Cliff Lake in Summit County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Cliff Lake is set in Summit County, Colorado. It stands 12,165 feet above sea level. The water measures roughly 10 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. It is high ground by Colorado standards. Nearest town is Vail, 9.5 miles off. For a city, Boulder is 59 miles off. Close by you have: Duck Lake within 1.1 miles, Upper Cataract Lake about 1.1 miles, Mirror Lake within 1.2 miles, Dora Lake about 1.3 miles and Cat Lake within 1.6 miles. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Cliff Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Across Summit County, recorded fish include brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and black-spotted cutthroat trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Cliff Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 51°F and January about 16°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late May. Open water usually runs from late May until about early November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Cliff Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Duck Lake, 1.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. The position on Cliff Lake is worth confirming on the day.