Fishing

Trout need cool water to survive. But record heat this summer has driven water temperatures to levels that can kill fish. Wildlife officials are responding by banning fishing during certain hours on rivers and streams across the U.S. West.

It’s been three weeks since the Yampa River closed for commercial and recreational use. It’s the earliest Steamboat Springs has closed the river since 2012. Local businesses are feeling the impacts.

The Interior Department’s secretarial order directs federal land managers to find places with unnecessary barriers to hunting and fishing and expand public access to outdoor recreation.

Will this year bring emergency closures to popular fisheries on the Western Slope?

With $417,000 in seed money from a top water agency and Great Outdoors Colorado, a new team is setting out to identify rivers in need of attention to aid fish, anglers and rafters, and keep everyone safe. Listen to our "Morning Edition" host Michael Lyle, Jr. discuss this story with Colorado Sun publisher Larry Ryckman and then read The Colorado Sun story at the link below.

For decades, the Windy Gap Reservoir has decimated fish populations near the Colorado River headwaters downstream of Granby. A new channel is beginning to undo the damage.

New research shows that climate change is causing mountain lakes to rapidly lose ice cover in the winter. That can harm the Mountain West region’s water quality – and native fish.

The nearly 2,000-acre Collard Ranch property near Fairplay was acquired by the state in the spring. It opens to hunters in October, which has some people worried about the impact on migrating elk herds. According to Colorado Sun reporter Tracy Ross, there's been some pushback from people who say state regulations unfairly favor hunters and anglers over other uses in wildlife areas.

Fall means it’s hunting season for many residents in our region. One popular way to hunt and fish is to lease land from private property owners for a more one-of-a-kind experience, and technology is changing the way people find these opportunities.

The case came about because of an angler who was fishing on a part of the Arkansas River that ran through private property. The court dismissed the angler's claim, but the battle to define whether the state owns a riverbed could pit landowners against recreation enthusiasts in the future.