Ruedi Reservoir

Ruedi Reservoir holds the Fryingpan River about 14 miles above Basalt, at roughly 7,800 feet in the White River forest. It covers about 1,000 acres, and the cold, mysis-rich water it lets out the bottom is what grows the big trout of the Gold Medal Fryingpan below the dam.

The lake itself is known for kokanee and lake trout, and it holds rainbows and some browns. For a fly angler the best water is the upper end, where the Fryingpan comes in, and the shallow coves, in the weeks after ice-off and again in fall; the lower lake is deep and steep-sided. Afternoon wind comes down the valley most summer days, so fish early. Statewide rules apply.