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Spinney Mountain Reservoir Fishing Report

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

South Park's trophy engine: gold-medal stillwater at 8,700 feet, where pike ambush and rainbows outgrow every neighbor.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~54 F est.
Air / High
77 / 77 F
Wind
WSW 13 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.

Spinney Mountain Reservoir is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WSW around 13 mph, rising pressure near 1003 hPa and a high of 77. Water sits around 54 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

Rainbow troutGood

Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown troutGood

Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

Tomorrow: Similar at 78 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.

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~54 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp77 F
High / Low77 / 45 F
WindWSW 13-15 mph
Pressure1002.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain29% cloud, 10%
Sunrise / Sunset06:34 / 19:28
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~54 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 · Showers, 77/45 F, wind 19 mph, rain 10%

Fair or better. A 19 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

When to come: the Spinney Mountain Reservoir 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
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 54 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~54 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 Spinney Mountain Reservoir 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. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 78 F, wind to 17 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 77 F, wind to 17 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 74 F, wind to 15 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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. Gold-medal rules: artificials only, 1 trout over 20 inches. Pike: unlimited, harvest encouraged. Check CPW.

Access

Spinney Mountain SP ramps (season-dependent opening); wakeless boating.

About this water

2,500 acres at 8,700 ft in South Park, Park County, CO. Gold-medal stillwater.

Fishing Spinney Mountain Reservoir: the full guide

The gold-medal bowl

Spinney fills a windswept South Park basin with Colorado's most productive stillwater: gold-medal designated, scud-and-chironomid rich, and famous for rainbows and cutbows that add inches faster than anywhere in the state. The season is short (ice-off to November) and the fish make every week of it count.

The ice-off sprint

Opening weeks (typically mid-April: the lake opens when ice allows) are the pilgrimage: cruising trout in the shallows eating anything stripped slowly, 20-plus-inch fish ordinary, and a line of float tubes at dawn that looks like a regatta. Callibaetis and damsel season follows into July: the dry-dropper mornings are South Park's finest.

Pike with shoulders

Northern pike (illegally introduced, enthusiastically managed) grow past 40 inches ambushing the trout the lake fattens: spring finds them in the warming bays (big streamers, wire leaders), and the state encourages harvest. A trout trip here can end with the season's most violent surprise.

High-park practicalities

The state park runs both ramps (electric-plus-oars culture: wakeless rules keep it calm), wind arrives punctually by noon (fish early, always), and the 8,700-ft weather swings hard: layers year-round. Eleven Mile and Antero sit minutes away: South Park's trifecta fishes as one trip.

Common questions

When does Spinney open?

When the ice leaves: typically mid-late April: CPW announces it days ahead. The first two weeks are Colorado stillwater at its absolute peak.

Why are there pike in Spinney?

An illegal introduction the trout now fund: 40-inch fish on trout calories. CPW wants them harvested: bring a wire leader and take dinner.

Is fishing good at Spinney Mountain Reservoir 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

Elevenmile Canyon Reservoir8 miAntero Reservoir14 miTarryall Reservoir17 miSouth Platte River (Deckers)30 miTwin Lakes38 miArkansas River38 mi
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