Colorado Parks and Wildlife is asking anglers to voluntarily refrain from fishing along the Animas River through Durango, the San Juan River through Dolores and the Dolores River below McPhee Dam in the afternoons to alleviate stress on fish as water temperatures rise and water levels drop.
The voluntary closure began Monday and will be in effect from noon to midnight.
“I’m excited to hear that,” said Sam Dean, an employee at Duranglers Fly Fishing Shop & Guides. The river and the fish need it, he said.
Shop employees have spent significant time educating customers about the best times to fish to keep them healthy, he said.
In warmer summer months, fish experience a period of reduced oxygen levels that decrease their ability to recover effectively after being caught and released, CPW aquatic biologist Kade Jackson said in a Monday news release.
Temperatures are approaching 71 degrees in the Animas River and have risen above 75 degrees in the Dolores and San Juan rivers. Additionally, early morning and nighttime temperatures are trending upward, while river flows across the Southwest have dropped far below average.
Voluntary closures rarely happen, said Andrew Larson, a fly-fishing guide with Duranglers. And, this is the first time in about a decade that he has seen closures this early. Normally they would be expected in August, he said.
“It’s low, but I’ve never seen it (like this) at this time of year,” he said.
The most recent voluntary closure on the Animas was implemented on July 20, 2022, said John Livingston, CPW spokesman.
So far, Larson said, business has been good. A large portion of the shop’s regular customers knew about the drought and scheduled their trips early in the season to beat the heat, he said.
“We haven't – I don't think – lost a ton of traffic yet,” he said. “But if we don't start getting some rains here, we’re going to lose a lot of business in that later part of the summertime.”
Signs will be posted along the rivers notifying people of the closure, CPW said.
The closure will remain in place until conditions improve and water temperatures no longer consistently reach 70 degrees, Livingston said
On a positive note: “Conditions could improve if we get a great monsoon season that will not only add water to the system but also help reduce these high water temperatures,” he said.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
