Colorado's Antero Reservoir Faces Drain: What Fly Anglers Need to Know About Losing an Iconic Trout Fishery

About this episode

The episode discusses the impending drainage of Colorado's Antero Reservoir and its implications for fly anglers and trout conservation.

If you’ve been watching the fly-fishing world lately, it’s been one of those “only-in-our-sport” mixes of killer opportunities, gut-punch conservation news, and a few bright spots that make you want to grab a 5‑weight and hit the road. Let’s start with the big gut punch. Hatch Magazine reports that Colorado’s Antero Reservoir is slated to be completely drained, which means its famous brown, brook, cutthroat, and rainbow trout fishery is basically on death row. Antero’s been one of those stillwater spots where you could throw a leech or chironomid and have a legit shot at a fish of a lifetime. Now the water’s going away, and with it a whole class of trout that grew fat on scuds and midges. Local anglers are trying to figure out whether to treat it like a farewell tour or a wake. Either way, if you know Antero, you know this one hurts. Zooming out, MidCurrent’s news feed has been buzzing about a much larger threat: federal moves to weaken protections on roadless areas that cover roughly 45 million acres of prime trout and salmon country. We’re talking headwater creeks and coldwater refuges that are basically the nursery grounds for the fish we chase downstream. Think more roads…

Topics covered

• fly fishing
• conservation
• trout fishery
• Antero Reservoir
• federal protections
• roadless areas

Keywords

• Antero Reservoir
• fly fishing
• trout
• conservation
• Hatch Magazine
• MidCurrent
• roadless areas
• fishing opportunities

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hatch Magazine, MidCurrent, Conservation groups

Places: Colorado, Antero Reservoir

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