Skinny Fish Lake, Colorado: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  You will find Skinny Fish Lake in Routt County, Colorado. It sits in lake country bush country. It measures about 32 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Bank access stretches around 1.0 miles in total. Few waters listed in Routt County are bigger. Some 30 miles away sits Gypsum, the nearest settlement. Boulder sits 103 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Skinny Fish Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Routt County include brook trout, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and mountain whitefish. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Skinny Fish Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 53°F in July and bottom out at 16°F in January. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The lid usually goes in late May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Open water usually runs from late May until about early November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Skinny Fish Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. The nearest alternative is Elk Lake, 0.4 miles out. Ask locally about Skinny Fish Lake if anything is unclear.