An all-ages fishing tournament is set to be held in Summit County and by participating, anglers will be helping Colorado’s native fish populations, too.

Considered to be an invasive threat, Northern Pike are predators known to aggressively diminish native fish populations, including trout. Because of this, they’re a local fish that can often be caught and kept without a bag limit – also sometimes the target of more direct initiatives to manage local populations.

The Green Mountain Reservoir Northern Pike Fishing Tournament is one such initiative, with anglers invited to participate in the event by Colorado Parks and Wildlife now through September 30.

“Predatory Northern Pike in Green Mountain Reservoir threaten not only the recreational fishery in the reservoir but also popular downstream trout fisheries and, ultimately, native and federally listed fish species in the lower sections of the Colorado River,” said CPW Area Aquatic Biologist Jon Ewert. “Anglers can help us in reducing the Northern Pike population in Green Mountain Reservoir, which in turn helps protect fish downstream in the Colorado River by participating in this tournament.”

In order to participate, anglers must first register for the event and then upload photos of fish they catch via the Fishing Chaos app. GPS or location settings must be enabled to verify the location of a catch within the app.

Monthly prizes will be given out for those who catch the most Northern Pike, with first place getting $500, second place getting $250, and third place getting $150, plus a $100 prize for the youth angler (17 and under) who catches the most. That’s $4,000 in prizes over the four months that the tournament will be taking place, plus another $100 per month that will be given at random in a giveaway where one catch equals one entry (top three anglers not eligible to win in giveaway).

Find additional information and a leaderboard here.

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