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Best kokanee lakes in Colorado

14 Colorado waters hold kokanee, 1 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. 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. Landlocked sockeye. A plankton-eating school fish glued to its preferred temperature band — find the school, catch a limit.

1. McPhee Reservoir — 262 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
2. Granby Reservoir — 221 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Kokanee
3. Eleven Mile Res — 135 ft max · Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Common Carp
4. Crystal Reservoir — 280 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Kokanee
5. Morrow Point Reservoir — 146 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Kokanee
6. Clear Creek Reservoir — 61 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Kokanee
7. Cheesman Reservoir — 190 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch
8. Ruedi Reservoir — 246 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brown Trout
9. Shadow Mountain Reservoir — 24 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Kokanee
10. Gross Reservoir — 299 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Muskellunge, Lake Trout, Brown Trout
11. Lemon Reservoir — 188 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Kokanee, Splake
12. San Cristobal Lake — 89 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
13. Grand Lake — 389 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Kokanee
14. Barker Reservoir — 118 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Muskellunge, Lake Trout, Brown Trout

When to fish kokanee in Colorado

• Spring 10–30 ft — Schools roam the upper column over open water while it's cool — short leaders, slow trolls.
• Summer 30–70 ft — Kokanee compress into the 50-55°F band at the thermocline over the deepest basins — precise depth is everything.
• Fall 5–40 ft — Spawners turn crimson and gang up off tributary mouths and gravel shorelines; remaining fish scatter with turnover.
• Winter 20–80 ft — Deep suspended schools — an electronics game through the ice.

Also in Colorado: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best saugeye 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 brook trout lakes · best cutthroat trout lakes · best splake lakes

Kokanee elsewhere: Montana · Wyoming · Washington · Utah · Idaho