Colorado Parks and Wildlife is mandated, due to endangered species (pike minnow), to mitigate the numbers of smallmouth bass and pike in Colorado’s Western Slope waters.
In conjunction with this task they are holding in June. During those events anglers of all skill levels will have a chance to win prizes, including two new boats.
“We did a pilot tournament last year and it was really successful,” said Eric Gardunio, a biologist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “Anglers were happy to come out and help us with this problem.”
The first tournament runs June 4-12 at , about 15 miles from Ouray.
“The goal of the tournament is to try to just reduce the numbers of smallmouth bass in the reservoir, to reduce the chance of them getting out into the rivers,” Gardunio said.
Ten fish will be electronically tagged. Anglers who catch a tagged fish will be entered into a drawing for top prizes — even a small fish caught from shore could win a boat. There are also a number of other prizes awarded, including children’s prize packs.
The second tournament runs June 11-19 at in the Yampa Valley of Northwest Colorado. Again the top prize is a boat, and there are a number of other prizes as well.
Entry into the tournaments is free. There is a small fee for entrance into the state parks. Complete
Editor’s note: Gardunio and CPW biologist Sherm Hebein were interviewed on Terry Wickstrom Outdoors on Saturday. They also gave some excellent fishing information about the West Slope. Listen to the podcasts below.
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Join Terry every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. for all your outdoor information on Terry Wickstrom Outdoors FM 104.3 The Fan.
