Best Fish Finders for Colorado Reservoir Fishing

Spinney Mountain and Eleven Mile are big, featureless-looking reservoirs. Without electronics you're guessing. With a fish finder you can mark the depth where trout are holding, find underwater structure and drop-offs, and return to productive spots with GPS precision. Paul says the GPS waypoint feature alone improved his catch rate immediately in his first season running electronics.

For anglers just getting serious about South Park reservoirs, the Garmin Striker Plus 4 is the right starting point. Built-in GPS with Quickdraw Contours lets you map your own depth contours over multiple trips — you're essentially building a custom lake map of your productive areas. Dual-beam CHIRP sonar reads bottom structure clearly at 80ft. Simple interface, readable screen in Colorado's high-altitude sunlight.

After years of traditional sonar, Paul upgraded to the Lowrance Elite FS 9 with Active Target 2 live sonar. Live sonar is a different category entirely — you can watch individual fish react to your lure in real time. At 80ft, when a trout follows but doesn't commit, you see it happen and can adjust speed instantly. It's expensive, but for someone fishing 4–5 days a week, it changes the game.