Jackson Reservoir Fish Survey and Management Data Survey Summaries... · General Information:...
Transcript of Jackson Reservoir Fish Survey and Management Data Survey Summaries... · General Information:...
General Information: Jackson Reservoir is a 2,967 acre water (at full capacity). Anglers can expect quality
fishing for walleye, saugeye, wiper, channel catfish, crappie, and trout. Please visit the state park website at:
http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/jacksonlake for updated water and fishing conditions.
Location: Morgan County. From the I-76/Hwy 34 interchange take Hwy 39 7.2 miles north, through the
town of Goodrich, to CR Y5. Take CR Y5 2.5 miles west to the reservoir.
Recreational Management: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Fishery Management: Warmwater angling
Purchase a Fishing License: http://cpw.state.co.us/buyapply/Pages/Fishing.aspx
Previous Stocking
2015
Walleye and Saugeye
Wiper
Cuttbow
2014
Walleye and Saugeye
Wiper
Channel catfish
Black crappie
Rainbow trout
2013
Walleye and Saugeye
Channel catfish
Rainbow trout and Cuttbow
2012
Walleye and Saugeye
Cuttbow
2011
Walleye and Saugeye
Channel catfish
Black crappie
Bluegill
Rainbow trout and Cuttbow
Sportfishing Notes
Wiper
Fish are often found chasing
shad, so let the seagulls
guide you.
Fish the inlet when the
reservoir is filling and fish
open water at other times.
Shad imitations or green
mussels work well.
Walleye and Saugeye
These species are very
abundant and anglers are
having great success.
Try jigging, casting shad-
raps, or trolling shad raps
and wally divers.
Channel catfish
Fishing the bottom off of
the dam is recommended.
Cut shad, cut carp, or
shrimp as bait work well.
Rainbow trout and Cuttbow
Shore and ice anglers do
well using night crawlers
and powerbait.
Boat anglers do well using
small shad raps.
Amenities Informational kiosks
Marina
Boat ramp
Picnic areas
Modern restrooms
Showers
RV hook-ups
Designated tent camping
Hiking trails
Fishing (open water and
ice)
Hunting
Wildlife viewing
Regulations
Min. size for walleye and
saugeye is 15” (only 1 can
exceed 21”).
Min. size for wiper is 15”.
Statewide bag and
possession limits also apply.
Fishing in the outlet ditch
around the rotary screen is
prohibited as posted.
Entry requires a Colorado
State Parks Pass, which is
available on site.
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
The South Platte Land,
Reservoir, and Irrigation
Company finished building
Jackson Reservoir in 1902, making
the reservoir approximately
113 years old. Water used to fill
the reservoir is taken from the
South Platte River near Riverside
Reservoir, and flows down an
11-mile long earthen canal
before reaching Jackson Reservoir. Similar
to other eastern plains reservoirs, Jackson
Reservoir was built to store irrigation water
for agricultural use. Though some people
began fishing the reservoir shortly after it
was constructed, it wasn’t until the early 1960s that
people really began to understand the recreational
potential the reservoir had to offer. In 1965, Jackson
Lake State Park was established and the former Colorado
Game, Fish, and Parks Department began managing the fishery.
From 1965 to 1970 the three fish species most often caught by anglers were bullhead, yellow perch, and
crappie. In the 1970s the catch shifted to yellow perch, bullhead, and walleye. Catch shifted again in the
1980s to crappie, walleye, and yellow perch. In 1988, the former Colorado Division of Wildlife began stock-
ing wiper (♂ white bass x ♀ striped bass hybrid) and rainbow trout to increase angler catch rates. Wiper
was the most often caught species through the 1990s. Presently, walleye is the most often caught species.
Jackson Reservoir is primarily managed as a warmwater fishery. For nearly 16 years, a heavy emphasis was
placed on wiper management due to the large success of this species in the reservoir. Though wiper did well
for many years, wiper stocked in the reservoir since 2005 have had poor recruitment or have completely
failed to recruit to the population. Additionally, shortages in the availability of wiper have made managing
for this species very challenging. More often than not, wiper from other states are needed to augment the
number of wiper produced in Colorado to meet stocking schedule quotas. Wiper from other states have had
limited success in northeastern plains reservoirs due to cold water temperatures at the time of stocking.
To overcome wiper shortages in 2005 to 2015, higher numbers of walleye and saugeye (♂ sauger x ♀ walleye
hybrid) were stocked into Jackson Reservoir as surrogate predators. These two species have had great re-
cruitment success in the reservoir. Moreover, walleye and saugeye are easy to spawn and rear, making them
readily available. The coupling of the success of these two species and the recruitment and availability issues
with wiper could result in another management shift at Jackson Reservoir. Managing for a predator balance
of 40% wiper to 60% walleye and saugeye is being considered.
