Fishing Johnson Creek in Mesa County, Colorado

• Overview

  Johnson Creek is one of the Mesa County listings for Colorado. It sits in pine and birch. Redlands is the closest place, 14 miles off. Provo sits 183 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Others worth noting: Gobbo Reservoir near enough 0.6 miles, Schrader Reservoir 1.4 miles away, King Reservoir near enough 1.8 miles, Enochs Lake 2.1 miles away and Gobbo Reservoir Number 3 near enough 2.2 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Johnson Creek

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Undercut banks hold fish that the middle of the river never will. Gravel runs and silted pools fish quite differently, so treat them apart. Species logged across Mesa County include flannelmouth sucker, bluehead sucker and green sunfish. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Work Johnson Creek in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 64°F in July and bottoms out near 22°F in January. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. The quiet pools cap over in winter, the riffles never quite do, and mid April clears the lot. Climate averages put the opening at about mid April and the closing near early December. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. It holds true on Johnson Creek more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Gobbo Reservoir, 0.6 miles away. Where Johnson Creek is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.