Lily Pad Lake Fishing Guide, Summit County, Colorado

• Overview

  Lily Pad Lake is set in Summit County, Colorado. Everything around it is lake country bush. It covers about 3 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Summit County list. Frisco lies 2 miles from the water. The big place round here is Boulder, 53 miles distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lily Pad Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Species logged across Summit County include brook trout, rainbow trout and brown trout. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Lily Pad Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 54°F and January at 17°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid May. Break-up sits around mid May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. It holds true on Lily Pad Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Expect 0.9 miles away in from where the car goes. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Should this one be busy, Old Dillon Reservoir is 2.5 miles off. Treat access at Lily Pad Lake as something to verify.