Fishing at Dobbs Reservoir, Rio Blanco County, Colorado

• Overview

  Colorado holds Dobbs Reservoir, in Rio Blanco County. The country here is rolling bush. Small even by pond standards, it rewards one careful line. On size it sits at the modest end of our Rio Blanco County list. Supplies mean a trip to Meeker, 17 miles off. Then New Castle, 25 miles, and Silt, 26 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Dobbs Reservoir

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Public occurrence data for Rio Blanco County names flannelmouth sucker, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and bluehead sucker. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The shape of Dobbs Reservoir rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 19°F in January and 61°F in July. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly late November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. On Dobbs Reservoir that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. The closest car park is half a mile away, so pack accordingly. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. The nearest alternative is Cabin Lake, 1.3 miles out. What applies at Dobbs Reservoir may have changed since it was mapped.