Taylor Park Reservoir

Taylor Park Reservoir sits in a broad high park at about 9,300 feet, ringed by the Sawatch and Collegiate peaks, and lets the Taylor River out through the dam into the famous catch-and-release water below. It covers about 2,000 acres. The season is short and the weather quick: ice usually holds into late May, and afternoon storms and wind are common.

It holds lake trout, rainbows, browns, kokanee, northern pike and yellow perch. For a fly angler the best of it is the weeks after ice-off, when rainbows and the occasional big brown cruise the shallow edges and the inlet, and in fall, when lake trout come shallow and the browns get aggressive. A float tube works along the edges on calm mornings; the middle is boat water. Expect cold mornings and thin air.