• 2008 Southeast Region Fishing Forecast (pdf)

Golden leaves of autumn are largely gone, snow has fallen and nighttime temperatures in the high country regularly fall below freezing. Water temperatures in lakes and streams across the state also are dropping, and skims of ice have appeared on some beaver ponds, high-mountain lakes and even along the edges of a few rivers.

Though the ice might disappear with warming sunlight, it is a reminder that winter inevitably is on the way and the good-fishing days of summer and fall are dwindling away.

Winding down – but not entirely gone.  Late-season anglers still can find their share of good opportunities.
 
Trout are actively feeding in many mountain lakes and reservoirs, and with cooling temperatures, they might be active during the warmer times of day. Many lower-elevation waters that had been too warm for trout during the summer have been stocked with catchable-sized fish from the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s hatchery system. Those recent arrivals will provide close-to-home fishing opportunities through the fall and into the winter.

Stream fishermen also can enjoy some periods of good fishing. Hatches are less predictable, but blue-wing-olive mayflies might appear on the warmer days, and midge activity will be evident through the winter.

Tailwaters – the portions of a stream directly below a dam – offer the best prospects in late fall and winter, but some free-flowing rivers also have open water in all but the coldest of winters. If wintertime trout activity is marginal, whitefish provide another dimension on rivers such as the Roaring Fork and White. Whitefish will readily take a variety of dead-drifted nymphs, and they are excellent fare for the home smoker.

On the downside, warm-water fishing already has slowed significantly in most lower-elevation waters. Though a few walleyes and catfish still might be taken, wipers and bass are becoming less and less active. Consecutive warm days might stir some fish activity, and ice fishermen might enjoy periods of good fishing for perch, but for most warm-water fishermen, the season is over until next spring.

Salmon Giveaways
Kokanee salmon that have been stripped of their spawn by the Colorado Division of Wildlife may be available to licensed anglers. The Roaring Judy hatchery above Almont will give away salmon on the final three Fridays of October, beginning at 9 a.m. The tentative schedule for salmon from above Elevenmile Reservoir is Mondays and Thursdays beginning Oct. 15. Check with the Elevenmile Reservoir State Park office to confirm the dates. Salmon from the Shadow Mountain/Granby Reservoir operation usually also are given away. Check with the DOW’s Hot Sulphur Springs office for details.

Antero Limit
The Colorado Wildlife commission, meeting in Sterling on Oct. 11, in effect made the emergency limit enacted for Antero Reservoir in August permanent. The daily bag and possession limit at the reservoir is two trout, with no size restrictions.

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An earlier limit had been four trout, of which only two could exceed 16 inches. The change was prompted by a significant loss of fish due to delayed hooking mortality that was primarily related to higher water temperatures and improper handling techniques by anglers wanting to release the fish they had caught. Many trout had grown larger than 16 inches in July, when the reservoir reopened to fishing. With the earlier limit, many hard-fighting trout were dying after being caught and returned to the water. Rising summertime water temperatures added to the stress on the fish.

The reservoir had been closed since 2002, when it was drained. The Denver Water impoundment on the South Fork of the South Platte River was restocked with thousands of rainbow, brown, brook and cutthroat trout, and splake, a brook trout/lake trout hybrid.

Regulation Changes
The Colorado Wildlife Commission has approved some changes to the fishing regulations that are not included in the 2007 fishing brochure. They went into effect on May 1.

On the lower Blue River, catch-and-release provisions were enacted from Green Mountain Dam to the Colorado River.  On the upper Blue and its Swan River tributary, long-standing closures in the fall to protect spawning brown trout from Dillon Reservoir have been removed.

On the lower Gunnison River, through the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge, a slot limit protecting brown trout has been dropped. Flies-and-lures restrictions have been extended on the Gunnison from the North Fork confluence downstream four miles to the Relief Ditch diversion. Anglers there also have to release all rainbow trout.

Flies-and-lures and catch-and-release provisions were extended to the Poudre River through Gateway Park downstream to the North Fork confluence.

Quality fishing regulations were enacted for Johnstown Reservoir. A 15-inch minimum-size provision applies to walleye/saugeyes and bass, and a 10-inch minimum to crappie.

Artificial flies-and-lures fishing with a catch-and-release provision for bass were approved for the Bald Eagle Pond in St. Vrain State Park.