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Lake Granby Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Colorado's lake trout depths at the headwaters: 40-pound macks, kokanee fleets and Rocky Mountain National Park's doorstep.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~66 F est.
Air / High
75 / 77 F
Wind
WSW 6 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Granby offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1005 hPa and a high of 77. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Northern pikeGood

Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Lake troutFair

Transition depths: work 40-80 ft structure edges with white tubes and flutter spoons. Early mornings can find fish surprisingly high over deep water chasing bait.

Yellow perchFair

Drifting flats and weed edges with small jigs tipped with bait.

Tomorrow: Similar at 77 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

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.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp75 F
High / Low77 / 38 F
WindWSW 6-10 mph
Pressure1005.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 10%
Sunrise / Sunset06:34 / 19:30
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 77/38 F, wind 15 mph, rain 10%

Fair or better. A 15 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Lake trout illustration

Lake trout

Best: ice-out and fall turnover

The char of the deep: 40-year-old predators patrolling the cold basins of glacial lakes, from the Finger Lakes to the Rockies. Transition depths: work 40-80 ft structure edges with white tubes and flutter spoons. Early mornings can find fish surprisingly high over deep water chasing bait.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: spring, early winter

The ambush predator of weedbeds and cabbage edges. Aggressive, big and always worth a wire leader. Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Good most of the year

The great lakes and northern panfish staple. Schools tight to bottom; where you catch one there are fifty. Drifting flats and weed edges with small jigs tipped with bait.

When to come: the Lake Granby 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
Lake trout
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 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 Lake Granby today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Smallmouth bass led the card at good. High of 75 F, wind to 16 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Smallmouth bass led the card at good. High of 72 F, wind to 17 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 13 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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

Colorado license. Lake trout: 1 over 32 inches typical trophy rule: check CPW. Kokanee snagging season fall.

Access

Stillwater, Sunset Point, Arapaho Bay USFS ramps: marinas in season: winter plowed access varies.

About this water

7,256 acres at 8,280 ft, Grand County, CO. The Colorado headwaters' trophy mack water.

Fishing Lake Granby: the full guide

The headwaters giant

Granby stores the Colorado River's first big water at 8,280 feet: the state's second-largest reservoir and its premier trophy lake trout fishery after Blue Mesa. Forty-pound macks patrol the old river channel: kokanee cloud the mid-depths feeding them: and the Indian Peaks backdrop makes even blank days photogenic.

Mackinaw program

Winter jigging (through ice: Granby caps reliably January-March) and early-summer trolling own the trophy calendar: tubes and airplane jigs over 40-80 ft humps, downriggers along the channel as stratification sets. The lake's macks run all sizes: eater 4-pounders to the 40-lb ceiling: release the giants: they are decades old and the fishery's engine.

Kokanee and the rainbow margins

Summer kokanee trolling (dodgers-and-squids at 30-60 ft) fills smokers and feeds the lakers: the fall snag season at the inlet channels closes their cycle. Stocked rainbows and browns work the shorelines spring and fall: bank anglers at Stillwater and Sunset Point do real business while the deep fleet hunts.

High-country logistics

Three marinas and USFS ramps serve summer: winter access runs through the plowed lots (the ice village off Stillwater is Grand County's January society). Afternoon winds are mountain-punctual: mornings rule. Rocky Mountain NP, the Fraser Valley and Grand Lake's charm pad the trip: Granby anchors Colorado's classic high-water week.

Common questions

How big are Granby's lake trout?

Forty-pound fish are documented and 30s come every winter: decades-old giants over the channel humps. Jig season through the ice is the realistic trophy window.

Does Lake Granby freeze for ice fishing?

Reliably: January-March with a genuine ice-village culture off Stillwater. Lakers, rainbows and the odd kokanee school: bring the heavy tungsten and the camera.

Is fishing good at Lake Granby right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Blue River (Silverthorne)38 miClear Creek (Golden)39 miDillon Reservoir40 miEvergreen Lake45 miCache la Poudre River45 miBear Creek46 mi
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