ESPN Freshwater

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Mike Garret is president of the Colorado Springs-based Pike's Peak Bassmasters fishing club. As an officer of the club and an avid bass chaser, Garret has been able to travel all over the region, both in Colorado and in surrounding states, to fish for bass.

We recently asked him his preferences on top bass waters for the upcoming fall season — that is, which lakes and reservoirs he thinks will fish the best as cooler daytime temperatures arrive and daylight hours shorten.

Going outside

"First, let me say that bass fishing in the states around Colorado is better than lakes in Colorado," Garret asserts.

"That's why my top choices for fall bass lakes would be Ute and Conchas in New Mexico, and then Cedar Bluff and Norton in Kansas. Ute and Conchas are great smallmouth lakes. Conchas fishes well in the fall. We're going there Sept. 23 for our final club tournament. And Cedar Bluff is really the only one in Kansas that's fishing well, because the rest have been drawn down badly."

Sleeper picks

Garret's choice for his first in-state fall bass lake may surprise more than a few Colorado bass anglers.

"I think Lathrop State Park — Martin and Horseshoe lakes — is the sleeper pick of the season," Garret said.

"They're not fished much. They're only a 90-mile drive from Colorado Springs. Both lakes are full, and lots of nice bass are caught there. They're small lakes, so they're great places to camp and get some good bass fishing in. Horseshoe seems to be the better of the two. But both lakes are good for smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass."

Next up

No surprise here, as Garret said his next choice would be Pueblo Reservoir. "There's so much boat traffic, it's tough fishing," said Garret.

"But after Sept. 1, water skiing and a lot of that boat traffic goes away. We held an all-night tourney there, and we had eight boats and 16 anglers. Everyone caught a limit — largemouth, smallmouth, spots. The biggest bass was 3 pounds. Pueblo's been drawn down, but it still has sufficient water to support the fish."

Go north

Garret said Horsetooth Reservoir — provided anglers can get their boats in — is a pretty fair fall lake.

"The disadvantage to that one is that it's a day-use fee lake, and they have one-way boat traffic on the lake. But the smallmouth are really coming back."

Honorable mentions

Garret's also bullish about bass prospects at Trinidad Lake.

"It always has good bass, but it's half its normal size. It's a good lake later in the fall, but I would not consider it a prime bass lake at this time. Fishing Chatfield in the evenings and at night is good — there's a great population of bass in there. Three lakes in southwest Colorado — Vallecito, Navajo, McPhee — are real good. I've been told that Navajo is fishing as well as it has in years. It's a good fall lake because of smallmouth, but I really like it in the spring."

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