FILING - 11/30/2015
Basis and Purpose
Chapter W-1 - Fishing
Basis and Purpose:
These regulations amend Chapter 1 – Fishing – of the Parks and Wildlife Commission Regulations. These regulations are designed to manage statewide aquatic resources and provide a diversity of angling recreation opportunities for resident and nonresident anglers throughout Colorado. They are the result of extensive public involvement and application of biological information on aquatic species. All regulation changes are based on the best available biological information and are designed to manage aquatic resources towards stated objectives. In addition to annual changes and non-substantive clean-up, these regulations specifically address the following:
Labeling Requirements for Livetraps, Trotlines and Jugs
The previous fishing regulations had different requirements for labeling livetraps when possessed by a commercially licensed angler versus a sport angler. This change to regulations streamlines labeling requirements for all livetraps (cage or box traps, including set pots) used for the taking of crayfish, snapping turtles, and fish captured as bait fish, as well as trotlines and jugs. Now all that is required is the user’s customer identification number (as well as date set for trotlines). A user’s name can be used in substitute for youth or commercial fisherman who may not have a customer identification number.
Addition of Baca County to the List of Exempted Baitfish Collection Counties
Baca County was previously excluded from the list of counties in Southeast Colorado where limited baitfish collection and transportation is allowed. Baca County has limited fishing opportunities. Currently, only 3 waters are stocked in the county (Turks Pond, Fritzler Pond, and Two Buttes Reservoir). Fishing with baitfish is a popular method of angling. Obtaining baitfish legally is extremely difficult for anglers in Baca County since no bait shops exist there.
The threat of the spread of ANS or aquatic disease is low in Baca County. Turks Pond and Fritzler Pond are geographically isolated from any connected waterways and Two Buttes Reservoir connects to the Arkansas River via Two Buttes Creek in Prowers County, which was already exempted. For these reasons, Baca County was added to the exempted list for baitfish collection and transportation.
West Slope Bag and Possession limits for Smallmouth Bass
Previously,bag and possession limits for smallmouth bass on the western slope were at odds with management goals directed towards the reduction of this species. Northern pike and smallmouth bass are two introduced species interfering with the recovery of native fish species on the western slope. Northern pike already had unlimited statewide bag and possession limits, while smallmouth bass (along with the other bass species) had a five fish in the aggregate limit.
There was also a desire to provide ways for anglers to assist with depletion goals by removing restrictive harvest regulations and providing incentives for angler harvest. Waters where reduced harvest of smallmouth bass is desired have water-specific regulations placed on them.
Removal of Water-Specific Walleye/Saugeye Regulations at Adobe Creek Reservoir, Nee Gronde Reservoir, Nee Noshe Reservoir, and John Martin Reservoir
In 2005, special walleye/saugeye regulations were placed on the above listed waters. The intent was to reduce the bag limits and protect younger fish by reducing the limit to 5 fish per day with a minimum size of 15”. During the past 10 years, the fisheries at Nee Noshe and Nee Gronde have been lost. John Martin has had severe draw-downs in which tens of thousands of fish were lost through the dam. Adobe Creek Reservoir has also been drawn down to extremely low levels. The previous regulation substantially reduced the harvest of saugeye/walleye by anglers. Additionally, most of the fish saved by the special regulation were not being retained in the population. For those reasons, these water specific walleye/saugeye regulations have been removed.
Salmon Snagging at Barker Reservoir
Kokanee salmon were first stocked into Barker Reservoir in May 2012. This stocking resulted in a solid run of adult salmon into the inlet of Barker Reservoir during the fall of 2014. Salmon have subsequently been stocked each year and runs of salmon are expected to continue. To provide anglers with the ability to legally harvest salmon and provide law enforcement personnel with better regulatory compliance, this new regulation allows anglers to snag kokanee between Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 annually. The dates match the timing of the 2014 salmon run and are outside of the peak run for brown trout.
Kokanee and Lake Trout at Blue Mesa Reservoir
The annual fall migration of kokanee from Blue Mesa Reservoir upstream to the Roaring Judy Hatchery is important to provide a significant proportion of eggs needed to fill the statewide stocking schedule. Kokanee are also stocked into Blue Mesa Reservoir to support harvest by anglers. Recently, reduced survival of stocked kokanee resulted in a lower kokanee population and less overall angling use.
This change to salmon regulations at Blue Mesa includes a lower bag limit but maintains a reasonable possession limit to protect spawning runs in low years and maintain incentive for anglers to travel to Blue Mesa Reservoir to fish for kokanee. This regulation also serves to allow for more significant harvest of kokanee in years when kokanee numbers rebound.
