Wildlife officials ask anglers to ‘fish out’ Colorado lake before broken dam drains all water
By Logan Smith – KRDO.com
July 13, 2025
DENVER, Colorado (KCNC) — A leaky outlet on a dam is causing the water level at a southwestern Colorado reservoir to drop quickly. In response, wildlife officials are inviting the public to harvest as many fish as possible before the lake runs dry.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced the emergency fish salvage Thursday. Officials hope the action keeps most of Summit Reservoir’s channel catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, perch and rainbow trout from dying uselessly.
“Because of the rapid drawdown, accessing whatever dead pool remains to salvage fish alive to stock elsewhere is going to be extremely difficult,” CPW Southwest Region Senior Aquatic Biologist Jim White stated in a press release. “The public salvage is being announced in order to optimize use of the fishery resource in accordance with Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission regulations.”