Sunlight Lake, Colorado: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Set in La Plata County, Colorado, this is Sunlight Lake. The ground around here is rolling bush. About 17 acres of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. It is high ground by Colorado standards. Telluride lies 24 miles from the water. Mountain Village follows at 25 miles, then Ouray at 27 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Sunlight Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Open biodiversity records for La Plata County list rainbow trout, brook trout, bluehead sucker and black-spotted cutthroat trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Sunlight Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 51°F at the top of summer and 14°F at the bottom of winter. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early June. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early June and starts locking again about mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. That shapes the year on Sunlight Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Leviathan Lake sits 1.7 miles off and takes the overflow. Check the position at Sunlight Lake before loading the car.