Columbine Lake Fishing in La Plata County, Colorado

• Overview

  Columbine Lake lies within the bounds of La Plata County, Colorado. The ground around here is pine and birch. At roughly 5 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. It is high ground by Colorado standards. The town to know is Bayfield, 26 miles out. It is 169 miles to Pueblo, the nearest city. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Columbine Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in La Plata County include rainbow trout, brook trout, bluehead sucker, black-spotted cutthroat trout and brown trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Anyone new to Columbine Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 14°F to 50°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly early June. Ice usually gives way near early June, and forms again about early November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Columbine Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Hazel Lake sits 0.7 miles off and takes the overflow. Nothing on Columbine Lake should be assumed from this page alone.