small ponds that do not allow boats but let you tube.
-think ghetto. my friends and I have a pond called "the pit" perfectly describes the pond. and it is in a part of town you would NOT go at night. but maybe thats why hardly anyone fishes it and its full of fish...
-look on maps along the major front range rivers thats generally where the ponds will be.
-very very few ponds in CO hold shad. in small ponds in summer i"ve found that if you look to where bugs fall in the water and use small topwaters you can smoke em.
- fish as much as possible definitely use good polarized glasses and pay attention to what the fish are telling you.