Armed with a sense of civic duty and a bucket of water dogs, a trio of zealots marched upon Elevenmile recently with dreams of pike dinners dancing in their heads. What they accomplished won't go far toward easing the pike peril, but they did learn something that might be of interest to fellow fishermen in weeks and months ahead. These trout nibbled persistently at an assortment of tiny jigs, providing steady entertainment for fishermen whose pike tip-ups, baited with the wriggling salamanders, remained oddly inert. In moments of boredom, anglers peered through holes to watch a steady parade of trout at depths ranging from 10 to 20 feet. Villalovas' tactic for tempting trout in places where freshwater shrimp comprise such a major segment of the diet is to connect a scud pattern to his ice jig on a footlong dropper.
Trout bite the scud most of the time.
Small or large, this trout presence at Elevenmile offers a number of consolations for fishermen with a view for the brighter side. These growing fish give promise for better times at Elevenmile, whose sterling potential has been dulled of late by lagging hatchery production of both trout and kokanee salmon. More immediately, Elevenmile offers a handy alternative to what might become hard times at neighboring Antero Reservoir. The shallow waters at Antero often become troubled by oxygen depletion, causing stress among trout and suppressing the bite. Although its fish aren't nearly as large, Elevenmile can take up the slack if things turn sour at Antero.