Winkler Reservoir in Delta County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Winkler Reservoir lies in Delta County, Colorado. The setting is open dry country on every side. Surface area runs to about 3 acres — small enough to read in one session. Most waters listed here for Delta County are larger. Delta at 3.3 miles is the nearest place to stop. Boulder sits 175 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Winkler Reservoir

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Levels move with the draw rather than the rain on water like this. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Fish documented in Delta County include rainbow trout, white sucker, flannelmouth sucker and bluehead sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Winkler Reservoir fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 77°F for July and 29°F for January. Most months fish reasonably, given the right weather. In a normal year the cover is thin and short-lived. Spring and autumn carry the year; summer squeezes it into the ends of the day. It sets the rhythm of the year at Winkler Reservoir.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Failing this one, try Delta Reservoir, 3.7 miles away. For Winkler Reservoir, the notice at the access point is the final word.