Dogfish Reservoir in Delta County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Within Delta County, Colorado, you have Dogfish Reservoir. The setting is rolling bush. This is a pocket water of some 21 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Paonia lies 13 miles from the water. After that come Cedaredge at 16 miles and Orchard City at 21 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Dogfish Reservoir

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Reported across Delta County: rainbow trout, white sucker, flannelmouth sucker and bluehead sucker. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. The near bank of Dogfish Reservoir is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 16°F in January and 54°F in July. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid May. Climate figures give an open season running mid May to mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Dogfish Reservoir runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Mapped as intermittent, it fills after rain and shrinks between. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. If the gate is shut, Goodenough Reservoir at 0.3 miles is the nearest alternative. Rules at Dogfish Reservoir are worth checking on the day.