Fishing High Alpine Lakes

When the summer weather sets in, and the local rivers are crowded with fishermen and getting too hot to fish, a new world becomes accessible again. As the snow melts, high alpine lakes begin to unfreeze, and the trails leading to these lakes start to show again. With over 2,000 high alpine lakes in Colorado alone, the fishing possibilities become endless during the summer. These lakes can be home to beautiful cutthroat and brook trout, which are far less pressured than fish in local rivers and lakes and are often eager to eat. 

There are many ways to find these high alpine lakes holding fish. It can be slightly harder to locate a good high alpine lake than good spots on a river because you can’t jump from one spot to the next to see which place is best with ease. Most high alpine lakes will hold fish; the question is how many and whether they can survive the winters there. Spending time researching certain lakes and areas will lead to more success. Go to Google Maps and look for lakes that have deep areas; the darker watercolor on the satellite image is usually a sign of that. These are the lakes where fish can go deep during the winter and have a better chance of surviving multiple years there. Talking to your local fly shop as well as a local fisherman is another great way to acquire information about some good high alpine lakes. You can also find some different reading material written about different high alpine lakes and hiking trails. 

Safety is the first thing to consider when visiting these high alpine lakes. There is usually no service at most of these lakes due to their remoteness, and running into bad weather and animals is not uncommon. The last place you want to be during a thunderstorm is at a high alpine lake above the tree line. I always bring an SOS beacon with me. I use a Garmin inReach mini, but there are many good options that you can find. I also always carry bear spray, rain gear, first aid kit, bug spray, sunscreen, and extra food and water. 

Fishing at these high alpine lakes can be a lot of fun and can result in catching some beautiful fish. The fish at these lakes often have less food than fish you will find in the lower elevation rivers and lakes, so they are eager to eat almost anything that lands on the water. When you approach the lake, there is a good chance that you will see fish rising in many areas. The best places to fish are usually the inlet and outlet of the lake, but you can find success almost anywhere along the bank or in the middle. My favorite way to fish these lakes is with one or two dry flies, usually small ant or gnat patterns. Having a long leader can help get your flies in front of the fish without spooking them with the fly line. My typical setup is a 5x leader to my first fly and 5x or 6x tippet to the second fly. I like to use a 3wt or 4wt rod as you usually throw small flies, and the fish aren’t typically huge. If I am fishing a deeper section of the lake, I will sometimes try a small leach pattern and dead drift or slowly strip it through the deep section. Having a small dropper off your first dry fly can also be effective, like a small zebra midge or chironomid. 

Fishing high alpine lakes is a great way to get away from the excessive people and heat of summer and find absolutely breathtaking areas that also hold beautiful fish. These lakes are only accessible for a couple of months out of the year, so getting out and exploring them while you can is a must!