Sawhill and Walden

Started by PaulRoberts, March 04, 2007, 03:43:53 PM

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PaulRoberts

I'm new here...Howdy all!

A little (bad) news for us Boulder area bassers. Sorry to be the one to bring it -on my first post.

The extremely low water in Sawhill and Walden Ponds coupled with the snow this winter caused substantial winter kills in at least the shallowest ponds.

Largest fish tend to die first (excluding carp) so bass were hit hard. I haven't perused all the ponds yet as some are still iced. Many bass were washed up, floating, and many are likely on the bottom. Even bullheads were dead in some ponds.

It's a good time to get an idea of how your fishing success compares to what was there to be caught though. The largest bass I found was a 20.25 inch. However, since large fish are apt to die first, the largest may have already been decomposing on bottom by the time the ice began to break up.

Such kills can be great actually by clearing the way for excellent growth in future years, but it'll take a few years for growth.

If you get to the ponds in the next couple weeks let us know what you see. Would be nice to know which ponds were affected.

Paul

PaulRoberts

Well, we're almost back to square one.
Some Sawhill and Walden ponds are very low again. Whatever we gained from the new ditch has been lost. Bummer, if we get a lot of snow this winter.

PaulRoberts

Bummer -We're getting snow on the ice. We need a thaw.

PaulRoberts

Sun's getting higher now; Almost time to start checking ponds for thawing, and winterkill. Fish killed earlier on in the winter sink, so you have to get there early. North shorelines thaw first. Any warm spell now can thaw the north shores -the sun angle is sharp enough now.

HogMaster

That Blows Paul.  Hate to see it! 
HOGS ARE MY BUSINESS!! AND BUINESS IS GOOD!

PaulRoberts

No signs of kill yet -still iced up. But the water gained with the new ditch was lost by the end of the summer I noticed. We'll see in the next few weeks what comes.

k0diak

Hope we have some good bass fishing there this spring! That place is FUN  ~bb


"The only thing better than fishing, is talking about fishing."

PaulRoberts

I found no serious kills this year (2008). I didn't check them all by any means, but some water was diverted into the ponds and although they are still very low (historically), they are up about 8 inches or so from last year at this time.

One pond did appear to have had a partial kill, following a devastating kill last winter. It's #4 for those who don't want to waste time. Two years ago it had a strong year class that had reached about 12". I took a 19" there three years ago. But it was devastated last winter and even hit again this winter.

If other fishers were out and about at ice-out this year, it would be nice to know if you noticed any kills.

Good luck this season, and practice C&R in these hard fished waters. Thanks in advance.

left_turn56

Thanks for the report...I really enjoy fishing those lakes!

Where are we going...and why are we in this hand basket???

Basso Profundo

went on saturday.....nada fished bass pond, duck, and the back 2 sawhills...water is low saw some small bass. three of us skunked.
call me Erik