Fishing at Summitville Tailings Pond, Rio Grande County, Colorado

• Overview

  The Rio Grande County end of Colorado holds Summitville Tailings Pond. It stands 11,227 feet above sea level. Small at around 5 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. The nearest place of any size is Del Norte, 22 miles away. After that come Pagosa Springs at 26 miles and Monte Vista at 26 miles. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Summitville Tailings Pond

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Points where the flooded channel swings in are the reliable ones. Public occurrence data for Rio Grande County names white sucker, brown trout, rainbow trout, tench and common carp. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Summitville Tailings Pond that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 51°F in July and bottoms out near 14°F in January. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Winter locks it down, and late May brings it back. Open water usually runs from late May until about early November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. It holds true on Summitville Tailings Pond more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Should this one be busy, Lilly Pond is 4.2 miles off. None of that is settled for Summitville Tailings Pond in what we hold.