Pettingell Lake Fishing near Estes Park, Colorado

• Overview

  Grand County in Colorado is where Pettingell Lake sits. Height above sea level is 10,518 feet. Small at around 9 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. For a base, Estes Park sits 14 miles out. Boulder is the closest city, 30 miles away. Within easy reach: Lake Nokoni just 0.7 miles, Lake Solitude a touch under 1.5 miles, Bench Lake just 1.6 miles, Lake Nanita a touch under 1.6 miles and Snowdrift Lake just 2.5 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Pettingell Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Grand County cover black-spotted cutthroat trout, brook trout and rainbow trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Fish Pettingell Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 51°F; the cold one sits at 17°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late May. Climate averages put the opening at about late May and the closing near early November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. That is the shape of the year on Pettingell Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Lake Nokoni at 0.7 miles is the sensible second choice. Where Pettingell Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.