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Fishing at Carter Lake

Colorado · Larimer County · 8 acres
State
Colorado
Country
USA
Licence
State-issued
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Colorado Lake 8 acres Open access — CPW-listed public water 🌙 Night fishing

About Fishing at Carter Lake

Carter Lake is a public lake in Larimer County, Colorado, managed by Colorado Parks & Wildlife. It is listed in the CPW Fishing Atlas as legally accessible public water. Public access confirmed via CPW.

A deep Colorado reservoir with a kokanee-salmon fishery — trolled kokanee and rainbows through summer, lake trout (mackinaw) in the depths, and a fall snagging season for spawning kokanee.

Carter Lake covers about 8 acres in the Front Range region. Anglers here mostly fish for kokanee salmon, rainbow trout, lake trout (mackinaw), brown trout; yellow perch are also on record. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Crystal Creek (Summit County) and Lehman Gulch.

County
Larimer
Region
Front Range
Surface area
8 acres
Public access
Open access — CPW-listed public water
Managed by
Colorado Parks & Wildlife
Night fishing
Permitted
Boats
Varies by water

Fish Species at Carter Lake

Species from the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Fishing Atlas and fishery survey data.

Access & Rules at Carter Lake

Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Colorado. Some State Wildlife Areas, state parks and reservoirs have posted hours or seasonal closures — check the CPW property page and the fishing brochure for this water.

Boats: Boating rules are set per water — many high lakes are hand-launch or electric-motor only, and Front Range reservoirs run mandatory aquatic-nuisance-species (ANS) inspections before launch. Check the CPW listing for this water.

Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at Colorado state parks (reserve ahead), national forest and BLM campgrounds, and where allowed on State Wildlife Areas. Many SWAs are day-use only and now require a hunting or fishing licence just to enter. Dispersed camping on national forest / BLM land is widely allowed away from developed areas.

Tackle: This is a trout / Gold Medal water. Special season, gear and bag rules often apply (many Gold Medal reaches are flies-and-lures, catch-and-release) — check the CPW fishing brochure for this water.

Fishing Licence for Carter Lake

Everyone 16 or older needs a Colorado fishing licence — resident annual is about $41 (plus the ~$12 Wildlife Habitat Stamp), non-resident annual about $103, and 1-day licences about $17. No separate trout stamp. Buy from Colorado Parks & Wildlife. Colorado has no public-trust right to float or wade through private land — you may only fish where CPW, a State Wildlife Area lease, a state park or another public agency provides legal access, which every water in this atlas does. Most licences also require the ~$12 Colorado Wildlife Habitat Stamp; there is no separate trout stamp.

Colorado

Colorado Parks & Wildlife Resident annual: ~$41 Non-resident annual: ~$103 1-day licence: ~$17 · Wildlife Habitat Stamp (~$12) required · no separate trout stamp Buy: cpw.state.co.us/buyapply

State Wildlife Area access

Many CPW stream and lake accesses are State Wildlife Areas — since 2020 everyone 16+ must carry a hunting or fishing licence just to set foot on an SWA Some SWAs are day-use only or have seasonal closures for wildlife — check the CPW property page No reciprocal licences: border reservoirs (e.g. Navajo, John Martin) need a Colorado licence for the Colorado water

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Frequently Asked Questions

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