Cheraw Lake Fishing Guide, Otero County, Colorado

• Overview

  Cheraw Lake is an Otero County water, in Colorado. The bank is 4,121 feet above sea level. At some 342 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. Around 4.5 miles of bank, which is a long day on foot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Otero County list. Some 8.1 miles away sits La Junta, the nearest settlement. Rocky Ford is 12 miles and Ordway 16 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Cheraw Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Open biodiversity records for Otero County list green sunfish, channel catfish, white sucker, bluegill and common carp. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Cheraw Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 78°F and January about 29°F. The year gives four workable seasons without severe ends. In a normal year the cover is thin and short-lived. April and May are the settled weeks, with October close behind. On Cheraw Lake that shapes the whole year. Cool nights slow the mornings but sharpen the evenings.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Parking sits half a mile out, which makes for a walk with tackle. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Taylor Lake is 2.7 miles distant. The position on Cheraw Lake is worth confirming on the day.