Fishing at Warner Reservoir Number 5, La Plata County, Colorado

• Overview

  Warner Reservoir Number 5 sits in La Plata County, out in Colorado. It lies 7,464 feet above sea level. On water this small, stealth matters more than range. It is a small entry by La Plata County standards. Nearest town is Durango, 16 miles off. For a city, Albuquerque is 178 miles off. Close neighbours run: Stratton Lake lies 0.9 miles on, Keeler Reservoir 1.1 miles away, Smith Lake lies 2.1 miles on, Forebay Lake 2.1 miles away and Haviland Lake lies 2.7 miles on. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Warner Reservoir Number 5

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Reported across La Plata County: rainbow trout, brook trout and bluehead sucker. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At this water the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 63°F and January at 23°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early April. The lid tends to go about early April and return around early December. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. It holds true on this water more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Stratton Lake, 0.9 miles out. For this water, the notice at the access point is the final word.