Lillie Reservoir near Wellington: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Larimer County in Colorado is where Lillie Reservoir sits. The bank gives way to rolling hill. It covers about 5 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by Larimer County standards. Supplies mean a trip to Wellington, 7.2 miles off. Fort Collins is the closest city, 9.3 miles away. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lillie Reservoir

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Records held for Larimer County cover black-spotted cutthroat trout, brook trout, white sucker, rainbow trout and brown trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Lillie Reservoir the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 71°F, while January sits near 27°F. Ice comes and goes from one year to the next. Cover comes and goes, so treat it with suspicion rather than trust. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. Lillie Reservoir fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Mountain Supply Reservoir Number 18, 1.7 miles away. Treat access at Lillie Reservoir as something to verify.