Fishing at Lone Pine Reservoir, Delta County, Colorado

• Overview

  Delta County, Colorado, is where Lone Pine Reservoir sits. This is mixed forest country. Surface area runs to about 3 acres — small enough to read in one session. Most waters listed here for Delta County are larger. The nearest place of any size is Olathe, 19 miles away. Colorado Springs is the closest city, 190 miles away. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Lone Pine Reservoir

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Levels move with the draw rather than the rain on water like this. Delta County records list rainbow trout, white sucker, flannelmouth sucker and bluehead sucker among the fish reported. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Read Lone Pine Reservoir for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 25°F in January to roughly 68°F in July. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late March. Averages place the thaw at late March and the freeze at mid December. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Time your trip to Lone Pine Reservoir by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Public mapping marks it as seasonal water rather than permanent. 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. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Beaver Reservoir is 1.4 miles off. Check the current arrangement for Lone Pine Reservoir.