Fishing · NW Larimer County
Joe Wright Reservoir
Home to Colorado’s largest population of Arctic grayling — flies and lures only, just below Cameron Pass.
Toggle USGS Topo / Terrain / Satellite / Street (top-right) · red = special-regulation water, confirm current rules · waters © CPW Colorado Fishing Atlas
Joe Wright Reservoir sits high on Highway 14 just below the crest of Cameron Pass, close to 10,000 feet in the Medicine Bow country. It is a special place for anglers after something different: it holds Colorado’s largest population of Arctic grayling — a sail-finned high-country fish first brought in from Montana — alongside tiger trout, cutthroat, and even a few lake trout and tiger muskie.
Joe Wright is a special-regulation water: artificial flies and lures only, with a four-fish combined limit on trout and grayling. Joe Wright Creek, from the reservoir down to Highway 14, is closed to fishing to protect spawning fish, so mind the boundaries. Small attractor patterns and light lures are the ticket for grayling out in the open water.
The Water
Elevation
9,920 ft
Regulations
Flies & lures only · 4-fish limit
Fish
Arctic grayling, tiger & cutthroat trout
Note
Joe Wright Creek closed (spawning)
Good to Know
- Special regulation: artificial flies and lures only, with a combined four-fish limit on trout and grayling — confirm the current rules before you go.
- Joe Wright Creek, from the reservoir down to Highway 14, is closed to fishing to protect spawning fish.
- This is home to Colorado’s largest population of Arctic grayling, introduced decades ago from Montana.
- A valid Colorado fishing license is required for anyone 16 or older. At nearly 10,000 feet, come prepared for cold and fast-changing mountain weather.
At the Water
Photos © Red Feather Lakes Travel Guide — shot on the water.
What’s Biting & What’s Stocked
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Fishing details compiled by the Red Feather Lakes Travel Guide from the sources above. Photography by us — more of our own water images coming as we fish them.