More good news for the many Colorado anglers keeping the Antero Reservoir watch.
Colorado Division of Wildlife biologist Jeff Spohn made a surprising discovery last week during his sampling of dissolved oxygen in the impoundment that has been closed to fishing since autumn, 2002.
“We actually made a gain,” Spohn said of a critical measurement for a reservoir that often succumbs to winter kill.
“We found fish holding down to 10 feet,” said Spohn, who used a camera to peek beneath the ice. “It looks promising, but we’re not out of the woods yet.”
Spohn earlier had been concerned that thick ice and snow cover could promote the sort of oxygen deficiencies that often plague the reservoir south of Fairplay. This most recent sampling lends hope that the several thousand trout planted late last fall might survive.
Spohn couldn’t estimate the length of the fish, but was able to observe they had good body conformation. The biologist plans to take a net census once the reservoir is free of ice. If conditions are favorable, he’ll stock more large catchable trout against a public opening a few weeks later.
Antero is famed for growing trout rapidly, a trait that has made it Colorado’s big-fish favorite.
“If we can hold on to the oxygen levels and get those stocked fish in, it’s going to be fun,” Spohn said.
