As soon as I turned into the park I was floored by the amount of wildlife I spotted in the short drive to the boat ramp. A few deer with their ears perked up, a coyote with its head barely noticeable peering over the prairie grass at those deer, and a mischievous raccoon digging in the trash. After launching my kayak I felt like I was in the middle of a Wild America scene so much that I could almost hear Marty Stouffer’s voice. I was surrounded by pelicans, cormorants, hawks, and a handful of birds I couldn’t identify without a bird watchers handbook.
Right after launching my kayak I couldn’t believe I was only three miles away from my front Door. # I’ve lived right next to Barr Lake the majority of my adult life and to be honest I’ve never given it a shot. I guess hearing buddies talk about it for years finally piqued my interest enough to check things out myself. Neal Wilkinson owner of Rocky Mountain Adventure Guides drives from Larkspur for Barr’s sometimes amazing walleye fishing. Matt Mascarenas a guide for Tightline Outdoors and park ranger at Barr Lake enjoys the walleye and perch fishing at Barr Lake. Both Neal and Matt are accomplished anglers that wouldn’t waste their time repetitively fishing a location if it wasn’t worth it, or they’re in cahoots and messing with me!
Fifteen minutes after launching I caught my first walleye from Barr Lake. A few hours later I lost count of how many walleye I’d landed and couldn’t believe how naïve I’d been to look past Barr for so long. I didn’t catch anything big that first day out on Barr, but I did catch I’d guess 25 walleye in the 13-16 inch range. I also had a fish come unbuttoned that felt really big… could have been a carp, but then again it could have been a monster walleye! The grueling 4 minute drive home was sweet icing on the cake after an awesome day on the water.
From that point on I’ve been a regular at Barr Lake fishing it multiple times a week. I’ve caught walleye, perch, largemouth bass, crappie, carp, bluegill, and a toad of a wiper. Much like anywhere else fishing at Barr Lake has its ups and downs, but after you learn the lake you can expect to catch a few fish even on a slow day. Last month there was an amazing bite vertically snapping Jigging Raps on top of subtle pieces of structure. I use the biggest jigging raps they make and prefer anything with some flash or chrome to mimic the shad in Barr Lake. As that bite has started to slow down I’ve transitioned to trolling bottom bouncers and Lindy rigs with crawlers and that has kept me on fish. I can’t tell you how fun it is to try new to me techniques out of my kayak! I’m not reinventing the wheel or even changing the tire pressure with how I’m trolling in my kayak, but it’s been a ton of fun so far.
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