High Mountain Lake Sangre De Cristos
Date: 7/28/06Fish Caught: 10-15
Location: High Mountain Lake Sangre De Cristos
Weather Condition: 70s and 80s Clear
After moving out of Denver I was excited to get some real fishing in again. I was in search of the great local spot to go hook some trout. I heard from a local guy that huge cutthroats were in a high mountain lake. We have all heard stories about large trout in a nice place, but when fished tends to be a little less than what was described, so I had my doubts. But a few days later he showed me pictures of the lake and the fish with dates on them. Thats when I took it seriously. I started to plan the trip as it would need to be an overnighter.
I got off work at about 1pm and headed for Westcliffe. Its a nice little town overlooking the Sangre De Cristo mountain range. From there I drove up to the foothills of the Sangres. The roads that lead to trail heads in the Sangres are rough you definitely need 4wd. After some work getting the truck up to the trail head I threw on the backpack and headed up the mountain. When hiking this area I can see why no one is in a huge rush to get to the fishing, there are beautiful views and a lot of wildlife. On the way into the lake I ran into a couple that was hiking out. I asked if they fished the lake before. They said they did for two days and only caught one fish then wished me luck. At that point the doubts came back into my mind.
I got to the lake with about an hour of daylight left and decided that fishing was more important than setting up camp. I got to the bank, tied on a small streamer, and threw it out in the water while I pull line from my reel. I get the line I need out and go to back cast and set the hook on a nice 18-1/2" cut. The next hour was just as productive and caught about 10 ranging from 18-21 inches. After the hike and catching lots of nice fish I was exhausted and set up camp had a bite to eat and went to bed.
The next morning I woke up to high wind. I went to try my luck at fishing and caught a few but not as quickly as the night before. The wind died down and the sun warmed things up quickly. The fish moved deeper in the intense sun and stopped feeding. I needed to get home early in the afternoon so thats when I left this amazing lake. On the way out I pulled out the fly rod to fish a small stream and caught a few more small 8-10 inch cuts. The hike into this beautiful place is worth the trip alone. So even after fishing is over it is still a wonderful adventure getting home.
This was a great trip and a horseback trip is already planned for the summer of 07. The fish should be a year older and hopefully a year larger as well!
