Rock Lake Fishing near Cedaredge, Colorado

• Overview

  Set in Delta County, Rock Lake is a Colorado water. It stands 10,220 feet above sea level. This is a pocket water of some 2 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. On size it sits at the modest end of our Delta County list. For a base, Cedaredge sits 17 miles out. Paonia is 22 miles and Orchard City 22 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Rock Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Delta County records list rainbow trout, white sucker and flannelmouth sucker among the fish reported. The county list is broader than any single water. The near bank of Rock Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 16°F in January to roughly 56°F in July. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid May. Break-up near mid May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. At Rock Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Failing this one, try Anderson Brothers Reservoir, 0.4 miles away. Check the position at Rock Lake before loading the car.