It is a recollection that boggles belief as one drives south and east through a place so wonderfully lush and green: wheat fields growing the grain to feed a nation, alfalfa fields sprouting to be cut and cut again, the raucous cackle of a pheasant that promises a different kind of fall harvest.
The complexity comes in imagining this place, three quarters of a century ago, as the epicenter of the Dust Bowl, the nation’s greatest unnatural disaster. A lesser memory takes us through the drought of a decade ago, broken only by a killing blizzard, then of the failure only a few months removed, when shriveled crops cast a pall over a countryside where uncertainty about moisture never is more than a bad dream away. Now, in a matter of short months, this fascinating countryside has transformed into a sea of lush green and, beyond that, a place that fishermen again can love.
The best of it is at John Martin Reservoir, detailed in another story on this page. But the news also is good for the anglers who treasure those smaller lakes that seem to be recovering in their own way.
Much of the relief comes from water coursing down the Arkansas River system, then turned through canals for irrigation storage.
When the water can be kept for a time in these lakes, the fish prosper, along with the anglers who try for them. While these opportunities are available, the Colorado Division of Wildlife acts quickly to repair boat ramps and add more fish. The chance will not be here forever. But for this season, here is the prospect as detailed by biologist Jim Ramsay. He grew up fishing these lakes as a teenager; every thought, every comment is loaded with hope and passion.
• Nee Gronda: This second most important lake in the region shows recovery for saugeye and wiper. Wiper range 15-18 inches, but a few lunkers have been nabbed to 10 pounds. But the best-kept secret, Ramsay says, are smallmouth bass, including some of bragging size. More good news: The public ramp has been extended another 100 feet and additional repairs have been performed to get it in usable shape by Memorial Day.
• Nee Noshe: The good and bad news here is that the blizzard of 2006-07 layered a killer 15 inches of ice on a lake only 13 feet deep. The resulting winter kill wiped out the saugeye, leaving only catfish and a few young wiper as survivors.
But the state did buy 10,000 acre feet of water, adding 8 vertical feet to what had become a very skinny pool. The lake remains small, just 700 surface acres, but an aggressive stocking program makes this a thick fish soup, mostly wiper about 10 inches. “Expect to catch lots of small wipers, along with good numbers of both blue and channel catfish,” Ramsay said.
• Blue Lake: Crappie have rebounded in numbers, but the size averaged 8-10 inches, just approaching pan size. “Another few years with good water levels and we might have good crappie again,” says Ramsay, who believes the restoration of water levels and flooded vegetation will turn the trick.
• Midwestern Farms Pond: With a depth of 50 feet, this 35-acre leased gravel pond just west of Holly provides enough depth to serve as a stocked kids trout pond. Fish are mostly 10-inchers, with a few up to 14.
