The Blue River below Green Mountain is a sanctuary that is heavily used by the public for wade fishing, float fishing, and rafting. It is both a naturally productive and horrifically mismanaged trout fishery. I am not a scientist, and these are my observations as a fly shop owner, fishing guide, and property owner in Blue Valley Acres. Pellet feeding, excessive fish stocking, and river alterations are the largest problems we face on the lower Blue River. It is time we start talking about these issues more thoughtfully and publicly.
The Lower Blue River
When launching below Green Mountain Reservoir, floaters enjoy a beautiful canyon with great bug life, eager fish, and minimal signs of human interference. The first 3 miles are some of the best fishing in the state. Then there is the water from Spring Creek Bridge to the Colorado River confluence that we anglers call Jurassic Park—this is where the river begins to change. There are a few signs of bug life or naturally feeding fish here. Cross-veined weirs, manmade side channels, and human alterations seem to be around every corner. The entire river landscape changes from natural to manufactured, and stocked trout approaching 20 lbs lurk below.
Feeding Fish
Blue Valley Ranch releases large quantities of pellets to keep its enormous trout alive. Colorado has statutes that outlaw feeding big game. The reason is twofold. Biologically, feeding big game unnaturally congregates animals, which can foster disease transmission. Ethically, as any hunter will tell you, it is wrong to attract big game with food in order to kill it.
Furthermore, there is a CPW regulation against fish chumming, which means you can’t throw food in the water to attract fish and catch them. The reasons for the chumming regulation are similar to those for the prohibition on feeding big game. So, why isn’t there a statute outlawing the feeding of fish?
Disease Transmission Disasters
In terms of disease transmission, the sad reality is that scientists don’t know what the next fish disease crisis will be. Whirling disease is commonly believed to be a hatchery-created problem. The aquaculture industry proceeded to stock fish with whirling disease before it was recognized as an issue. A decade later, we realized there were no naturally reproducing rainbow trout. There are many more examples in aquaculture history, and gill lice are the next one that comes to mind. The fed rainbow trout on the Blue River are heavily infested with gill lice parasites, as are the kokanee salmon coming out of Green Mountain Reservoir. Landowners practice heavy fish stocking and pellet feeding in both of these stretches. This congregates fish unnaturally. It is logical to believe that artificially and systematically feeding fish in confined stretches of river is causing gill lice transmission.
Altering the Blue River’s Hydrology for Giant Trout
Dave Rosgen, often considered the pioneer of river hydrology, has been hired by the ranch to redesign the river over the years. His alterations include cross-vein boulder designs (weirs) as well as other features. The ranch submits a permit request for these projects to the Army Corps of Engineers, and Colorado Parks & Wildlife is consulted for comment. CPW has stated these projects appear to be heavily biased toward addressing large trout holding water while minimizing the creation of habitat for all life stages of trout that a healthy river needs. In summary, the ranch has transformed what may have once been productive riffles that provided invertebrate habitat and spawning grounds into aquarium-like pools for giant trout. The Army Corps has not addressed these concerns and approved the permits with little to no comment.
The giant stocked and fed fish, as well as the social media attraction that creates unwanted angling pressure, are not in discussion. The fish are dying after a fight because they are obese, unnatural, and should not be in the river. We just had a customer come into the shop who volunteers for the ranch hatchery. He claims the ranch is developing a new strain of rainbow that will grow 13 inches a year. He was told we may have 40-45-inch trout in 2-3 years. Imagine what a 45-inch fish could do to the wild fish population. Have we considered the impact of these fish on wild species in general? Do you ever wonder where all the big brown trout went?
The Future of the Blue River
We can create change that will help restore the Blue River Watershed. The most logical step is to amend our regulations and responsibilities around artificial fish feeding, along with reconsidering how and who we allow to stock our natural rivers with unnatural fish. We need to come together and work towards restoring the Blue River to its wild fishery state. That 14-inch brown you caught in the canyon on a dry fly is real and worth protecting. Please join me in demanding that the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission outlaw the feeding of free-flowing rivers of the state and regulate what domesticated fish are stocked into public waterways. Join us in our fight to restore the Blue River by joining the petition here.
