Fishing at Haypress Lake, Garfield County, Colorado

• Overview

  Garfield County, Colorado, is where Haypress Lake sits. It lies 10,394 feet above sea level. Surface area runs to about 15 acres — small enough to read in one session. For a base, Glenwood Springs sits 7.3 miles out. Further out sit New Castle (11 miles) and Silt (17 miles). The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Haypress Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Across Garfield County, recorded fish include cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, bluegill and brook trout. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Fish Haypress Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 57°F; the cold one sits at 17°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Count the season from break-up, usually early May. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Anyone fishing Haypress Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Deer Lake, 0.9 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at Haypress Lake carry more weight than any list.