Free fishing weekend set June 2-3

Free fishing weekend set June 2-3

May 29, 2001

BY THE COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE

DENVER — There are more than 6,000 miles of streams and more than 2,000 lakes and reservoirs open to public fishing in Colorado — and you can fish any one of them without a fishing license the weekend of June 2 & 3.

"The first weekend in June is an excellent time to take a kid fishing," said Doug Krieger, the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s aquatic wildlife manager for southeast Colorado.

In addition to allowing people to fish without a license that weekend, the DOW co-sponsors a number of kids fishing clinics. Some of the locations include Palmer Lake and Monument Valley Park in the Pike’s Peak Region, Anticline Lake in Pueblo, and Hale Ponds east of Bonny Reservoir.

Later in the summer fishing events are scheduled for Spectacle Lake south of Platero in Conjoes County on June 21 and Franz Lake in Chaffee County on July 4. These are just a few of the many fishing events scheduled in the state. For information about kids fishing clinics in your area, contact the Durango DOW office.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife waives the requirement to have a valid fishing license the first weekend of June, but anglers must still obey all other regulations including fly and lure only restrictions on certain waters and specific bag limits based on the species and location. This year, the number of trout an angler can keep dropped from eight fish per day to four fish per day.

For a complete list of fishing bag limits, refer to the 2001 fishing regulations brochure.

The toughest decision a Colorado angler may face is not whether to go fishing, or where the fishing is best -- but what kind of fish do you want to try to catch.

Angling opportunities abound for both warm-water and cold-water species. Popular warm water fare -- like crappie, walleye, wiper, saugeye, catfish, bluegill, largemouth and smallmouth bass -- are available in plains reservoirs and lakes. The high-country angler will find spectacular settings for cold-water species like cutthroat, brook, brown, lake and rainbow trout. Anglers can also catch game fish like northern pike and tiger muskie in both settings.

A diversity of fishing opportunities is exactly what the Division of Wildlife’s aquatic wildlife managers have been building for decades. "Our goal is to create a wide variety of fishing opportunities for the largest number of anglers," said Krieger. "I don’t know of another state that offers the diversity of fishing opportunities that we have."

Colorado fishing varies from remote high-country lakes with rainbows, cutthroats and other trout species to lower elevation reservoirs with catfish, bass, walleyes, wipers and an assortment of other warm water fish.

Krieger has the following recommendations for anglers who are looking for a place to "wet a line."

San Isabel Lake and DeWeese Reservoir in Custer County are among those getting stocked with plenty of catchable trout. Others include Mount Elbert Forebay and Twin Lakes near Leadville and Clear Creek Reservoir northwest of Buena Vista.

Anglers sometimes overlook the San Luis Valley, but there is good fishing at Beaver Creek, Mountain Home, Big Meadows and Smith reservoirs, Krieger said.

Around Colorado Springs, Krieger suggests Quail, Prospect and Palmer lakes as good places to take kids to catch fish. South Catamount Reservoir on the north slope of Pikes Peak also provides good opportunities for trout fishing.

"In Pueblo, a kid could ride a bike along the Arkansas River and fish in Runyon, Fountain and Anticline lakes as well as the river and have great fishing," he said. The river itself offers great trout fishing thanks to plenty of catchables stocked by the Division.

Krieger recommends Brush Hollow Reservoir near Penrose as a good place to catch trout, or warm water fish like bass, bluegill and catfish.

"Our warm-water fishing is the most wonderful opportunity of all this year," Krieger said. At Nee Noshe and Nee Grande reservoirs north of Lamar, anglers can go after saugeye, crappie and wipers. Low water levels make it difficult to launch large boats, but owners of small boats are having excellent success.

East of Lamar, John Martin Reservoir has lots of saugeyes, crappie and wipers. "The saugeye -- a cross between a walleye and sauger – are excellent game fish. They grow well, are great fighters, are fairly easy to catch and good eating," said Krieger.

Flagler and Bonny reservoirs on the Republican River in eastern Colorado also provide good opportunities to catch crappies, wipers and walleyes.

"Trinidad Reservoir is lighting up with saugeye," Krieger said. "June is just an excellent month to fish there, and it doesn’t get as much fishing pressure as some of the other Front Range reservoirs." He also suggests Monument Reservoir and North Lake above Trinidad for great trout fishing.

With thousands of miles of streams and shorelines to choose from, Colorado really has a remarkable variety of opportunities to go fishing. And if the fish are not biting, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy watching wildlife and being outdoors.