Fishing at Cattail Reservoir, Dolores County, Colorado

• Overview

  Dolores County, Colorado, is where Cattail Reservoir sits. The land about it is pine and birch. A pocket of water where every cast reaches cover. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Dolores County. The town to know is Mountain Village, 23 miles out. Telluride lies 25 miles off, Mancos another 25 miles. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Cattail Reservoir

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Dolores County, recorded fish include black-spotted cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout and walleye. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Fish Cattail Reservoir to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 58°F and January near 22°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Open water usually runs from late April until about late November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. The season on Cattail Reservoir rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. For a change of water, Saddle Reservoir is 7 miles distant. For Cattail Reservoir, the notice at the access point is the final word.