GLENWOOD SPRINGS — By local assessment, high tide on the Colorado River arrived last weekend. Aided by upstream reservoir releases designed to benefit the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, the river churned its way downstream at levels few had anticipated as recently as a month ago.
The high, rapid flows did little for the sport fishing over the past week, although a good flush of the sediment prone to gathering on the river bottom is sure to enhance the fishery overall. And while the four endangered fish species —humpback chub, razorback sucker, bonytail chub and Colorado pikeminnow — that make their living downstream near Grand Junction were the named beneficiaries of the into the Colorado River, it may be the diminishing reservoirs at Lake Powell and Lake Mead that ultimately benefited most.
Inflow at Lake Powell in Utah increased from 35 percent of normal to 70 percent of normal for the month of May, according to Colorado River District manager Eric Kuhn. Along the way, whitewater addicts in Colorado hopped on for the ride.
With the annual GoPro Mountain Games taking place along the smaller upstream tributary of Gore Creek in Vail, hordes of expert and professional kayakers, stand-up paddlers and river surfers made their way down Interstate 70 to the Glenwood Springs Whitewater Park for what many believe was the Colorado’s peak for 2015. Flows hovered just above 16,000 cubic feet per second below the confluence with the Roaring Fork River, creating a rideable standing wave surrounded by thunderous whitewater.
Surfers and paddlers lined the banks between lengthy freestyle rides and gathered inspiration from competitors training for the USA Freestyle Kayaking Team Trials, which took place Monday and Tuesday. There are sure to be more wave-riding opportunities in the coming days, but it’s the fishermen whose enthusiasm is on the rise as coordinated reservoir releases have begun to taper off.
“The period immediately after the peak flow, when the river begins to clear, can have some great fishing, and right now that looks like next weekend,” said Jack Bombardier, owner of (303-378-2149) on the Colorado River near Burns. “Of course, weather and other variables can have a big impact on that, but for now somewhere around June 12 should be the time to get your fishing rods back out.”
As it was, the fishing guide recognized by Colorado Trout Unlimited as “Most Likely to Not Kill You” in 2015 wasn’t about to let peak runoff stand between him and a few fish. Although the fishing might have been better, he was able to find a few takers as his trusty cataraft bounded downriver on three occasions last week.
“The nice part about fishing high water is that you don’t have to fish every foot of the river the whole way down,” Bombardier said. “There’s not much holding water along the banks, so the fish tend to stack up in the big eddies to wait out the high water. A trip this time of year tends to be short sections of very fun whitewater, interspersed by pulling out of the current to fish the eddies along the way.”
What more could a river lover ask for?
Scott Willoughby: swilloughby@denverpost.com or twitter.com/swilloughby
