Rainbow Lake in Rio Blanco County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, this is Rainbow Lake. Elevation runs to 9,583 feet. Small even by pond standards, it rewards one careful line. On size it sits at the modest end of our Rio Blanco County list. Meeker at 29 miles is the nearest place to stop. The big place round here is Boulder, 111 miles distant. Close by you have: Guthrie Lake at 0.6 miles, Mary Loch Lake just 1.3 miles, Muskrat Lakes at 2.3 miles and Mirror Lake just 2.5 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Rainbow Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Public occurrence data for Rio Blanco County names flannelmouth sucker, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and bluehead sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Treat Rainbow Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 54°F and January near 16°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Once it clears, about late May, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up sits around late May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Rainbow Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. The nearest alternative is Guthrie Lake, 0.6 miles out. Nothing here settles the position at Rainbow Lake for certain.