Water rapidly escaped Summit Reservoir Thursday after a piece on a headgate valve broke, prompting the Colorado Parks and Wildlife to issue an emergency fishing operation in an attempt to salvage fish populations.
All bag and possession were removed for the salvage operation, and anglers are allowed to keep all the fish they catch by lawful methods, including using up to two fishing rods. A 2025 Colorado fishing license is required.
“This will result in poor water quality conditions and loss of refuge habitat for fish, and CPW has determined the reservoir cannot maintain a viable fishery until the reservoir is refilled.” CPW said in a news release.
The reservoir is at CPW’s Summit Reservoir State Wildlife Area, about 9 miles northwest of Mancos. The lake hosts populations of channel catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, perch and rainbow trout.
During the drainage, water traveled into Puett Reservoir.
Problems with the valve were first noticed on July 5, according to a news release from the company that operates the lake, Summit Reservoir & Irrigation Co.
“Due to low water levels and poor visibility, it is unsafe for divers to investigate,” the company said.
By Thursday, the day the fish salvage was announced, the problem had been diagnosed.
Officials from the Summit Reservoir & Irrigation Co. found the issue behind the valve problem once the water reached a certain level – a rusted spoke in need of rapid replacement, according to the company’s ditch rider, Steve Boyd.
The valve likely broke because of temperature fluctuations over time, freezing in the winter and thawing as the seasons warm, Boyd said. Boyd estimated that the valve was last replaced about 15 years ago.
Drainage stopped once the valve was repaired Thursday, Boyd said.
Still, the fish salvage goes on.
By Friday at 10:30 a.m. about a dozen people could be seen fishing at the reservoir.
LaVeryle Apple was seated on a rock along the receding body of water, getting ready to finish up the day’s catch and head home. He learned about the day’s drainage based on a Facebook announcement.
“People gotta get here early in the morning to get a spot before it gets muddy,” Apple said.
Apple caught one crappie and one bass.
Another fisher, Brian Thomas, was at the reservoir Friday morning. Thomas had snagged about 20 fish, placing them in a bucket behind him.
Because of the drainage, the day’s catch had been far easier, said Thomas.
“They’re all in one spot,” Thomas said of the lake’s fish.
“Because of the rapid drawdown, accessing whatever dead pool remains to salvage fish alive to stock elsewhere is going to be extremely difficult,” said CPW Southwest Region Senior Aquatic Biologist Jim White in the news release. “The public salvage is being announced in order to optimize use of the fishery resource in accordance with Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission regulations.”
Commercial fishing is not allowed, and it is illegal to capture and transport live fish from one body of water to another, CPW said.
Out of caution, CPW advised visitors to avoid the mud as much as possible.
“You don't know how far into it you could sink and even if you can trudge through it you might be risking losing at least a shoe,” John Livingston, the CPW Southwest Region Public Information Officer, said in an email to The Journal.
“If for any reason public safety becomes an issue, we will cancel the salvage,” Livingston said.
“The dead pool area where fish will be salvageable will be near the dam,” CPW biologist Jim White said. “We recommend anglers utilize that area to avoid slogging through the mud.”
CPW said it will issue a notice and post signs when the operation ends.
Other fishing spots in the area include Puett Reservoir State Wildlife Area, Mancos State Park, Narraguinnep SWA and McPhee Reservoir.
