Park County fishing expected to be top notch this season The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) and the Denver Water Board (DWB) announce the anticipated re-opening of Antero Reservoir. Anglers will be able to fish starting at 9:00 AM, Tuesday, July 17, 2007. Anglers should also be aware of special trout bag limits for Antero.

Fishing regulations:

Bag and possession limits for trout is 4; only 1 can be over 16” long.

Antero Reservoir rules:

Can be found at the Denver Water Board site at: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/

In addition to the opening of Antero Reservoir, there is a new channel of the south fork of the South Platte that will be open on the DWB property. This water can be fished using artificial fly and lures only and all trout must be returned to the water immediately.

After closing in 2002, Antero was re-stocked with brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout, and splake in 2006.

“We are very confident that anglers will have a great experience at Antero,” said Jeff Spohn, Aquatic Biologist with DOW. “It is, however, a limited capacity site, so anyone looking for prime Colorado fishing should also consider the many other waters we manage in South Park.”

Park County is home to many other great sites for trophy-caliber fishing. If you can’t make it into Antero, please dip your line at one of these excellent fisheries:

Elevenmile Reservoir Elevenmile Reservoir should remain full through 2007. Rainbow and brown trout fishing success should be good. Pike fishing will be fair through the summer and steadily increase in September and October. Anglers are encouraged to harvest all northern pike caught at Elevenmile Reservoir. Both summer and fall kokanee fishing will be good, with a much improved snagging season over the last few years; these fish will range from 15-23 inches this fall. Both the north and south boat ramps are operational.

Jefferson Lake Ice cover usually does not recede from Jefferson Lake until the last week of May or the first week of June. Jefferson Lake will continue to be an outstanding catchable rainbow trout fishery, with the occasional holdover rainbow or brook trout to mix things up a little. Small lake trout in the 12-18 inch range can be caught from shore all summer long and shore fishing for large lake trout is best at ice out and in the fall.

Montgomery Reservoir Rainbow trout fishing will remain good at Montgomery Reservoir. Brook trout and brown trout fishing will remain fair to slow. This is an excellent place for families to fish. Please remember that fishing is prohibited on the south side of the reservoir and from the west face of the dam. Also, fishing is prohibited Dec. 1-May 31.

Spinney Mountain Reservoir Opening day at Spinney should fall near the middle of April, depending on weather. Rainbow trout fishing will be great. Brown trout fishing will remain spotty. Northern pike fishing will remain good for smaller pike and slow for larger pike. Anglers are encouraged to harvest all northern pike caught at Spinney Mountain Reservoir. Keep in mind that this is an early projection but, the north boat ramp should be in operation for opening day.

Tarryall Reservoir Rainbow trout fishing will remain good with plenty of action to keep the family interested. Anglers are catching rainbows and snake river cutthroat trout in the 11-16 inch size range with an occasional large brown trout. Northern pike catch rates are increasing and so is the size structure. Anglers are encouraged to harvest all northern pike caught at Tarryall Reservoir.

South Platte River – Deckers Fishing will remain decent for large and small rainbow as well as brown trout when the river is running clear. Best bet for success is above Horse Creek. In 2007, 15,000 5” rainbows and 15,000 4” browns will be planted from Scraggy View to the Wigwam Club. Additionally, 4,500 10” rainbows will be planted from Scraggy View to the North Fork Confluence. Cheesman Canyon will continue to fish exceptionally well, but is starting to see some sediment impacts from the Schoonover Fire. Crowding will continue to be an issue, especially on the weekends.

South Platte River – Elevenmile Canyon Contrary to popular belief, the lower canyon has just as many fish as the upper reach. Anglers might not catch as many 18-20 inch trout in the lower canyon, but they will also have less competition for the same water. Flows in the canyon are dependent upon water calls from Spinney Mountain Reservoir because Elevenmile Reservoir is full and the spillway is on operation. With that taken into consideration, expect modest water temperatures this summer because 50% of the water will be drawn from the bottom of Elevenmile Reservoir.

South Platte River – Dream Stream Expect to see large spawning rainbows from Elevenmile Reservoir to stay in the South Platte from mid-March through the middle of April. Later in the year, large resident brown and rainbow trout will be abundant but hard to catch. Expect to catch numerous smaller rainbows and browns throughout the year. We can also expect to see a large run of kokanee and brown trout this fall from Elevenmile Reservoir. A 700-foot fishing closure will be enforced again this year below County Road 59 from September 15th – December 31st for a kokanee spawning operation.

Other Recommended Places to Fish in South Park:

Fairplay Beach: Stocked with catchable rainbows, great for kids.

Teter-Michigan SWA: Good brown trout population.

Knight-Imler SWA: Good brown and rainbow trout population.
Alma SWA: Excellent brook trout population with an occasional brown trout, great for kids.
Jefferson Creek below Jefferson Lake: Excellent brook and brown trout population in beaver ponds, great for kids.

For more information on fishing at Antero, contact Joe Sloan at the Denver Water Board at 303-628-6320. For other Park County fishing, contact the Division of Wildlife at 303-291-7227.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for managing wildlife and its habitat, as well as providing wildlife related recreation. The Division is funded through hunting and fishing license fees, federal grants and Colorado Lottery proceeds through Great Outdoors Colorado.

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

S. Colorado Greenback Chapter 509