Berkeley Lake in Jefferson County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Berkeley Lake in the Jefferson County part of Colorado. Beyond the shoreline you have rolling hill. With some 35 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Berkley sits 1.9 miles from the bank. Then Wheat Ridge, 1.9 miles, and Edgewater, 2.2 miles. Others close at hand: Lake Rhoda 0.5 miles off, Rocky Mountain Lake just 1 mile, Lake Sangraco 1.9 miles off, Sloan Lake just 2.4 miles and Mayham Lake 2.5 miles off. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Berkeley Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Survey and observation records for Jefferson County include rainbow trout, brown trout, common carp, green sunfish and longnose sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. The near bank of Berkeley Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 73°F and January near 31°F. Temperature moves within a narrow band, and so does the fishing. In milder years the edges alone go, and the middle never sets. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. Berkeley Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. There is somewhere to leave the car, half a mile off. Mapping shows a jetty some half a mile off. A picnic spot sits half a mile from the bank. There are toilets half a mile off. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Lake Rhoda, 0.5 miles out. Check the position on Berkeley Lake before loading the car.