Fishing at Echo Canyon Reservoir, Archuleta County, Colorado

• Overview

  Echo Canyon Reservoir stands in Archuleta County, Colorado. What surrounds it is mixed forest. The water covers some 116 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Around 2.4 miles of margin, front to back. Size puts it in the front rank of our Archuleta County list. Pagosa Springs lies 4 miles from the water. It is 149 miles to Albuquerque, the nearest city. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Echo Canyon Reservoir

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. County-wide records name brook trout, rainbow trout, black-spotted cutthroat trout and bluehead sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Echo Canyon Reservoir the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 63°F, the coldest about 20°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early April. Ice clears near early April and comes back about early December in a typical year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. On Echo Canyon Reservoir that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. For a change of water, Pinon Lake Reservoir is 5.3 miles distant. For Echo Canyon Reservoir in particular, ask before you travel.