Another factor limiting kokanee survival is lake trout predation. In 2011, lake trout regulations at Blue Mesa were liberalized to an unlimited bag and possession limit with only one fish allowed to be harvested greater than 38 inches in length, in an effort to balance the lake trout and kokanee salmon populations. However, the previous regulation did not include sizes of lake trout many anglers consider “trophy” size. One measure of a quality or trophy sized fish is the cutoff for inclusion in the CPW Master Angler program. The length cutoff for lake trout for in this program is 32 inches. Lowering the minimum size limit to 32 inches will hopefully lead to better angler support for harvest of smaller lake trout from many anglers that highly value trophy lake trout opportunities at Blue Mesa.
Modifications of Smallmouth Bass Regulations at Boyd Lake State Park
Smallmouth bass grow well and reproduce naturally in Boyd Lake, routinely exceeding 12 inches. Some anglers find it difficult to tell the differences between smallmouth and largemouth bass. To help eliminate confusion, smallmouth and largemouth regulations have been combined under the same 15 inch minimum length requirement.
Carter Lake Regulations
Carter Lake is managed as a trophy walleye fishery and serves as the primary back-up water for wild walleye spawn take should spawning operations in Denver and Pueblo not meet statewide egg request demands. Walleye reproduce naturally in Carter, a rare phenomenon in Colorado, making it difficult to control annual abundance. Although harvest of walleye has recently been liberalized, the walleye population has expanded to a point that the vast majority of stocked kokanee salmon become prey for walleye. Kokanee salmon have not been stocked in Carter since April of 2010 and this species will no longer be stocked because of the excessive predation and associated waste of a natural resource. As a result, the snagging regulation at Carter has been removed since few salmon inhabit Carter Lake.
Largemouth bass in Carter Lake also prey on kokanee salmon. Largemouth bass abundance is relatively low in Carter Lake with less than 50 individuals collected over the past 6 years of sampling. To reduce additional predation and implement the current trophy walleye management strategy, special bass regulations at Carter Lake have also been removed.
Consolidation of Fishing Regulations for Chatfield State Park
Chatfield Reservoir is a valuable fishery with quality walleye and bass resources. Previously there were two sets of fishing regulations at Chatfield State Park: regulations that applied to the reservoir, and state regulations in the ponds and rivers of the park.
Consolidation of the fishing regulations pertaining to size limits and daily bag limits to include all waters within Chatfield State Park will hopefully enhance overall fishing opportunities, ensure a more stable and sustainable fishery for the angling public, and address law enforcement concerns. It also makes it simpler for angers by having consistent park-wide regulations.
Largemouth Bass Regulations at Crawford Reservoir
Prior to the illegal introduction of northern pike into Crawford Reservoir in the late 1990s, the fishery was balanced and sustainable. Northern pike predation virtually eliminated rainbow trout and largemouth bass from the fishery and caused a dramatic decline in the average length of black crappie and yellow perch. Although there was a quality northern pike fishery in the early 2000’s, the size of pike declined as they outstripped their food resources by the late 2000’s. Since then, northern pike populations have been further reduced by an unlimited harvest regulation and mechanical removal efforts.
The current management goal at Crawford Reservoir is to return it to the balanced warmwater pan fish and trout fishery that was present in the 1990s. A restrictive harvest regulation for largemouth bass is necessary to create a quality largemouth bass fishery.The modified regulation will protect largemouth bass from harvest until they reach Master Angler size, while allowing harvest of a “trophy” sized bass.
Fishing Regulations at Eleven Mile Reservoir
CPW has worked diligently over the last 11 years to create a balance fishery between predators (northern pike) and prey (rainbow trout) in Eleven Mile Reservoir. The presence of yellow perch in Eleven Mile Reservoir threatens this balance by increasing northern pike growth, survival, and recruitment. It is thought that yellow perch were introduced into Eleven Mile Reservoir by anglers illegally using live minnows as bait. Making the daily bag and possession limits for yellow perch unlimited at Eleven Mile will allow anglers to assist in yellow perch removal efforts.
Kokanee salmon populations are also not doing well in Eleven Mile. Gill lice were first discovered in kokanee and rainbow trout populations here starting in 2006. Increased stocking of kokanee between 2004 and 2010 did not cause a significant rebound in the population. Due to limited kokanee fry availability, fewer and fewer kokanee have been stocked at Eleven Mile each year. Currently, very few kokanee are found in traditional spawning locations, yet anglers still arrive beginning in October in an attempt to snag spawning kokanee. With the kokanee all but gone, the incidents of trout getting snagged accidentally have risen noticeably. Therefore, snagging is no longer allowed at Eleven Mile until the kokanee population recovers.
Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass Regulations at Elkhead Reservoir, Harvey Gap, Rifle Gap, and Rio Blanco Lake
Northern pike and smallmouth bass are two introduced species interfering with the recovery of native fish species on the western slope. Aligning west slope water-specific northern pike and smallmouth bass regulations with current acknowledgement of the impacts of these nonnative predatory fish will be beneficial to the recovery of the native fish species.
