Colorado Parks and Wildlife is asking anglers to stay out of the Yampa River through Steamboat Springs amid high water temperatures that make it harder for fish to survive after being caught.
The closure — which is voluntary, but generally widely followed — starts at Chuck Lewis State Wildlife Area just south of Steamboat and continues downstream until the Yampa reaches Steamboatap western city limit at the Steamboat Springs KOA Holiday. The closure went into effect Wednesday, July 20.
This year’s shuttering of the river comes nearly two weeks later than it did last season, when high water temperatures triggered the same closure on July 8. When water temperatures rise above 70 degrees, there is less dissolved oxygen in the water, which makes it harder for fish to breathe.
n addition to the closure on the Yampa, CPW also extended a voluntary fishing closure on the Eagle River between Eagle and Wolcott, replacing a previous partial-day closure. There is also a voluntary fishing closure on the Colorado River from State Bridge downstream to Rifle.
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