Fishing at La Jara Reservoir, Conejos County, Colorado

• Overview

  Out in Conejos County, Colorado, sits La Jara Reservoir. The land about it is pine and birch. It measures some 721 acres, and wind has room to build across it. With 9.4 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. It is the biggest water on our Conejos County list. Supplies mean a trip to Monte Vista, 24 miles off. Chama is 28 miles and Del Norte 28 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on La Jara Reservoir

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. Reported across Conejos County: white sucker, brown trout, green sunfish and black-spotted cutthroat trout. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Work La Jara Reservoir in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 54°F on average, January about 16°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Winter locks it down, and mid May brings it back. On average, mid May opens the water and mid November closes it again. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. The season on La Jara Reservoir follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Empedrado Lake, 3.9 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm before you fish La Jara Reservoir.