Spinney Mountain Reservoir

Overview

Spinney Mountain Reservoir is a 2,444-surface-acre impoundment of the South Platte River in the southeast corner of South Park, inside Spinney Mountain State Park near Lake George at about 8,680 feet. Colorado Parks and Wildlife rates it Gold Medal water, one of three Gold Medal lakes in the state alongside North Delaney Butte and Steamboat Lake, and the river that feeds it and the four-mile Dream Stream that leaves it toward Eleven Mile Reservoir are Gold Medal too. The reservoir is best known for big rainbows and cutbows, with browns, northern pike and yellow perch as well; CPW wants the pike kept. The reason Spinney is a spring ritual is its season. The park closes for winter and no ice fishing is allowed, so it reopens only after the ice goes out, usually mid to late April, and anglers line up at the gate before dawn on opening day to cast at trout that have not seen a fly since fall. It stays open through November 15 unless ice comes on sooner. Regulars fish scuds and leeches at ice-off and again in fall, chironomids under indicators through late spring, Callibaetis from June into September and damsels in midsummer, wading the flats and points or working the weed edges from float tubes, pontoons and boats. Motorized boats are allowed, with mandatory invasive-species inspections for trailered craft, and the state park charges an entrance fee. Wind and afternoon storms arrive fast on this open high plain, so keep an eye on the western sky.