Dixon Res Shiner Smack down

<p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/batch-image-set-single-viewer/102688" />Decided to head out to Dixon Reservoir at the foot of Horsetooth here in Colorado for a day of spring crappie fishing. The lake is in the foothills region and is&nbsp;really weedy and&nbsp;shallow. The wind was blowing hard in gusts that would take the lake from a light chop to the verge of white caps.</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/sites/default/files/image5_1.jpeg" /></p> <p>Dixon Reservoir in a calm moment.</p> <p>I got to work swinging a gold trout magnet, and quickly got into a couple crappie. A simple twitch retreive works great for these guys. Spring crappie are easily one of my favorite fish to target, which is tough to admit on a website dedicated to fish such as suckers and gar, but hey, they fight hard and provide consistent action, so what is not to love!</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/sites/default/files/image8.jpeg" style="height:640px; width:480px" /></p> <p>A typical Dixon crappie</p> <p>The third fish happened to put up a bit of different fight. It was a shakey and frantic fight, but it still put a healthy bend in my ultralight okuma ceilo. I was suprised to see that it was a big golden shiner;&nbsp;a new species for me.</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/sites/default/files/IMG_1262.JPG" /></p> <p>The first golden shiner</p> <p>I figured this was a total fluke, as I had tried to catch golden shiners in this lake for a long time with no avail. I've tried tanago hooks, size 12s, 18s, and everything in between, only to be plagued with bluegill.</p> <p>But the second cast out proved it was no fluke at all, and another beast of a golden shiner hit the bank. And another, and another, and another. I was having consistent action with some monsterous golden shiners, and It was a blast. I think I ended up around 20, give or take a few. I had no idea how aggressive they could be. Unfortunately, the action and the high profile spot brought in a bunch of other anglers, if you can call them that, that pushed me out of the spot. Either way, it was a tremendous day, and a great time.</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/sites/default/files/image6_0.jpeg" style="height:640px; width:480px" /></p> <p>The standard size of what I caught</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/sites/default/files/image2_1.jpeg" /></p> <p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/sites/default/files/image0%20%282%29.jpeg" /></p> <p>One of the bigger ones of the day. The trout magnet truly is one of the better multispecies lures out there.</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/sites/default/files/image4_0.jpeg" style="height:640px; width:480px" /></p> <p>A crappie gearing up to spawn</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/sites/default/files/image3.jpeg" /></p> <p>A bonus bluegill</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://roughfish.com/sites/default/files/image9.jpeg" /></p> <p>The lone pumpkinseed of the day. Dixon reservior is unique in the sense that it one of the only lakes in Colorado that holds big populations of not only golden shiner, but pumpkinseed as well. I have caught some on previous trips that were bigger, and I'm fairly convinced there is some Colorado master angler fish, and possibly the state record in here.&nbsp;</p> <p>I hope you enjoyed the read</p> <p>Cole</p>