Colorado trip

I just returned from an annual family trip in Colorado. My sister lives in Carbondale near Aspen, so I was able to fish the Roaring Fork, Frying Pan (mostly fished the upper section) and Crystal river with my dad. Caught primarily Brown trout with a few Rainbows mixed in.

We also rented a house in Salida for a few days and fished on the Arkansas river for my firsts time. Great fishing a few blocks outside of downtown Salida. Then fished upstream on the way toward Independence Pass. Again, ran into a number of fish but much harder to catch. I highly recommend both areas for trips. There is free 14 day camping in the upper sections of the Arkansas.

 

[Rob Allen]

I read a bit about trout fisheries in Colorado. I don't remember all the specific details but the general theme is that for a long time rainbow trout were not reproducing in the wild and are still struggling but fish and wildlife has recently discovered evidence of natural rainbow reproduction. Consequently most rainbow are hatchery plants and the bulk of wild trout are browns.

Nearly every stream in Colorado receives plants of rainbows.

 

[Triggw]

In the late 1990s the rainbow trout population in most Colorado streams was decimated by whirling disease, which was largely introduced by diseased fish from infected hatcheries. A sad episode in Colorado fisheries management. Brown trout tend to be resistant to WD, so their numbers increased. In the last few years, they have developed a strain of rainbows that are resistant to whirling disease and have started to stock them to re-establish rainbow populations.

 

[Fotdesign]

Thank you both for the info on the rainbow trout. I didn’t know their history in Colorado.