Fishing Rainbow Lake in Eagle County, Colorado

• Overview

  Set in Eagle County, Rainbow Lake is a Colorado water. What surrounds it is pine and birch. At 3 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Our Eagle County list holds plenty of bigger water. Nearest town is Avon, 8.1 miles off. Minturn is 8.6 miles and Edwards 8.8 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Rainbow Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Species logged across Eagle County include brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and black-spotted cutthroat trout. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Work Rainbow Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 16°F in January to roughly 53°F in July. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Look for the thaw near late May; the fishing lifts straight after. Break-up near late May, freeze-up near early November: that is the shape of an average year. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. That shapes the year on Rainbow Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. For a change of water, Middle Lake is 0.9 miles distant. Treat access at Rainbow Lake as something to verify.