Voluntary fishing closure on 2 of our favorite rivers
EAGLE, Colo. – Due to warm water temperatures and low stream flows, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is asking anglers to voluntarily avoid fishing after 12 p.m. on sections of the Eagle and Roaring Fork rivers beginning Sat., July 24.
The specific closure sections are:
Eagle River: Wolcott (Highway 131 Bridge) downstream to the Colorado River (13 miles)
Roaring Fork River: Carbondale (Highway 133 Bridge) downstream to the Colorado River (25 miles)
“Both rivers have been exceeding 71 degrees Fahrenheit consistently for the last several days and isolated rain showers haven’t provided much relief,” said CPW Aquatic Biologist Kendall Bakich. “Anglers fishing in these reaches have reported sportfish mortalities and, in the case of the lower Roaring Fork, mudslides have muddied the waters from the Crystal River tributary and contributed to fish stress in the hottest section of the Roaring Fork.”
Note to anglers: the Colorado River downstream of these closure sections continues to have exceedingly high water temperatures and remains under voluntary closures. The section from Red Dirt Creek to Rifle is under a full-day voluntary closure and the section upstream of Red Dirt Creek to State Bridge has a voluntary closure after noon. CPW is also continuing to monitor conditions in other waters, and anticipates a possible fishing closure on the Crystal River in the immediate future.
Anglers should be aware that most of the major rivers on Colorado’s Western Slope are experiencing adverse conditions heading into the hottest days of summer. Follow the Leave No Trace Principle to “Know Before You Go” to the West Slope this summer and check out conditions related to mandatory and voluntary fishing closures: https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/StatewideFishingConditions.aspx
