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Vallecito Reservoir Fishing Report

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

Vallecito Reservoir: a 2,720-acre Bureau of Reclamation lake on the Pine River where Colorado Parks and Wildlife says trophy pike are routinely caught.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
2,620 cfs
Air / High
53 / 54 F
Wind
SSW 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09352800, 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.

Vallecito Reservoir fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The main inflow is running 2,620 cfs, on the rise. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSW around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 54. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:17 PM-12:17 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Smallmouth bassGood

Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

WalleyeGood

Spawning runs begin soon after ice-out in the high 30s to mid 40s Β°F; before that, slow presentations with live bait in deep, low-current wintering areas and below dams.

Northern pikeGood

Ice season: tip-ups with live bait near weed beds; where water stays open, slow live-bait presentations.

Tomorrow: Similar at 51 F with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. 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 rainbow trout 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 from LOS PINOS R ABV VALLECITO RES NR BAYFIELD, CO (inflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09352800.

5951,3932,1902,620 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp53 F
High / Low54 / 45 F
WindSSW 9-17 mph
Pressure1011.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain56% cloud, 95%
Sunrise / Sunset07:26 / 18:22
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 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 Vallecito Reservoir this week

Today is the pick of the week on Vallecito Reservoir, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:17 PM-12:17 AM
Minor period
4:11 AM-5:11 AM
Sun
07:26 to 18:22
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 11 mph
Rain chance
95%

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

Species guide

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

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. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

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. Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

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. Spawning runs begin soon after ice-out in the high 30s to mid 40s Β°F; before that, slow presentations with live bait in deep, low-current wintering areas and below dams.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. Ice season: tip-ups with live bait near weed beds; where water stays open, slow live-bait presentations.

When to come: the Vallecito 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
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
Northern pike
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 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 Vallecito Reservoir 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 52 F, wind to 12 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 55 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 60 F, wind to 7 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 fishing license. Check CPW's current Colorado Fishing brochure for pike, trout and kokanee rules and for the seasonal closures on Vallecito Creek above the reservoir.

Access

Pine River Irrigation District (recreation outside campgrounds) and the San Juan National Forest (campgrounds) share the number 970-884-2512. From Durango, take County Road 240 north about 14 miles, then County Road 501 north about 4 miles.

About this water

A 2,720-acre Bureau of Reclamation reservoir completed in 1941 on the Pine River, La Plata County, Colorado.

Fishing Vallecito Reservoir: the full guide

A Reclamation reservoir in the San Juan National Forest

Recreation.gov's Bureau of Reclamation listing says Vallecito Dam and Reservoir were completed in 1941 as the principal feature of the Pine River Project, on the Pine River in the San Juan National Forest about 18 miles northeast of Durango, with a maximum surface area of 2,720 acres. The Pine River Irrigation District manages recreation other than campgrounds under contract with Reclamation, and the Forest Service runs the campgrounds.

Pike, trout, bass and walleye

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says Vallecito produced a state-record northern pike in the past and that trophy-size pike are routinely captured today. Its rainbow trout are consistently quality size or larger, and brown trout over 30 inches and 14 pounds have been caught, though rarely. CPW lists rainbow and brown trout, northern pike, smallmouth bass and walleye as the common species.

The gauge is the inflow

The USGS gauge on this page (09352800) measures the Los Pinos (Pine) River above the reservoir, the main inflow, not the lake level.

Common questions

Are Vallecito's pike big?

CPW says the reservoir once produced a state-record northern pike and that trophy-size pike are routinely caught today.

Who manages the reservoir?

The Bureau of Reclamation owns it; the Pine River Irrigation District manages recreation under contract, and the San Juan National Forest runs the campgrounds.

Does the gauge show the lake level?

USGS 09352800 measures the Los Pinos River above the reservoir, its inflow, not the lake itself.

Is fishing good at Vallecito Reservoir 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

San Juan River (Navajo Dam)39 miNavajo Lake40 miSan Miguel River52 miRidgway Reservoir59 miUncompahgre River66 miHeron Lake68 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09352800 β€” LOS PINOS R ABV VALLECITO RES NR BAYFIELD, CO (inflow)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 37.3800, -107.5700 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.