Lewis Lake Fishing in Garfield County, Colorado

• Overview

  Within Garfield County, Colorado, you have Lewis Lake. What surrounds it is pine and birch. It covers about 13 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. The town to know is Carbondale, 4.3 miles out. El Jebel lies 6.5 miles off, Basalt another 8.7 miles. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Lewis Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Garfield County records list cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and bluegill among the fish reported. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. The near bank of Lewis Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 19°F in January and 65°F in July. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. After late March the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages place the thaw at late March and the freeze at late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. The season on Lewis Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Saint John Reservoir is 2.3 miles off. None of that is settled for Lewis Lake in what we hold.