The Grand Mesa above Cedaredge holds hundreds of small fishing lakes

North of Cedaredge, the land climbs to the flat top of the Grand Mesa. Up there, hidden among the spruce and aspen, sit a remarkable number of small lakes. Forest Service and tourism sources describe more than 300 stream-fed lakes on and around the mesa, many holding rainbow, cutthroat, and brook trout. For an angler in Delta County, that is a lot of water within a day’s reach.

Most of these lakes are small and sit at high elevation, so the open-water season is short and the high country can hold snow late into spring. Many are reached by Forest Service roads that branch off State Highway 65, the paved route up the mesa, near the Grand Mesa Visitor Center. Some lakes are a short walk from a pullout; others take a rougher road or a hike.

A few things worth planning for: weather changes fast and cold up high, services on the mesa are limited, and fishing rules are not the same lake to lake. Stocking, size and bag limits, and any special rules are set by the state wildlife agency and can differ by water.

Before you fish a Grand Mesa lake, check the current Colorado Parks and Wildlife fishing rules for that water, and check road and access conditions with the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests.