Storm Lake near Fraser: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Set in Grand County, Colorado, this is Storm Lake. Height above sea level is 11,437 feet. This is a pocket water of some 6 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Compared with other Colorado water on our list, it sits high. Some 8.1 miles away sits Fraser, the nearest settlement. Beyond it, Nederland at 8.6 miles and Granby at 16 miles. The line between counties passes nearby, which can change who manages the water.

• Where to Fish on Storm Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Grand County include black-spotted cutthroat trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and cutthroat trout. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Fish Storm Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 53°F, the coldest about 18°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The lid usually goes in mid May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up near mid May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Anyone fishing Storm Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, Upper Diamond Lake is 0.6 miles distant. What applies at Storm Lake may have changed since it was mapped.