As if the raw excitement over the July 17 opening of Antero Reservoir were not feverish enough, the rumors persist: giant trout, 10 pounds or more. Plenty of 5-pounders. Scads of smaller, muscular fish to stretch a line. A choice of six species.
As the days dwindle to a precious week for revisiting a popular impoundment closed for nearly five years in the wake of the 2002 fire epidemic, it’s difficult to separate fact from the wildest imagining.
Truth is, some of the speculation is real. When the gate goes up at 9 a.m. Tuesday, a few lucky anglers will catch a fish of dreams. But no one should count on it.
At least for now, giant trout are few and far between in a huge reservoir where restocking by the Colorado Division of Wildlife began just over a year ago. Those wide gaps will be filled by a crop of smaller, yet muscular, trout, most of them rainbows.
“We have one class of rainbows that will run 10 to 14 inches, another 15 to 19 inches,” said Jeff Spohn, the Colorado Division of Wildlife biologist who has the delights and demands of reviving what once was the state’s finest fishery. “A majority are really plump and well-conditioned fish.”
Aware of the seething excitement over the big event, Spohn demurs on the subject of lunkers.
“I don’t want to draw more attention than the reservoir can handle,” he said of a gold-rush anticipation that threatens to overwhelm parking, boat launch and sanitary facilities. “What we can say is there are fish that have lived in the reservoir the last couple of years.”
These include mature fish that drifted down from the South Fork of the South Platte as the impoundment was being refilled by Denver Water, a task completed earlier this year.
Another spike comes from approximately 1,100 large fish purchased through a $10,000 private donation. These include rainbow trout from 3 to 4 pounds and browns from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2.
What rational anglers must consider is that these are scattered across an expansive 1,000-acre lake, which comes to about a single big trout per acre – not exactly fish in a barrel.
Anglers reasonably can expect to catch good numbers of fast-growing fish, mostly in the 14- to 17-inch range, which was Spohn’s goal when he mapped his stocking plans and decided on a delayed opening date.
“What we’re looking for is to establish a lot of good-quality fish so people can have a good time,” he said of a scheme to allow extra growth and a better match for the four-trout, one over 16 inches bag and possession limit. “We wanted to give them a couple of months to grow for a much more balanced fishery.”
Oh, what growth that’s been.
“By my best estimate, they’re growing about 1 1/2 inches a month. That’s pretty amazing,” he said.
Through a series of stocking, the Antero inventory now includes brookies, browns, cuttbows, splake and Snake River to go with all those rainbow thousands.
“We’ve got an exceptional mix of species. We’ve had a big push of fish,” Spohn assured.
But that shouldn’t be confused with a big push of big fish. Most anglers will have to wait a year or two for that.
Staff writer Charlie Meyers can be reached at 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
