Where to Go North Slope Lakes
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Anglers Covey retail manager Dillon West
SUMMER HOURS 6am to 6pm Daily
NORTH SLOPE RECREATION AREA IS NOW OPEN FOR THE SEASON!
Report Date: 6/14/2026
Current Conditions
Both lakes have been fishing very well and make for an easy and close to home adventure any day. Fish are feeding opportunistically all over the lake but are favoring points, coves, and windblown shorelines. Access is great at both reservoirs right now too. South Catamount has a lot of stocker sized rainbows. North Catamount is fly and lure only. You can launch float tubes or kayaks on both lakes.
Its a $5.00 fee to get up to the lakes via the Pikes Peak Highway.
Tactics:
Static indicator rigs were working great over the weekend and we even saw some good dry fly opportunity later in the day. If you want to target Lake Trout, try throwing some larger white streamers. The window is closing on these deep dwelling trout though.
Hatches:
There are some chironomids and even some caddis hatching right now. Smaller terrestrials (ant, beetles, small hoppers) will be coming into play soon.
Tips:
South Cat- Low water and just freshly stocked. Lots of stocker sized rainbows in here.
North cat- The farther you walk, the less people you will see. Explore the lake!
Weather:
Short Term- Today will cool off a bit and be absolutely beautiful. We could see an afternoon thunderstorm here today, so keep an eye out for that. Any storm should be brief and things should clear up fast. We will dry out and warm up next week. Temps could get close to record highs on Wednesday and we will see temps in the 80's! Precipitation chances are non existent during this time. Heading towards the end of week, precipitation chances will increase again. We have decent chances of rain from Friday through the weekend, and into next week. Temps will remain warm though. In all, this coming week looks like a great time to head out to the water.
Long Term- With the increased precipitation chances next week, it looks like we may start to see some consistent afternoon rain coinciding with the summer monsoon season. Temps will also be nice and in the 70's. Longer range forecasts have been hinting at this for a little while now, and this looks like the set up to that. We desperately need to get some consistent rainfall as our snowpack statewide is already gone. This is about 3 weeks earlier than normal, and expected after our low snow year. Each year when this happens, our fire danger increases.
- Chubbies, royal, yellow, sizes 12-14
- Amy's Ant, olive or purple, sizes 14-16
- Stubby chubby, orange, size 16
- Parachute Adams, sizes 16-20
About North Catamount Reservoir
North Catamount Reservoir on Pikes Peak is flies and lures only. It has mostly rainbows and cutthroat trout and is known for having large Mackinaw. There is no fishing access from the dam. There is a charge of $5 to drive up Pikes Peak Highway to gain access to the three main reservoirs (North and South Catamount and Crystal Reservoir). Be sure to tell them at the gate that you are fishing and not going to the top of the Peak so you don't get charged the full amount to drive the full distance.
About South Catamount Reservoir
South Catamount Reservoir is located just a 5 minute drive up Pikes Peak highway below North Catamount Reservoir. It is basically the same still water fishery as "North Cat" only with slightly less strict regulations because bait fishing is allowed. These reservoirs are the Colorado Springs city water supply with relatively little access to commodities such as restrooms, camp sites and boat ramps. Flies to come armed with are streamers, such as a brown and black wooly bugger, egg patterns, copper johns, hares ears, and prince nymphs. Tell the people working the gate that you are going fishing so you don't pay the higher fee to go to the top of Pikes Peak.
Hours of Operation
May 1 – Thursday before Memorial Day: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Friday before Memorial Day - Labor Day: 7:30am – 7:00pm
Tuesday after Labor Day - Sept 30: 7:30am – 6:00pm
Oct 1 – Third Sunday of October: 9:00am – 4:00pm
In addition, the Recreation Area is closed to fishing during the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Race
Another Stillwater option, when these lakes open there is abundant opportunity on the fly. North catamount in particular, holds some very nice lake trout that can be taken cruising the shoreline. Slow stripping streamers is my favorite method to fish here. Don’t overlook the dry fly opportunity throughout the summer as well
Jon Easdon, Guide and Director of Services
This is an area we specialize in and are permitted to guide, so give us a shout if you have any questions or if you are interested in allowing one of our Orvis-Endorsed guides showing you how to conquer North Slope Lakes.