Ridgway reservoir set to get 30,000 baby Walleye fish

RIDGWAY, Colo. (KREX) — Colorado is known for its abundance of lakes – people from all over the world come to our backyard to swim, boat…and fish.

Park Manager John Freeborn tells Western Slope Now as he prepares for another busy summer, he’s coordinating with CPW’s Eric Gardunio for a huge upcoming change to the reservoir – they’ll be stocking 30,000 fingerling Walleyes into the Ridgway reservoir this spring.

The fish will come from the Pueblo hatchery once they reach about an inch and a half long, CPW will use a boat to disperse them throughout the lake. It will take them a couple years to grow, but over time, they should become an angler’s dream, catching up to the already-stocked brown trout.

This will allow rangers a much better chance to monitor and control the balance of the handful of species within the lake.

It will also serve as a second layer of defense just in case a Walleye makes it past the screen at the end of the lake and into the river.

The Walleye won’t be able to propagate and affect the endangered species found towards the Colorado and Gunnison rivers, like the bonytail and humpback chub.

Both John and Eric tell Western Slope Now it’s important to learn how to identify what type of fish you’ve caught, since limits for each species of fish will be different.

For instance, there is no limit for small mouth bass, but there is one for walleye.

Western Slope Now asked Eric for some tips to catch this new species once they’re grown – he said Walleye tend to be pretty picky, but fishing at the right depth is key.

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