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Boyd Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Boyd Lake: a 1,700-acre state park reservoir in Loveland, closed to boating for the rest of 2026 because of low water.

Closed to boating for 2026. Colorado Parks and Wildlife closed Boyd Lake to boating from 28 June for the rest of 2026; the marina and the Heron Cove ramp are closed too. Source, read October 8, 2026.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
78 / 78 F
Wind
SSE 6 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Boyd Lake is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 6 mph, steady pressure near 1003 hPa and a high of 78. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:37 AM-11:37 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Largemouth bassGood

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

White bassFair

The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55Β°F.

CrappieFair

Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 55 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Colorado requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $57.63 for residents. What a Colorado licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing walleye here? Check the size and bag limits with CPW before you keep anything. The season dates for Colorado, read off the agency, are on the Colorado seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp78 F
High / Low78 / 49 F
WindSSE 6-20 mph
Pressure1002.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 5%
Sunrise / Sunset07:19 / 18:08
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Boyd Lake this week

Today is the pick of the week on Boyd Lake, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:37 AM-11:37 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM
Minor period
4:01 AM-5:01 AM
Sun
07:19 to 18:08
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 13 mph
Rain chance
5%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Boyd Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55Β°F.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

When to come: the Boyd Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Walleye
White bass
Crappie
Largemouth bass
Smallmouth bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Yellow perch
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Boyd Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Colorado requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

A Colorado fishing license and a park pass are required. CPW Chapter W-1 for Boyd Lake: largemouth and smallmouth bass 15-inch minimum; white bass 10-inch minimum; walleye 15-inch minimum, with only one over 21 inches a day.

Access

Boyd Lake State Park, entrance at 3720 N County Road 11-C, Loveland. Closed to boating for the rest of 2026; hand-launched craft allowed; marina and Heron Cove ramp closed (CPW, June 26, 2026 and park page read Oct. 8, 2026).

About this water

1,700 surface acres in a 2,082-acre state park in Loveland, Larimer County, CO; water owned by the Greeley and Loveland Irrigation Company.

Fishing Boyd Lake: the full guide

2026 low-water closure

CPW closed Boyd Lake to boating from June 28, 2026 for the rest of the season because of extremely low water: the ramps sat in two to three feet of water and no more water was expected to be allocated to the lake that summer. Hand-launched craft such as kayaks and paddleboards, and swimming, are still allowed. The marina is closed for 2026 with no timeline for reopening, and Heron Cove ramp is closed by low water.

Who controls the water

The reservoir is filled from the Big Thompson River. CPW manages recreation, but the Greeley and Loveland Irrigation Company owns the water and controls the level, which supplies drinking water for Greeley and farms. CPW says its aquatic biologists are watching the health of the fish population.

The fishery

CPW's lake page describes great opportunities for walleye, calls Boyd arguably the best Colorado fishery for white bass and spring panfish, and reports solid black bass and catfish numbers plus catchable trout and yellow perch through the ice. Its common-species list adds largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish, black and white crappie and rainbow trout.

Common questions

Can I launch a boat at Boyd Lake in 2026?

Only hand-launched craft such as kayaks and paddleboards. CPW closed the lake to other boating from June 28, 2026 for the rest of the season because of low water.

What is the walleye size limit at Boyd Lake?

15 inches minimum, and only one walleye over 21 inches may be kept a day (CPW Chapter W-1).

What fish does CPW list for Boyd Lake?

Walleye, white bass, largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish, black and white crappie, yellow perch, rainbow trout and common carp.

Is fishing good at Boyd Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Horsetooth Reservoir11 miBig Thompson River15 miCache la Poudre River24 miLake Granby47 miClear Creek (Golden)50 miBear Creek54 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 40.4336, -105.0335 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.