Spruce Lake in Dolores County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Colorado holds Spruce Lake, in Dolores County. It stands 10,472 feet above sea level. Small even by pond standards, it rewards one careful line. Mountain Village is the closest place, 24 miles off. Telluride follows at 26 miles, then Ouray at 35 miles. There is no boundary nearby to worry about. Nothing about the approach is difficult in dry weather.

• Where to Fish on Spruce Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Dolores County include black-spotted cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and brook trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Treat Spruce Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 21°F to 59°F. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The lid tends to go about early May and return around late November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. It sets the rhythm of the year at Spruce Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Arrowhead Lake, 3.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. What applies at Spruce Lake may have changed since it was mapped.