New to CO Icefishing

[ztamble]

Looking to get out somewhere mid-week within an hour from Denver. Do people fish after sundown here? I work during the day and would most likely be getting out around 4pm or so. I'm reading a lot about places closing at dark or people leaving at dark - is this normal? I'm from MN and we would go out to lakes just before dark a lot.

Heard about Evergreen but closes at dark??
Dillon where the Snake comes in - any luck?
Chatfield and the ponds around it?
Boyd - where to fish?
Monument Lake - where to fish?
Green Mountain - where to fish?
Georgetown - heard you go through blades on a daily basis.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[Bigassbassman]

Welcome to IceShanty and welcome to CO!  Any of the state parks you can stay after dark, ie Boyd, Chatty, Cherry Creek, since they allow camping and the parks never "close".  Just buy a park pass and you're good to go as long as you want at night.  Good luck!

[mtnhillbilly]

Welcome to CO I did a short tour in MN but never iced there! I live in Georgetown and don't fish here too noisy and mostly stockers with some hold overs (trout)
What are you looking to fish for? An hour from Denver this direction gets you Dillon but your will have to go further for other areas you mention! My luck with Dillon is usually tiny rainbows and cokes with the occasional 16" brown or 14" char

[ztamble]

Thanks, Bigassbassman and mtnhillbilly. I'm looking to catch some some rainbows, browns, any trout really - that'd be fun. I'd also love to find walleye or crappie or sunnies like back home! I have some jigs, a rapala jigging minnow, and a kastmaster. I'm planning on jigging off the bottom or if it's more than 30' to try different depths.

[sisabdulax]

Welcome to Co and the shanty!! Been wanting to try nights myself. Especially for walleyes

[Beerslushy]

Welcome to CO from a fellow MN transplant.  You will have no problem finding trout here but I haven't had much luck catching them after dark.  As long as the weather stays cold you can find warmwater species along the front range but if it warms up you'll have no choice but to go to the mountains.  Just do a little homework and fish a few different lakes until you figure it out.  Good luck and have fun!

[Teamroper3684]

For trout in all honesty I've always used small panfish type jigs with a meal work and have caught tons and tons of trout.  Flashy things work kastmasters, spoons all that good stuff but the little crappie jigs you can buy at Walmart in the little ice fishing starter kit is what I've always used.  I've even caught a laker on one before amazingly.  So all your gear for panfish back home try it out I find the fish drop it to them put a bobber on and jig it a little every once in a while.  I actually never iced with a flasher until I started laker fishing a lot more.  Find a spot drill a hole and start fishing sometimes they hit hard sometimes they don't. I usually put a couple split shots above the jig just to get it down into some deeper water.  Ratso's, ratfinkee's, laker paddles, and tear drop jigs is kind of my rainbow Arsenal. Usually pink, orange, yellow, green and glow is my go to colors

[sisabdulax]

for tip ups I have had luck for my kids hanging a single salmon egg foot or so below ice