Fish Creek Reservoir Fishing Guide, Routt County, Colorado

• Overview

  Look for Fish Creek Reservoir in the Routt County part of Colorado. It stands 9,895 feet above sea level. It runs to roughly 76 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Around 1.8 miles of margin, front to back. Few waters listed in Routt County are bigger. Supplies mean a trip to Steamboat Springs, 7 miles off. The big place round here is Boulder, 82 miles distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Fish Creek Reservoir

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The arms fish better than the open middle whenever the water is up. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Species logged across Routt County include brook trout, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish and mountain sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Read Fish Creek Reservoir for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 18°F in January and 54°F in July. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid May. Open water usually runs from mid May until about mid November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. It sets the rhythm of the year at Fish Creek Reservoir.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Long Lake at 1.6 miles is the sensible second choice. Check the position on Fish Creek Reservoir before loading the car.