Fishing Blue Lake in Montrose County, Colorado

• Overview

  Blue Lake belongs to Montrose County, Colorado. It stands 9,249 feet above sea level. Surface area runs to about 5 acres — small enough to read in one session. For a base, Paonia sits 19 miles out. For a city, Colorado Springs is 145 miles off. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge. The water gives you a straightforward day if you keep it simple.

• Where to Fish on Blue Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Public occurrence data for Montrose County names rainbow trout, flannelmouth sucker, brown trout and white sucker. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Blue Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 58°F and January near 16°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Anyone fishing Blue Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Should this one be busy, Bottle Stomp Reservoir is 1.2 miles off. Rules at Blue Lake are worth checking on the day.