New York Lake in Eagle County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Within Eagle County, Colorado, you have New York Lake. The bank is 11,273 feet above sea level. At about 34 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. On our Eagle County list it sits near the top for size. Avon is the closest place, 10 miles off. For a city, Boulder is 80 miles off. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on New York Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Reported across Eagle County: brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and black-spotted cutthroat trout. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. At New York Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 52°F; by January the average is down near 15°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. After late May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Climate figures give an open season running late May to early November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Plan any trip to New York Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Lake Thomas, 1.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where New York Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.