Fishing Pass Creek Lake in Chaffee County, Colorado

• Overview

  Pass Creek Lake is a Chaffee County water, Colorado side. It lies 11,375 feet above sea level. Surface area runs to about 3 acres — small enough to read in one session. On size it sits at the modest end of our Chaffee County list. Salida is the closest town at 13 miles. For a city, Colorado Springs is 80 miles off. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Pass Creek Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Records held for Chaffee County cover brown trout, rainbow trout and black-spotted cutthroat trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Pass Creek Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 52°F in July and bottoms out near 15°F in January. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late May. Break-up sits around late May on average, with the water closing again about early November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. The season on Pass Creek Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, O'Haver Lake is 5.1 miles off. Confirm before you fish Pass Creek Lake.