Cutthroat Trout Stocked into Colorado Mountains and Lakes by Airplane

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is stocking 330 alpine lakes with nearly 380,000 trout from the sky in Northern Colorado.

The trout were reared at the Mt. Shavano Hatchery in Salida and driven up Wednesday, September 16 to the Granby Airport by Fish Culturists Doug Sebring and Taylor Woolmington. 65,000 cutthroat trout and 5,000 golden trout were air-dropped into 40 high-elevation lakes in Boulder, Grand, Jackson, and Larimer counties.

Sebring and Woolmington were met by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) wildlife pilots Larry Goepfert and Denise Corcoran who airlifted the 1¼-inch trout. It is expected to take the fish a year and a half to two years to grow to a catchable size of 10 inches.

“We can get a large quantity of fish into high mountain lakes that are basically only accessible by foot or horseback,” said Sebring.

CPW operates a total of 19 hatcheries that breed, hatch, rear, and stock more than 90 million fish per year. A majority of the fish produced enhance angling opportunities while others serve a critical role in recovery efforts for native species.

“There is definitely a niche of anglers that seek out high alpine fishing every year,” said Jeff Spohn, Senior Aquatic Biologist for the Northeast Region of CPW. “This is another opportunity that CPW provides to our angling community,” Jeff said.

For more information regarding Colorado Parks and Wildlife, visit: https://cpw.state.co.us