CPW to end the public fish salvage at Jumbo (Julesburg) Reservoir
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
BRUSH, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife will end the public fish salvage at Jumbo (Julesburg) Reservoir on Wednesday, November 3.
“We are excited that water will begin filling the reservoir on November 1,” said Mandi Brandt, Aquatic Biologist - Lower South Platte River Basin. “When the water level is adequate to deploy sampling gear, CPW will sample the reservoir to compare catch per unit effort (number of fish per hour of gear deployed) to previous years, and to see which species of fish remain. Those fish will be the foundation for rebuilding the fishery.”
Next spring, additional fry and fingerling fish will be stocked to help rebuild the fishery as well. Brandt said it will likely take a few years to recreate the fishery that existed, but she remains hopeful that some fish survived the extremely low water level and intends to rebuild the fishery.
An emergency fish salvage has been in place since July 25 due to the low water level in Jumbo Reservoir with the combination of high irrigation demand created by severe drought.
“Thanks to the public and CPW’s constituents for helping us utilize the natural resources at Jumbo during this emergency fish salvage,” said Area Wildlife Manager Todd Schmidt. “The public was able to harvest fish that may have otherwise gone to waste. We hope that not all the fish were lost and will help be a foundation for CPW’s Biologists to build upon in the next few years.”
This is the third year of drought conditions on the eastern plains, said Schmidt. In 2012 and 2020, CPW initiated public fish salvages at Jumbo Reservoir due to severe drought conditions.
CPW encourages anglers to consider other waters on the northeastern plains, including North Sterling, Prewitt, and Jackson Reservoirs, while the fishery is being rebuilt. Anglers can check current fishing conditions on our website.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.