Best brook trout lakes in Colorado
17 Colorado waters list brook trout (official records or labelled estimates). Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The native char of cold ponds and streams. Needs the coldest, cleanest water in the lake.
- Gross Reservoir — 299 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Muskellunge, Lake Trout, Brown TroutWhy #1: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- San Cristobal Lake — 89 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #2: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Island Lake — 77 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Cutthroat TroutWhy #3: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- Eggleston Lake Big — 52 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, SplakeWhy #4: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- Monarch Lake — 14 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #5: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Andrews Lake — 18 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Cutthroat TroutWhy #6: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
…plus 11 more Colorado waters holding brook trout.
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How to use this ranking
The order is a map-planning ranking, not a claim about today's fish population. It favors larger mapped waters and gives survey-backed contours a three-times data-quality boost. Agency population surveys, current regulations, access and recent conditions should make the final decision.
Compare maximum depth across 37,233 lake records · See Colorado waters with public access data
When to fish brook trout in Colorado
- Spring 2–15 ft — Ice-out scatters brookies along shorelines and inflow mouths, feeding on the first insect activity.
- Summer 10–30 ft — Brookies hold where the coldest water is — spring holes, deep basin edges and inflow plumes.
- Fall 2–15 ft — Fall is the show: brilliant spawning colors on gravel shoals and inflow gravel.
- Winter 3–20 ft — A classic ice-fishing target — active all winter in shallow to mid-depth water.
Also in Colorado: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best saugeye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best kokanee lakes · best cutthroat trout lakes · best splake lakes
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