North Crestone Lake in Saguache County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Saguache County, Colorado, is where North Crestone Lake sits. The water sits 11,788 feet up. Surface area is around 28 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. It is high ground by Colorado standards. Center at 33 miles is the nearest place to stop. For a city, Pueblo is 57 miles off. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on North Crestone Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Public occurrence data for Saguache County names brown trout, white sucker and brook trout. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. The shape of North Crestone Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 50°F, the coldest about 14°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Once it clears, about late May, the fishing comes on quickly. Climate averages put the opening at about late May and the closing near early November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. The season on North Crestone Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. For a change of water, South Crestone Lake is 0.9 miles distant. For North Crestone Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.