The Harvey Gap Reservoir regulation prohibiting the use of spearfishing, archery and gigs for the take of northern pike is intended to protect a recently stocked experimental population of tiger muskie. The identification of northern pike and tiger muskie when underwater is sufficiently difficult that anglers are not able to discriminate between the two species prior to harvest by spearfishing or archery. For this reason, the northern pike regulation for Harvey Gap remains in place.
Catch and Release Regulations for Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass at Erie Lake, KOA Lake, Lon Hagler Reservoir, Mead Ponds, and Saint Vrain State Park’s Blue Heron Lake
Erie Lake: The largemouth bass fishery in Erie Lake is among the best in Boulder County. Erie Lake also hosts an overabundant population of northern crayfish (native species) that routinely clogs outlet pipes the Town of Erie uses for municipal water delivery. In order to protect the existing population of largemouth bass and provide additional predatory pressure on the crayfish population, a catch and release bass fishing regulation has been implemented on Erie Lake.
KOA Lake: At present, the population of largemouth bass in KOA Lake is robust with numerous adults that naturally sustain this population. Common carp also inhabit this water however the population is dominated by large adult carp. The abundance of quality largemouth bass, a predatory species, has kept young carp from establishing and potentially ruining this fishery.
KOA Lake recently received a Fishing Is Fun grant which will fund a handicap fishing pier, picnic facilities, trails, and a float tube launch site. These improvements are scheduled for installation during the spring of 2015 and will substantially increase the angling pressure. To provide sustained carp predation and accommodate increasing fishing pressure, a catch and release bass fishing regulation has been implemented.
Lon Hagler Reservoir: Prior to implementing the previous 18 inch minimum size restriction at Lon Hagler in 2010, the bass population was dominated by 10-12 inch largemouth bass which were not sexually mature. Five years of tracking the bass population following the stricter harvest regulation found natural reproduction had increased while a greater proportion of the bass population also exceeded 12 inches. Although the 18” minimum size regulation had limited success in producing better numbers of bass over 15 inches, it had increased natural production. In order to further increase the quality size of bass in this water, a catch and release bass regulation has been put in place, which is highly supported by the angling public.
Mead Ponds: Mead Ponds is a series of three ponds that offer localized, community-based angling. Angler harvest at Mead Ponds previously allowed individual anglers to harvest up to 5 bass of any size. This general regulation was not restrictive enough to provide a quality bass fishery in such small ponds. Further complicating management in each of the ponds is the presence of gizzard shad. The primary predator for gizzard shad in Mead Ponds is largemouth bass. Thus, in order create a quality bass fishing experience and maximize bass predation on gizzard shad, a catch and release regulation for largemouth and smallmouth bass was instated.
St. Vrain State Park – Blue Heron Lake: Aquatic research has concluded that multiple bass fishing regulations are not necessary to create a quality largemouth or smallmouth bass fishery. Specifically, 21” minimums, 18” minimums, and catch and release regulations are not significantly different and result in the same outcome when attempting to create a trophy bass fishery. In order to decrease the number of different bass regulations in place at St. Vrain State Park and reduce angler confusion, the 21” minimum bass regulation on Blue Heron Lakehas been modified to a catch and release regulation mimicking a similar regulation already in place on Bald Eagle pond.
Bald Eagle Pond is exclusively managed as a trophy bass pond with catch and release angling for bass as well as artificial flies and lures only. Artificial flies and lures only regulations were not implemented for Blue Heron Lake based on its walleye and catfish component.
Removal of Special Regulations at Fairgrounds Lake
Fairgrounds Lake does not support quality production and growth for largemouth and smallmouth bass despite previous special regulations that attempted to bolster these species. Currently, neither smallmouth nor largemouth bass are stocked into Fairground Lake; however hundreds of large catfish are stocked annually. This program is supported by CPW and promoted under a City program called “catfish nights”. Previous restrictions on the use of bait limited the effectiveness of the catfish program. Given the fact that Fairgrounds Lake is not currently managed as a bass fishery, the special regulationsfor bass have been removed.
Restrictive Harvest Regulations for Cutthroat on Fall Creek and Rio Blanco River
Cutthroat trout are highly susceptible to catch and harvest by angling compared to other trout. Their higher catch ability, slower growth, and late maturity make them extremely sensitive to overexploitation. Most cutthroat trout streams in Colorado are protected by catch and release regulations because of the threat of over exploitation of these highly vulnerable populations.
Through genetic testing, CPW has identified cutthroat trout in both Fall Creek and Rio Blanco River to be pure Colorado River cutthroat trout. Given the vulnerability of cutthroat to capture and harvest by anglers, a restrictive harvest regulation with terminal tackle restriction has been placed on Fall Creek from the headwaters to its confluence with Wolf Creek as well as on Rio Blanco River from the headwaters downstream to the San Juan Wilderness boundary.