Black Mandall Lake Fishing Guide, Routt County, Colorado

• Overview

  Black Mandall Lake sits in Routt County, out in Colorado. The ground round it is rolling bush. This is a pocket water of some 6 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Gypsum lies 30 miles from the water. Then Hayden, 30 miles, and Eagle, 32 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end. Nothing about it is complicated once you have walked it.

• Where to Fish on Black Mandall Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. County-wide records name brook trout, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and mountain whitefish. The county list is broader than any single water. Read Black Mandall Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 52°F and January reads 15°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Ice-out usually falls in early June, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early June until roughly early November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. That shapes the year on Black Mandall Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Failing this one, try Slide Mandall Lake, 0.6 miles away. Confirm access to Black Mandall Lake locally before you travel.