Headwaters Chapter Colorado Trout Unlimited

Grand Lake Committee

Feb. 24, 2012

The Headwaters Chapter of Colorado Trout Unlimited has formed a new Grand Lake Committee to focus on the needs of fisheries along the Northern Headwaters of the Colorado River. This includes those tributaries originating in Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain reservoir, and the Colorado River above Granby reservoir.

The initial focus of the committee will be on improving Grand Lake as a fishery. Well-known to many as a lake fishing destination, we believe that improved focus on Colorado’s largest and deepest natural lake can improve tourism in the region and attract a new generation of fishermen and women into our sport.

Our vision for Grand Lake is to improve the fishery to enable better success for first-timers wanting to catch their first trout; to foster the development of strains of trout most suitable to our high-altitude environment; and to sustain the existing lake trout fishery for those anglers wishing to capture trophy fish.

Changes in the DOW stocking plans for 2012: • The stocking location for catchable trout will be changed to a location more proximate to the public docks.

• The stocking allocation will be shifted to favor this location with greater numbers.

• DOW will experiment with stocking 50,000 Hofer-Harrison fingerlings in the East and North Inlet streams, ideally establishing a sustainable population of aggressive trout that have been observed to grow quickly over the past few years. • DOW has also agreed to reconsider the lake trout regulations for Grand Lake to require the release of smaller lake trout entering their spawning prime.

With DOW approval, Jim Gassner of Rocky Mountain Outfitters in Grand Lake has begun marking lake trout when first caught and released. Data from his work will enable us to better understand the population of lake trout in our fishery, and help us sustain the population that currently exists. Jim is also coordinating the first catch-and-release ice fishing tourney for Grand County, to be conducted the weekend of March 3 and 4, 2012. Check out: http://home.comcast.net/~rockymountainoutfitter/site/?/home/

Finally, we have begun to conduct a bench marking exercise by which we can compare Grand Lake to other comparable high altitude glaciated lakes. The object of this is to understand both the potential and the possible limitations of improving our fisheries.

Benchmark Lakes:

Grand Lake, Colorado Jenny Lake, Wyoming

Benchmark Lakes:

June Lake, California Fallen Leaf Lake, CA

Benchmark Lake Data:

Benchmark Lake Data:

Trophy German Brown Trout from June Lake

Monday, May 10 2010 @ 11:54 AM PDTOn Wednesday May 5, fishing from shore near the tules of

June Lake, Dan Blanco landed this 15 lb. 10 oz. German Brown: a remarkable catch, the largest fish in the Eastern

Sierra for some time.

Week Ending: # Data Pts # > 4M % > 4M Wkly SD Avg, M

7/1/2011 14 14 100.0% 4.66

7/8/2011 14 13 92.9% 4.35

7/15/2011 16 16 100.0% 4.58

7/22/2011 17 15 88.2% 4.39

7/29/2011 21 21 100.0% 5.12

8/5/2011 16 16 100.0% 5.71

8/12/2011 33 33 100.0% 5.96

8/19/2011 37 37 100.0% 6.14

8/26/2011 50 50 100.0% 6.83

9/2/2011 67 67 100.0% 6.34

9/9/2011 28 28 100.0% 5.34

9/16/2011 47 5 10.6% 2.94

9/23/2011 20 0 0.0% 2.86

9/30/2011 14 0 0.0% 2.39

Total Jul-Sep: 394 315 79.9%

Grand Lake Clarity Standard:

4 Meter Secchi Depth at 15th Percentile, July – September

2011 GCWIN View Scope Secchi Data for Grand Lake:

Natural flows were terminated September 7, 2011 when CBT pumping began:

0.0%50.0%

100.0%150.0%

7/1/

2011

7/8/

2011

7/15

/20…

7/22

/20…

7/29

/20…

8/5/

2011

8/12

/20…

8/19

/20…

8/26

/20…

9/2/

2011

9/9/

2011

9/16

/20…

9/23

/20…

9/30

/20…

Grand Lake: % VS SD > 4M

% > 4M

2011/2012 Upper Headwaters Plan Date

Fishery Benchmarking (Comparable Lakes) StahlPhase 1 - Internet data collection Done!Phase 2 - Contact local TUs for better info 2QPhase 3 - Road trip! 3Q

Division of Wildlife Activities Ewert/Gassner1st DOW Informational Meeting Done!GL Stocking Point Relocation 2QAllotment Shift (12,000 RBT @ Public Dock) 2QHofer-Harrison RBT (50,000 fingerlings) 2QAssess and Simplify Lake Trout Regulations 3QDOW Gill Net Survey 2Q

Guide-led Activities GassnerCatch & release winter tourney Mar 3-4Trout ID and marking study OngoingCorrelate data with DOW Gill Net Survey 3Q

Agency Activities StahlInteragency Tech Team meetings MonthlyUSBR Appraisal Study 1QComment Period 1Q2012 Pumping Plan Review 2Q

GCWIN Clarity Studies Tollett Ongoing

Upper Headwaters Member DrivesMarch Tournament Organizational Meeting Gassner FebQuarterly Membership Drive/Meetings Stahl Ongoing

Become a Member! Join at:

http://www.coloradotu.org/become-a-member

Alternatively, you can send a check for $17.50 payable to:

Colorado Trout Unlimited1536 Wynkoop Street, Suite 320,

Denver, CO 80202.Please include your name, mailing address, phone

and email address. Thanks!

Headwaters TU Website: http://coheadwaters.org/Colorado TU: http://www.coloradotu.org/

National: http://www.tu.org/