Pueblo Reservoir Fishing Guides
Colorado's premier warmwater reservoir, an Arkansas River impoundment below the Front Range that produces walleye, wipers and smallmouth in a state better known for trout.
Map of the Pueblo Reservoir
25 numbered points: 8 access points, 6 campsites, 1 bait & fly shop, 2 parks and conservation areas, 6 agency offices, 1 hazard, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 24, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (8)
- Campsite (6)
- Bait, tackle & fly shop (1)
- Park / conservation area (2)
- Agency / conservation office (6)
- Dam / hazard (1)
- USGS gauge (1)
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 25 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pueblo Dam Bureau of Reclamation - NID CO00299 | Dam / hazard | 38.26885, -104.72509 | Concrete buttress and earth dam at the east end; impounds the reservoir and releases to the Arkansas River. |
| 2 | USGS 07099350 - Arkansas River at Pueblo Dam US Geological Survey | USGS gauge | 38.26970, -104.72470 | Live release and water temperature at the dam. |
| 3 | Dam Entrance Station Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Agency / conservation office | 38.26889, -104.72027 | North-east park entrance, above the dam on the Pueblo side. |
| 4 | Pueblo Fish Hatchery Colorado Parks and Wildlife | Agency / conservation office | 38.26478, -104.71962 | CPW hatchery below the dam; the reservoir's walleye and wiper stocking comes through here. |
| 5 | CPW and Bureau of Reclamation Office Shared agency office below the dam | Agency / conservation office | 38.25951, -104.71778 | The two agencies that run the water and the land share this building. |
| 6 | Lake Pueblo State Park Colorado Parks and Wildlife | Park / conservation area | 38.26437, -104.77277 | The state park wraps the whole reservoir; a pass is needed at every entrance. |
| 7 | South Fishing Area Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Access / boat ramp | 38.25568, -104.73087 | Signed bank-fishing water on the south shore east of the marina. |
| 8 | Arkansas Point Visitor Center Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Agency / conservation office | 38.25469, -104.73233 | Park visitor centre on the south shore; passes, lake conditions and the ANS inspection station. |
| 9 | Arkansas Point Entrance Station Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Agency / conservation office | 38.25307, -104.73411 | South-shore park entrance. |
| 10 | Arkansas Point Campground Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Campsite | 38.25139, -104.73331 | The south-shore campground, above the Arkansas Point boat ramp. |
| 11 | Southshore Marina Lake Pueblo State Park - concession marina | Access / boat ramp | 38.25602, -104.73618 | South-shore marina; slips, fuel and rental boats. |
| 12 | Southshore Boat Ramp Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Access / boat ramp | 38.25330, -104.73850 | The south-shore launch. OpenStreetMap carries this ramp three times; shown once here. |
| 13 | SWA shoreline parking - south shore Pueblo Reservoir SWA - CPW | Access / boat ramp | 38.26493, -104.79138 | The SWA's south-shore lot, reached from the Pueblo Reservoir road. Unnamed on CPW's own map. |
| 14 | SWA shoreline parking - west end Pueblo Reservoir SWA - CPW | Access / boat ramp | 38.30303, -104.85617 | Bank-fishing parking at the upper end of the reservoir, near Swallows. Unnamed on CPW's own map. |
| 15 | Pueblo Reservoir State Wildlife Area Colorado Parks and Wildlife | Park / conservation area | 38.28965, -104.80579 | The SWA covers the upper reservoir shoreline above the state park. CPW maps about twenty-five unnamed lots and pullouts along it; the sheet shows three. |
| 16 | Northwest Entrance Station Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Agency / conservation office | 38.28982, -104.78221 | The north-west park entrance, off Pueblo West. |
| 17 | Kettle Creek Campground Northern Plains area - CPW | Campsite | 38.27591, -104.78405 | |
| 18 | Yucca Flats Campground Northern Plains area - CPW | Campsite | 38.27326, -104.78120 | |
| 19 | Eagle View Campground Northern Plains area - CPW | Campsite | 38.27382, -104.77743 | |
| 20 | Prairie Ridge Campground Northern Plains area - CPW | Campsite | 38.27155, -104.77590 | One of four named loops in the Northern Plains campground complex. CPW spells it “Prarie”; corrected here. |
| 21 | Northshore Boat Ramp Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Access / boat ramp | 38.27115, -104.76874 | The reservoir's main launch. OpenStreetMap carries it twice; shown once here. |
| 22 | Northshore Marina Lake Pueblo State Park - concession marina | Access / boat ramp | 38.27109, -104.76592 | North-shore marina beside the main launch. |
| 23 | Juniper Breaks Campground Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Campsite | 38.27661, -104.75419 | North-shore campground, the closest sites to the Juniper arm. |
| 24 | Sailboard Hand Launch Area Lake Pueblo State Park - CPW | Access / boat ramp | 38.27533, -104.73690 | Carry-in launch on the north-east shore; no trailer ramp. |
| 25 | The Drift Fly Shop Pueblo - about 10 km east of the dam | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 38.30920, -104.62149 | The nearest fly shop; the reservoir itself has none, and the shop also covers the Arkansas below the dam. |
Guides on the Pueblo Reservoir
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
Order on this page: premium and outfitter plans first (labelled Premium placement), then claimed free profiles, then unclaimed — one published price, no bidding for position. How placement works
About the Pueblo Reservoir
Pueblo Reservoir is the exception to almost everything a visitor assumes about Colorado fishing. It sits at forty-nine hundred feet on the Arkansas River just west of the city of Pueblo, in dry shortgrass and pinyon country well below the Front Range, and it is a warmwater fishery in a state whose reputation is built on cold mountain streams. At full pool it covers about forty-six hundred acres with sixty miles of shoreline, most of it rock, and it is the centerpiece of Lake Pueblo State Park.
