Colorado Springs Maps And Info For Carp Fishing - Quail Lake

Warning: The information provided is subject to change. Stocking programs change, the ecology of the lakes change, and the list goes on... We will do our best to provide you with updates as new info comes in.

Regulations: All statewide limits apply. We have taken the liberty of posting those limits next to the present fish species listed below. Bow hunting for carp inside city limits is illegal! I will turn you in if I see you shooting my pets.

Quail Lake is a typical Colorado Springs stillwater fishery. By this I mean that it is fed by city water, is fairly shallow, and many different cold and warm water fish species call it home. All three major lakes (Prospect, Quail, and Pikeview) are what I like to call "mutt" lakes. By this I mean that -depending on the time of year- these lakes are home to so many different fish species it can be hard to tell what's on the end of your line. This list includes...


Rainbow Trout - 4
Snake River Cutthroat Trout - 4
Largemouth Bass - 5
Wiper - 10
Striped Bass - 10
Walleye - 5
Saugeye - 5
Channel Catfish - 10
Black Bullhead Catfish - unlimited
Green Sunfish - 20
Bluegill - 20
Black Crappie - 20
Hybrid Grass Carp - unlimited
Common Carp - unlimited
Northern Pike - unlimited
European Rudd - unlimited

Literally the same fish species that can be found in Propect lake and Pikeview reservoir are found here, and there could very well be more! This is the only body of water out of the three that I know for certain has Northern Pike.


Of course, where there are thriving fish there is a ton of food in the form of insects, crustaceans, and forage fish. These food options include...

Insects:

Chironomids
Callibaetis
Caddis
Damsels

Beetles
Ants
Hoppers

And probably more! These are just the hatches and terrestrials I've witnessed during my time spent there. Literally, chironomids start coming off the moment the reservoir is free of ice, and the callibaetis and damsels start earlier as well. This is due to Quail's lower elevation compared to the more popular places such as Elevenmile and Spinney.

Crustaceans:

Crawfish


Forage Fish:

Gizzard Shad
Golden Shiner


The only other potential food source I can think of is the resident fish species themselves. Yes, they do eat each other...

Guide Tip: You will start to see clouds of black bullhead catfish fingerlings around late June/early July. These giant schools of baby catfish stay shallow because they make for easy targets for predatory fish. You will notice that as the size of the fish in these schools get larger, the size of the schools get smaller. The other fish in the lake really key in on these little guys, and it's a great time to toss a dark olive or black colored wooly bugger. Black also seems to be a good color for common carp during this time.

Click on the boxes and interest points on the map to learn about each spot! To better avoid the annoying white information box click on the full screen icon on the upper right corner of the map! 

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