CPW pulls more than 1,000 trout from massive reservoir that’s set to be drained
Amid the draining and closure of popular fishing spot Antero Reservoir, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has been hard at work to salvage the lake’s fish.
According to a report from the agency, their aquatic biologists in conjunction with Denver Water staff pulled more than 1,000 trout out of Antero Reservoir on Friday, heavily relying on the use of electrofishing. This technique involves sending a controlled electrical current through the water that temporarily stuns the fish, making them easy to capture while not harming the animals. Per a report from CPW, 981 rainbow, brown, and cutthroat throat that were caught via this means were then relocated to Eleven Mile Reservoir. Some other fish that were captured were released into the South Fork South Platte River.
The CPW effort followed a public salvage that was announced in April with the decision to drawn down Antero Reservoir amid drought. Water from Antero Reservoir is being moved to Cheesman Reservoir in the Sedalia area given Antero Reservoir’s high evaporation-to-storage ratio. This ratio would have meant that a significant portion of Antero Reservoir’s water would have been lost to evaporation amid a year when water resources in Colorado will be a bit strained.
“It felt great to be able to salvage fish from Antero Reservoir and relocate them to another location where they can be enjoyed by anglers,” said CPW Northeast Senior Aquatic Biologist Kyle Battige. “Antero can grow some really nice trout and we were able to move 981 fish over to Eleven Mile State Park. We appreciate the close coordination and support from Denver Water along with the thousands of anglers that participated in the emergency public salvage effort, a key to ensure some of Antero’s fish did not go to waste.”
While Antero Reservoir won’t be an option for anglers this year, the current plan is to resume stocking operations once the reservoir is refilled. The last time Antero Reservoir was drained amid drought conditions was in 2002, with the reservoir reopening again in 2007.
Read more about how Antero Reservoir water is being moved here.
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