Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo Colorado - Lake Pueblo State Park is one of the prime recreation destinations in Colorado for warm water fishers. Species in Pueblo Reservoir: Bluegill, Carp, Catfish, Crappie, Cutbow Trout, Largemouth Bass, Perch, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Tiger Muskie, Walleye, Wiper
Lake Pueblo is one of the most popular waters in southern Colorado. The reservoir has a State Park on the east end and a State Wild-life Area on the west end. Lake Pueblo offers boaters the opportunity for plenty of water skiing, jet skiing, and sailing. The state park has over 400 campsites and plenty of trails for hiking, horseback riding, and biking. There are two full-service marinas, one on the north shore and the other on the south. A popular swim beach, Rock Canyon, provides a sandy beach to lay out during the summer for an extra $1 per person. There are plenty of day-use and picnic sites around the lake. Some of the most popular sites are near the Rock Canyon beach.
At 4,500 surface acres of water when full, this large reservoir has continued to hold adequate water during drought years while other southeastern reservoirs were drained. The CDOW rates Pueblo as a “hot spot.” And no wonder, anglers can expect to encounter good numbers of walleye, wiper, bass, catfish, bluegill, crappie, and rainbow trout.
Boats should note that Zebra mussels were detected in Pueblo Reservoir and anglers are asked to prevent their spread to other waters. Boat anglers should clean all vegetation and debris from their boats and trailers before leaving the reservoir. Anglers should also drain all water from their boats bilge and livewells. All minnow buckets should be dumped before leaving the area. State Parks personnel will be inspecting boats prior to launching and upon departure and anglers can expect to comply with these inspections.
New Boat Ramp Hours- Dec 1, 2008 to April 14, 2009 the ramps will be open between 5am to 6pm only. Then April 15, 2009 to Oct 15, 2009 the boat ramp hours will be extended to 5am to 11pm. No loading or unloading of vessels will be allowed after hours. The ramps have two lighted bouys but during the winter months do have a tendency to ice up. The west no-wake bouy line is in place between the Wildlife Boat Ramps. Wildlife boat ramp is closed. Boats can travel west of Turkey Creek 1/4 mile or more. Most trees east of the Wildlife Boat Ramps are submerged.
CDOW 2009 Fishing Forecast
Walleye numbers in Pueblo are at near record highs in 2009; however, gillnet samples do not do a good job of assessing the status of larger walleye in the reservoir. The reservoir currently contains good numbers of walleye between 18 and 30 inches in length, but these fish are difficult to catch. Average catches of walleye in Pueblo Reservoir will yield around 3 to 7 legal fish per 100 fish caught. The highest catch rates for walleye will usually occur from mid-May to the end of June. At this time the fish will be located on the flats and points in shallow water and will be feeding heavily.
Wiper numbers in Pueblo appear to be declining over the past couple of years despite good numbers of fish being stocked annually. Quality of the wipers is very good with some very large fish being taken each year.
Pueblo has three species of bass to include largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. The table on the right included all three species. Bass numbers in Pueblo are very good with the highest densities being smallmouth followed by spotted and then largemouth. Recent higher water levels have led to an increase in largemouth numbers. Bass are available to anglers year round with almost all bass fishing techniques. Anglers who target bass will see reasonable numbers of legal fish in the catch.
Pueblo has potentially three species of catfish to include channel catfish, blue catfish and flathead catfish. Stocking of blue catfish has been discontinued due to poor survival of the stocks. Flathead catfish are stocked at low numbers due to poor availability of these fish. Catfish numbers in the inventory samples appear to be declining slightly, but this decline is probably not significant. Catfish quality is increasing with lots more fish in the 20”+ class in the reservoir. The flathead catfish population is developing and more of these fish are being seen in the catch. Catfish are taken by using normal catfish fishing methods during much of the year and a number of good fish have been taken by anglers jigging for walleye and/or bass in the fall and winter. Catch rates for catfish will likely be low, but quality of the fish caught will be very good.
Pueblo Reservoir also contains fishable populations of black crappie, white crappie, bluegill, yellow perch, and rainbow trout. Both of the species of crappie can be caught year round in the reservoir, but catch rates are low. Recent good water years have increased crappie numbers and anglers can expect to find better numbers of these fish in 2009. Bluegill numbers are high in the lake and are generally an overlooked portion of the fishery. Many of the bluegill will be small, but some good fish in the 6-8 inch class are available. Yellow perch have been on the increase with the better water years and some anglers are seeing perch in the 10-12 inch class when they can find them. Most are caught by anglers fishing for walleye. The rainbow trout fishery is best during the fall, winter and early spring months. A number of “catchable” (10”) trout are stocked in the North and South marina coves during the early spring. Subcatchable (3-5”) McConaughay rainbow trout are stocked in the summer. Anglers fishing in January through March will catch some of these fish that run from 16 to 24 inches in length and sometimes a fish that will be much better than that. Boat anglers can also pick up these better trout by trolling from April through June.
Relative Frequency of Species from 2008 Gillnet Survey
Getting there: Take I-25 to Pueblo, then U.S. 50 west, for four miles. Turn south on CO 45 or Pueblo Boulevard and go four miles to CO 96 or Thatcher Avenue. Turn west and drive six miles to the park entrance on your right. Fees: Colorado State Parks Pass Daily - $6 Annual - $60 Boating: All Boats Allowed. No restrictions on boats.
New Boat Ramp Hours- April 15, 2009 to Oct 15, 2009 the boat ramp hours have been extended to 5am to 11pm. Then, Oct 16, 2009 to April 14, 2010 the ramps will be open between 5am to 6pm. No loading or unloading of vessels will be allowed after hours. Peak loading and launching hours are 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Ice Fishing: Not recommended as reservoir rarely ices fully
Includes Yucca Flats, Prairie Ridge and Kettle Creek sites. Campground has both electrical and non-electrical sites. Group camping is also available here.
Arkansas Point# of Sites: 95 Fees: $16
Electrical sites close to the southshore marina. Campground has restrooms, showers and laundry.
Juniper Breaks# of Sites: 84 Fees: $12
Non-electrical sites located on a hill along the north shore of the lake.
