If anyone ever needed a rationale for stocking trout in those eastern plains reservoirs where no such fish would ever grow, it could be found in the excitement of Sterling resident Emmanuel Oketunmbi.
Fishing recently at Jumbo Reservoir, near Julesburg, Oketunmbi landed a rainbow that measured 22 1/2 inches long and weighed just 2 ounces shy of 6 pounds. This long-lived fish doubtlessly had been planted at a length of about 10 inches and survived several seasons in the impoundment.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife annually stocks large numbers of catchable trout lightly infected with whirling disease in reservoirs not connected to traditional trout habitat.
These are intended for early-season recreation, bridging that period between ice-out and the active period for warm-water species. Few survive for a second season, making Oketunmbi’s catch even more remarkable.
