Drop Shot Fishing on Cherry Creek Reservoir
Cherry Creek Reservoir · Colorado · West
Cherry Creek Reservoir sits within Cherry Creek State Park at roughly 5,550 feet elevation, covering about 880 surface acres in the Denver metro. The lake is a flood-control impoundment with a relatively featureless main basin, but its shoreline offers riprap dam faces, shallow cove flats, submerged brush piles, and scattered dock structure that concentrate fish. Water clarity tends toward stained-to-clear depending on runoff cycles, and the largemouth population carries more size than most urban anglers expect.
The drop shot suspends a soft plastic bait above the bottom on a fixed line, keeping it in the strike zone longer than any other rig. Originally a West Coast technique, it now dominates clear-water and finesse situations nationwide. Works vertically over structure or on a long cast.
Drop Shot Setup for Cherry Creek Reservoir
| Rod | 7' medium-light to medium spinning rod, fast action |
| Reel | 2500–3000 size spinning reel, 6.2:1 or higher |
| Line | 6–8 lb fluorocarbon main line or 10 lb braid + 8 lb fluoro leader |
| Weight | 1/8–3/8 oz tungsten drop shot weight (heavier in current or deep water) |
| Hook | #1 or #2 Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap, 6–18 inches above weight |
Seasonal Tactics on Cherry Creek Reservoir
Lake: Largemouth push into the shallow cove flats and riprap margins as water temperatures climb through the 55–65°F range, typically April into early May. Spawning activity concentrates fish in the 2–5 ft zone along protected northwest-facing banks where sun exposure warms water fastest.
Drop Shot: Target staging fish on points and drop-offs in 8–20 feet. Nose-hook a 6" Roboworm or Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm.
Lake: Post-spawn fish scatter to deeper riprap edges and submerged structure along the dam face in 10–18 ft of water once surface temps exceed 75°F. Early-morning topwater on cove mouths and evening crankbait runs along rocky transitions are the most reliable warm-weather windows.
Drop Shot: Go deep — 20–40 feet on main lake structure. Shake in place with minimal movement. Shad colors dominate.
Lake: Shad-chasing largemouth school aggressively in open cove mouths and along the eastern shoreline flats through September and October as baitfish compact before the cold. Reaction baits — lipless crankbaits and swimbaits — outperform finesse during the peak feeding windows of the shad migration.
Drop Shot: Follow baitfish to secondary points and pockets. Faster retrieve works as fish get more aggressive.
Lake: Cold temperatures slow activity significantly at this elevation, but fish don't go entirely dormant. Suspending jerkbaits and drop shots in 12–20 ft over the deeper riprap and channel edges account for the most consistent cold-weather bites, with the warmest midday hours offering the best window.
Drop Shot: Slowest presentation of the year. Dead-stick a 4" finesse worm at the bottom. Let it sit 10–15 seconds between shakes.
Best Conditions
Clear to stained water, pressured fish, cold fronts, post-spawn suspended bass, deep structure in summer
Use a Palomar knot and leave the tag end pointing up to keep the hook riding correctly. Most anglers tie it wrong.
More Techniques for Cherry Creek Reservoir
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