Time: 1:00PM – 2:00PM

Location: Eastern end of Black Lake

Black Lake 06/16/2026 Photo Album

I abandoned Clinton Gulch and decided to explore the Black Lakes at the top of Vail Pass. It was only a short drive back to Interstate 70 and then up the eastern side of Vail Pass to reach the Black Lakes. I read about them in the Flyfisher’s Guide to Colorado’s Easy Access Mountain Lakes, and it seemed like a decent nearby alternative.

I arrived at 12:30 and parked in a dirt lot high above the lake and consumed my lunch. I actually drove past the lake looking for the second one, but my path was blocked by a gate across the road below the first Black Lake, so I turned around and settled in the upper lot.

A View of Black Lake

The wind was gusting furiously, but I grabbed my already strung rod from Clinton Gulch and carefully slid down the steep bank and crossed a tiny inlet creek to arrive on the south side of the lake. The water was low and revealed a muddy beach, and I carefully walked across the packed mud to a small point.

Once again the wind was blasting from the west and creating waves and small whitecaps on the surface. I tossed the three fly dry/dropper across the wind and allowed the flies to float with the direction of the wind, and I persisted with this approach for ten minutes, before I deemed it unproductive.

Perhaps the fish were deeper, and I needed to strip streamers? I reconfigured my line with an olive slumpbuster and trailed a black beadhead leech. I spent an additional ten minutes stripping the streamers using forty foot casts, but I never felt a bump. My confidence was shot, and I was in a state of frustration. The book said the lake was mainly home to stocked rainbows, and I never saw the Black Lakes on stocking reports, so I was essentially fishing for holdovers. I deemed my probability of catching a fish low, so I once again called it quits and climbed the steep bank back to the car.

I am not sure I would return to the Black Lakes, although I am curious to know where the second lake is. I suspect one needs to park above the gate and hike down the cycling road to encounter Black Lake number two. It was an interesting exploratory detour, but I was still fishless. I decided to try a third option.

Fish Landed: 0