›› I’ve heard plenty of whoppers about Aurora in my day, but a prime fishing spot?
Turns out, it’s no fish story.
Nestled in our busy metropolis is the sleepy Quincy Reservoir, a surprising lure for anglers from all over Colorado with its reputation as the place to reel in the bass.
I’d driven by countless times but never got the real feel until my visit there with veteran Park Ranger Terry Jones. Jones knows just about every drop of Quincy Reservoir. He’s an affable graduate of nearby Smoky Hill High School. He hunted white-tailed deer with friends along the reservoir’s fence-line in his high school days. Don’t tell anyone. Since then, he’s spent the past 21 years as a warden of Quincy’s waters.
Jones is more than happy to introduce a wannabe fisherman like me — who hasn’t pulled out a rod and reel for years — to the finer points of the reservoir just south of East Quincy Avenue. With about 4 miles of shoreline and 160 acres of water surface, there’s plenty of room for the savvy veteran or the timid novice to experience the patient — and hopefully sudden — thrill of fishing.
In Colorado, heading to the mountains to find a tranquil fishing spot isn’t hard, but having a unique venue like Quincy Reservoir in our backyard saves miles and time. Time means fish. There also isn’t much difference in what you might find at higher elevations, especially in the active months of April, May and June.
Lurking in Quincy Reservoir’s waters are copious largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie and even the perpetual fisherman’s yarn of a remaining tiger muskie, an elusive breed dubbed the “fish of 10,000 casts” by anglers, which were stocked in the reservoir until 2001.
Jason Potter pulled the state record tiger muskie — a 40.2-pounder that measured 51 inches long —out of Quincy’s waters in 1994, but Jones believes the slippery species is gone.
A big lure for Quincy Reservoir is how easy it is to fish, at least the nuts and bolts.
There are rules to be followed, for sure, but you don’t have to have a television fishing show like Babe Winkelman to successfully catch bass. Don’t be intimidated by the Cadillac lures other fisherman may have, you can find them on the cheap: see the 107-piece “Luck E Strike Crappie Kit” — retail $3.95 at Wal-Mart. As long as they are artificial — no handling of worms, hooray —they can work.
Jones points out the growing number of sporting goods stores, especially those specializing in hunting and fishing, makes it as easy as ever to find a simple rod and reel combinations.
You don’t need a boat to fish Quincy Reservoir — which boasts a handicap-accessible dock that can be a jackpot in warmer weather — but if you bring one, it must be hand inspected. Keeping aquatic weeds and zebra mussels, scourges of healthy fishing, out of the water is one of the major tasks for Jones and his fellow rangers.
The key to hooking bass, or so I’m told, is first to find them. Seems simple enough, eh?
Try asking a regular where to look. He might tell you. Or, he might not. Dillon Johnson — who grew up a short walk from Quincy Reservoir and has fished it for 13 years — would not. Eyes hidden behind a pair of reflective sunglasses, Johnson kept his sweet spot to himself.
Rumor has it bass hang out along shorelines, especially where the water is broken, and wait to ambush what they think is prey in the water. Quincy Reservoir has a prime target area: an eastern arm that zig-zags lazily out of sight from the shoreline below the ranger station at the entrance of the reservoir.
Water laps around well-worn rocks, gnarled tree limbs and a variety of water, creating the perfect environment for bass to spawn in May and June when water temperatures rise. That also creates easy access, which makes presentation — Jones’ No. 1 emphasis — the trick.
Make the bass believe your lure is a small fish or something else that looks like food and they’ll probably fall for it: hook, line and sinker. Sort of.
But even if you come up fishless, spending a few hours at Quincy Reservoir is well worth the time. Escape from the din of Aurora life and take in the cacophony of bird calls or the gentle splash of ducks as they land in the water. A ring of houses, the same houses that have been around since the reservoir opened, creates a natural shield from civilization. Quincy remains a great place to grab a pole and relax. That’s no yarn.
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Go Fish
Aurora Reservoir 5800 S. Powhaton Road 303-690-1286
Fees: $10 per vehicle (daily) or season pass
Common fish: Wiper, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout and walleye
Quincy Reservoir 18350 E. Quincy Ave. 303-693-5463
Fees:$7 per person (daily) or season pass
Common fish: Largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie, trout