Cheesman Lake is a reservoir in Colorado, near Douglas County.
Cheesman Lake is a reservoir in Douglas County, Colorado, and covers about 874 acres, reaches about 126.6 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 79,064 acre-feet.
Several patterns can work at once on Cheesman Lake, especially when wind separates clear water from dirty water. Deep water at Cheesman Lake gives fish room to move away from shore as summer heat and bright light build.
Cheesman Lake fills a steep South Platte canyon. Deep, clear water and sharp rocky banks favor trout and smallmouth bass, while northern pike and perch use the limited shallow cover where it develops.
Use long casts and natural colors on clear rocky banks. Brown trout may hold near the river influence, while smallmouth bass take tubes along broken rock. Lake depth is less useful than finding a ledge or point that gives fish a feeding edge.
Fish listed for Cheesman Lake include Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Kokanee Salmon, Rainbow Trout, and Yellow Perch.
For yellow perch, keep a light jig tipped with a minnow or worm close to the bottom on a flat beside deeper water.
Begin the northern pike search by trying to search weed edges and shallow points with a spoon, spinnerbait, or minnow-shaped lure.
To begin with smallmouth bass, drag a tube or Ned rig across rock and the hard edge of a point.
A good brown trout start is to fish a light minnow bait, spoon, or streamer along cool breaks and moving water.
For an opening pass, do not let the deepest number control the whole day; nearby cover, firm bottom, and food usually matter more than the deepest hole by itself.
As a starting point, shallow water is worth a careful look in spring and again during fall; bright summer days favor shade, weeds, or deeper breaks; under ice, a light depth change can be more useful than a long shift.
Before moving far, a midweight spinning setup with 8- to 10-pound line handles most jigs and small casting baits; add a stronger outfit and a proper leader when northern pike are the target.
After a bite, write down cover, wind, productive depth, and water color; those details help more on the next trip than a long list of empty spots.
For a first pass, keep the first hour simple: use one moving bait to find active fish, slow down with a jig or natural bait on the best edge, and repeat the same setup when two bites come from matching depth and bottom during that part of the trip.
Its clear canyon water drops quickly from steep rock, leaving far less broad shallow cover.
Work a tube or small crankbait down broken rock beside a point or narrow shelf.
Find a ledge, point, or river-influenced area instead of treating the deepest hole as the target.
Explore nearby waters, including local Featured destinations. Check each page for access and fishing restrictions.
Distances are straight-line estimates between mapped water locations.