Eleven Mile and Spinney Reservoirs are located about an hour and fifteen minutes west of Colorado Springs and about two hours and fifteen minutes from Denver. These fisheries are truly home to some of the biggest trout, salmon, and pike in the state and western U.S. for that matter! Spinney is closed to ice fishing, but Eleven Mile is open all year around and well worth fishing! Eleven Mile hosts wild kokanee salmon, rainbow trout, brown trout, a blend of cutthroats or hybrids, and northern pike. Both of these reservoirs are Colorado State Parks and do require a daily or annual park pass to enter the premises.

Antero Reservoir is only about twenty five minutes west of Eleven Mile reservoir. This lake is fairly shallow and has experienced a lot of ups and downs over the last decade, but grows trophy fish at an incredible rate none the less! Antero is home to rainbow trout, brown trout, snake river cutthroat, green back cutthroat, cutbows, kokanee salmon, brook trout, and splake! All of these fish grow to trophy size in little time due to the incredible fertility of this lake and the plethora of scuds (freshwater shrimp). Since Antero is fairly shallow, weed growth can make fishing tough or at least interesting during mid summers, but trophy fish are always there for the taking! Blue Mesa reservoir is the largest body of water in the state of Colorado. It is about three hours and twenty minutes from Colorado Springs and three hours and forty minutes from Denver.

Blue Mesa is a truly unique reservoir with many different fishing opportunities surrounded by incredible landscapes! Historically, Blue Mesa has been one of the most productive kokanee salmon operations in the Western United States, but in recent years there has been a somewhat mysterious decline in kokanee egg take numbers at the Roaring Judy Hatchery. This decline has been blamed on 18-30” lake trout for their aggressive behavior and fast growth between the 18-30” lengths , but it is quite possible that the perch, illegally introduced in the 90’s, are having a negative effect on the younger salmon. However, over 3 million salmon are stocked annually and some new measures have been taken by the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) to regain control of the predator to prey balance in Blue Mesa. Trophy sized kokanee salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout, perch and lake trout all live in the deep waters of Blue Mesa as well as a small number of pike. There have also been rumors of smallmouth bass and walleye in Blue Mesa, although Sport Fish Colorado has never witnessed or met anybody who has witnessed either of these species being caught in the lake. No matter what time of year it is, there is usually a hot bite for something somewhere on the lake and due to the size of this lake there is always somewhere new to explore in search of trophy fish!

Morrow Point Reservoir is one of the most unique fishing opportunities in the state! The entirety of this lake is difficult to access by foot, but taking a boat on this reservoir can open the door to some of the best scenery and fishing in Colorado! Kokanee Salmon, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, and the occasional Cutthroat makes up the species selection in Morrow Point and since this lake is tough to access, there are true trophies of each species lurking throughout the lake. Sport Fish Colorado is permitted to guide on Morrow Point by foot or on vessels that can be hiked in and out of Morrow Point, but Recreation Resource Management (RRM) has exclusive dock rights through their concessionaire contract with the National Park Service. This allows RRM to crane two 20’ pontoon boats into Morrow Point every spring and keep them at the National Park Service’s dock throughout the summer until the boats are craned out in the fall. Robby Richardson has guided on these 20’ pontoon boats in Morrow Point for the last four years for RRM and is still available for these incredible trips through RRM’s guide service. You can book a rugged Morrow Point trip on a Zodiac raft through Sport Fish Colorado or you can book a comfortable guided fishing trip on a pontoon boat or even an overnight camping trip by calling Elk Creek Marina (970-641-0707) and requesting Robby as your fishing guide!