Colorado Parks and Wildlife has lifted the voluntary afternoon fishing closures of the Dolores River and Tomichi Creek effective immediately.
The voluntary closure on the Dolores River had applied to the area below McPhee Reservoir down to Bradfield Bridge. The Dolores River is located in southwest Colorado, 16 miles north of Cortez. The closure had been in effect since June 24.
The voluntary closure on Tomichi Creek applied to the four-mile stretch through the Tomichi Creek State Wildlife Area located just east of Gunnison. That closure had been in effect since July 8.
CPW senior aquatic biologist John Alves thanked anglers for self-regulating and reducing pressure on fish in the Dolores River and Tomichi Creek during the warmest summer months.
“The water temperatures have dropped below the threshold of 71 degrees,” Alves said. “Flows are still low in both places, but the water temperatures and weather are more suitable than they were, so we are lifting the voluntary closures at this time.”
Afternoon closures of the two fisheries had been in place because of stream flows well below average and water temperatures consistently exceeding 71 degrees. In low, warm water with less oxygen available, fish struggle to recover, and fishing in those conditions can lead to increased trout mortality.
Alves reminded catch and release anglers to handle fish with care with stream flows still well below average. The Dolores River is running at only 5 cubic feet per second, while Tomichi Creek is running at 55 cfs.
“Conditions aren’t great, but since the fishing pressure is down, the fish are doing OK,” Alves said. “Flows are still well below normal, but the weather conditions are cooler as we begin to enter fall.”
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