Rifle Gap Reservoir

Fishing, stocking, and current conditions

Trout water, stocked 2 times in 2026, spread August to October. A 241-acre reservoir. A USGS gauge reports from this water, so the conditions card on this page is live.

Colorado · see it on the national map

last stocked Oct 23 today

best window 10:14 pm-12:14 am solunar major today

Water right now 5913.26 ft elevation NWS forecast: steady through Thursday USGS gauge 09091900 (RIFLE GAP RESERVOIR NEAR RIFLE, CO) · read 7:00 pm this evening

2 stockings 2026

241 acres (NHD)

The year here

stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details

What swims here

Trout 2 stockings

Stocking record 2026

Agency feed checked today.

Date	Species	Size	Fish	Status
Aug 14wk	Trout	catchable		completed
Oct 23wk	Trout	catchable		completed

When to fish Rifle Gap Reservoir

	Major periods (~2 h)	Minor periods (~1 h)
Today	9:52-11:52 am and 10:14 pm-12:14 am	4:10-5:10 am and 4:23-5:23 pm
Tomorrow	10:38 am-12:38 pm	5:18-6:18 am and 4:47-5:47 pm

Moon: waxing gibbous, 93% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Mountain Time (MDT).

What the record actually says

Stocked today

Computed this evening, Oct 23 · Colorado fishing forecast

Gear for this water

Stocked within the last three weeks: fish are still bunched near the release points and keyed on familiar smells.

For the trout (trout stocked 2 times here in 2026, stillwater)

Casting spoons	1/8 to 1/4 oz in fluorescent or metallic; count down until you find the depth
Small crankbaits	trout-pattern cranks trolled or slow-retrieved off points
Slip bobber and jig	1/32 oz marabou jig or waxworm suspended at cruising depth

Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.

Nearby stocked waters

The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.

Water	Distance	Most recent
Rifle Pond South	8.2 mi	Sep 18
Sleepycat Pond	22 mi	Sep 11
Circle Park Pond	29 mi	Sep 11
Sweetwater Lake	32 mi	Sep 4
Old pond	41 mi	Sep 18

Follow Colorado stocking: RSS / Calendar (iCal) / Print the schedule

Records from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (official page). Placement from USGS GNIS and the National Hydrography Dataset. Schedules change without notice. Seasons, limits, and licenses: Colorado fishing regulations.