Officials have enacted a mandatory full-day fishing closure on a 0.6-mile stretch of the Yampa River south of Steamboat Springs.

According to Colorado Parks an Wildlife, the fishing closure is due to a deceased water flow from Stagecoach Reservoir into the river, with the closure in place between the Stagecoach State Park dam and downstream to the lowermost park boundary. The section where the fishing closure is underway can be seen on this map.

The closure will start on May 19 and continue until further notice. The purpose of the closure is “to avoid and minimize fish mortality within this tailwater fishery,” according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

A press release on the matter described how fish can become more concentrated in ‘residual pool habitat’ during times when water is low, which can contribute to additional stress for the fish as resources become more limited. As a result of the additional stress, more fish that get hooked by anglers ultimately die.

“We will continue to closely monitor the inflow at Stagecoach Reservoir,” said Andy Rossi, UYWCD General Manager. “If we see increased inflow, we can respond quickly to adjust outflow and work with CPW to determine if the closure could be lifted.”

Colorado’s snowpack is currently at just 50 percent of the norm for the date on the statewide level. The Yampa-White-Little Snake River Basin, which is home to this stretch of water, is slightly above that at 52 percent. This region is in the 15th percentile in terms of snowpack compared to seasons dating back to 1987 – in other words, this northwestern region had more snow on the ground in 85 percent of those years compared to what’s on the ground right now.

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