Walleye are the signature species and the reservoir is the state’s most important walleye water, supplying eggs to Colorado Parks and Wildlife hatcheries each spring. Wipers, the hybrid of white and striped bass, are the other headline: they school, they feed violently on the surface in the warm months, and chasing boils on a summer morning is the most exciting fishing the reservoir offers. Smallmouth bass are abundant on the rock, largemouth occupy the coves, crappie stack on submerged structure, and channel catfish are plentiful and mostly ignored. Rainbow trout are stocked and fished mainly in the cold months and below the dam.
Water level is the governing variable. This is a Bureau of Reclamation storage and irrigation project, and the pool swings substantially between spring fill and late-summer drawdown, changing which points, coves and submerged features are in play. The reservoir is large, open and exposed, and afternoon wind out of the southwest is a regular feature that ends more fishing days than weather does. Boat ramps are managed by the state park and mandatory watercraft inspection for aquatic nuisance species applies at every launch. The tailwater below the dam is a separate and well-regarded cold-water fishery in its own right, holding trout year round, and it gives a guided party somewhere productive to go on days when wind makes the open reservoir unfishable.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Pueblo Reservoir.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.
Pool right now
- 24 hours+0.08 ft → steady
Reading taken 51 min ago at USGS 07099350, PUEBLO RESERVOIR NEAR PUEBLO, CO.. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
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Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.
Access
North Marina - the main state park launch, with the largest ramp and full facilities.
South Fishing Area - south shore access with a ramp, shore fishing and quieter water.
Rock Canyon - the east end below the dam, with shore access and the stocked trout water.
The dam and the deep east basin - the primary walleye ground through the summer.
The Arkansas River inlet at the west end - current, turbid spring water and staging fish.
Submerged rock points along the north shore - smallmouth bass and crappie structure.
Pueblo, ten minutes east - lodging, tackle, licenses and mandatory watercraft inspection stations.
Seasons
Spring: the walleye spawn and the egg-take run in March and April, with fish shallow and the best numbers of the year.
Summer: wipers school and boil on the surface at first light, while walleye and smallmouth hold on the deeper rock.
Fall: drawdown concentrates fish on remaining structure and the largest walleye of the year are caught.
Winter: the reservoir rarely locks up fully; trout fishing below the dam and from shore carries the cold months.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Pueblo Reservoir?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Wiper on the Pueblo Reservoir in Colorado.
Are there fishing guides on the Pueblo Reservoir?
GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Pueblo Reservoir. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Pueblo Reservoir?
North Marina - the main state park launch, with the largest ramp and full facilities. South Fishing Area - south shore access with a ramp, shore fishing and quieter water. Rock Canyon - the east end below the dam, with shore access and the stocked trout water. The dam and the deep east basin - the primary walleye ground through the summer. The Arkansas River inlet at the west end - current, turbid spring water and staging fish. Submerged rock points along the north shore - smallmouth bass and crappie structure. Pueblo, ten minutes east - lodging, tackle, licenses and mandatory watercraft inspe...
When is the best time to fish the Pueblo Reservoir?
Spring: the walleye spawn and the egg-take run in March and April, with fish shallow and the best numbers of the year. Summer: wipers school and boil on the surface at first light, while walleye and smallmouth hold on the deeper rock. Fall: drawdown concentrates fish on remaining structure and the largest walleye of the year are caught. Winter: the reservoir rarely locks up fully; trout fishing below the dam and from shore carries the cold months.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Pueblo Reservoir?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Colorado agency site: https://cpw.state.co.us/rules-and-regulations