Best brook trout lakes in Colorado
17 Colorado waters hold brook trout. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — 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.
- Road Canyon Reservoir — 49 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Cutthroat Trout, SplakeWhy #1: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Cheesman Reservoir — 190 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Yellow PerchWhy #2: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Gross Reservoir — 299 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Muskellunge, Lake Trout, Brown TroutWhy #3: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- San Cristobal Lake — 89 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #4: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Island Lake — 77 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Cutthroat TroutWhy #5: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- Trappers Lake — 167 ft max · Brook Trout, Cutthroat TroutWhy #6: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Eggleston Lake Big — 52 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, SplakeWhy #7: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- Barker Reservoir — 118 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Muskellunge, Lake Trout, Brown TroutWhy #8: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Meadow Creek Reservoir — 41 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook TroutWhy #9: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Monarch Lake — 14 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #10: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Eggleston Lake Little — 52 ft max · Brook Trout, Cutthroat TroutWhy #11: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Battlement Reservoir Big — 46 ft max · Brook TroutWhy #12: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Marys Lake — 33 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #13: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Vela Reservoir — 23 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Cutthroat TroutWhy #14: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Kitson Reservoir — 13 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Arctic Grayling, Cutthroat TroutWhy #15: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Eagle Lake — 46 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #16: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Andrews Lake — 18 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Cutthroat TroutWhy #17: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
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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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