Odessa Lake, Colorado: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Larimer County end of Colorado holds Odessa Lake. Elevation runs to 10,013 feet. Surface area runs to about 8 acres — small enough to read in one session. Estes Park is the closest place, 9.2 miles off. The nearest city of size is Boulder, 31 miles away. Close by you also have: Tourmaline Lake after 0.4 miles, Two Rivers Lake about 0.6 miles, Fern Lake after 0.6 miles, Lake Helene about 0.7 miles and Loomis Lake after 0.8 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Odessa Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Public occurrence data for Larimer County names black-spotted cutthroat trout, brook trout, white sucker and rainbow trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Work Odessa Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 17°F in January to roughly 51°F in July. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late May. Expect the water usable from around late May until roughly early November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Plan around that when you fish Odessa Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Overnight stays are possible half a mile away. Facilities run to toilets half a mile from the water. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Tourmaline Lake is 0.4 miles off. Signs at Odessa Lake carry more weight than any list.