Lillie Lake, Colorado: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  In Colorado, Lillie Lake belongs to La Plata County. What surrounds it is pine and birch. The water measures roughly 6 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. It is high ground by Colorado standards. You are 24 miles from Bayfield. Then Durango, 26 miles, and Telluride, 28 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Lillie Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Standing timber shows when the level drops, and fish sit against it. Built water gives depth close in, which suits a bank angler. Species logged across La Plata County include rainbow trout, brook trout and bluehead sucker. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. The shape of Lillie Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 51°F at the top of summer and 15°F at the bottom of winter. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Count the season from break-up, usually early June. Ice usually gives way near early June, and forms again about mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. It holds true on Lillie Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Castilleja Lake, 1.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. What applies at Lillie Lake may have changed since it was mapped.