Beaver Lake near Ouray: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Beaver Lake is an Ouray County water, in Colorado. The water sits 8,789 feet up. Surface area runs to about 7 acres — small enough to read in one session. The nearest town is Ouray, 17 miles away. After that come Montrose at 24 miles and Telluride at 26 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it. Nothing about it is complicated once you have walked it.

• Where to Fish on Beaver Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Ouray County, recorded fish include rainbow trout, brown trout, black-spotted cutthroat trout, white sucker and bluehead sucker. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Beaver Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 58°F, with January the cold end at about 17°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. The open-water window runs from around early May to about late November in an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. That is the shape of the year on Beaver Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. A parking area is marked roughly 160 yards out. A campsite lies half a mile away for anyone staying over. Toilets are half a mile away, which matters on a long session. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Should this one be busy, Fish Creek Reservoir Number 1 is 1.7 miles off. Rules at Beaver Lake are worth checking on the day.