About the Reservoir...
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
About the Fish...
Wiper Five wiper were caught during the 2015 annual survey, with the largest fish measuring 29.2” and weighing
14.4lb (Figure 1; Table 1). The number of wiper caught during annual surveys has drastically declined from
2005 through 2015 (Figure 1). This decline is largely due to the absence of smaller size-classes, which is a
result of the low availability of wiper to stock (Figure 1). In the 1988, biologists from the former Colorado
Division of Wildlife stocked striped bass fry into Pawnee Power Plant Lake to begin building a broodstock
so Colorado could produce its own wiper. Wiper production can be extremely difficult, so biologists spent a
lot of time learning techniques from other states and refining the spawning process while Colorado’s brood-
stock grew. In 1994, biologists successfully collected 13 mature females and were able to spawn 11 of the fish
with white bass males at the Pueblo Hatchery to produce wiper eggs (3.2 million) for the first time. Unfortu-
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
29.2 in; 14.4 lb
About the Fish... Wiper nately the fry died at the hatchery a
few days later. In 1997, the spawning
operation was again successful and
wiper fry from 200,000 eggs were
stocked into Colorado’s reservoirs.
Beginning in 2004, a series of winter-
kills occurred in Pawnee Power Plant
Lake. Though enough mature fe-
males survived to successfully pro-
duce 4.3 million eggs in 2007, the
striper population crashed prior to
the 2008 spawning operation. Thus,
the former Colorado Division of
Wildlife began rebuilding the striped
bass broodstock. Colorado had to
rely on other states such as Texas,
Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to
produce wiper while Colorado’s
striped bass broodstock aged to ma-
turity. Colorado was fortunate
enough to receive wiper from Okla-
homa in 2010 and 2011, Texas in 2013, Kansas
and Nebraska in 2014, and Texas, Oklahoma,
and Kansas in 2015. Historically, wiper fry
from Texas and Oklahoma (versus Kansas
and Nebraska) have not survived in Colo-
rado’s northeastern plains reservoirs because
the water temperatures are still too cold when
the fish are stocked. Thus, wiper fry received
from Texas and Oklahoma are usually stocked
into Colorado’s southeastern reservoirs. How-
ever, since wiper fry were unavailable for such
a long period of time and wiper populations
were on the decline, biologists for northeast-
ern plains reservoirs did try to stock fry from
Oklahoma in 2010. As suspected, these plants
did not recruit to the population. Thus, wiper
fry from Texas and Oklahoma have not been
stocked into northeastern plains reservoirs
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
0
5
10
15
20
25
Wip
er C
PU
E
(#/n
et)
Year
≥ 25.0"
20.0 - 24.9"
15.0 - 19.9"
10.0 - 14.9"
< 10.0"
Figure 1. Wiper catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) during the 2005 to
2015 annual surveys at Jackson Reservoir. No annual surveys were
conducted in 2008, 2012, or 2013 due to extremely low water levels
that prevented boats from being launched. For comparative pur-
poses, the number of fish collected was standardized per gillnet.
About the Fish... Wiper ever since. In 2013, Colorado’s striped bass broodstock was just old enough to begin spawning. Though the
spawn was a success and wiper eggs were produced for the first time in many years, a temperature spike at
the Wray Hatchery killed the eggs. In 2014, biologists electrofished Pawnee Power Plant Lake for six weeks
straight trying to find mature striped bass to spawn, but to no avail. Colorado had to once again rely upon
other states for wiper. Fortunately, Kansas and Nebraska, both of which produce wiper later than Texas
and Oklahoma, were able to produce fish for Colorado. Since these states produce wiper later than Texas
and Oklahoma, water temperatures had time to rise, and biologists were able to stock wiper fry into Colo-
rado’s northeastern plains reservoirs. Jackson Reservoir received 700,000 fry. Though none of these fish
were caught during the 2014 annual survey (Figure 1; Table 1), anglers reported catching small wiper in the
fall of 2014, indicating that some of the fry survived. In 2015, Colorado was able to produce another 794,000
wiper eggs. Though over one-half of the Colorado-produced eggs died at the Wray Hatchery, Jackson Res-
ervoir still received 650,000 wiper fry between fry from Colorado and Kansas. The absence of these fish dur-
ing the 2015 annual survey (Figure 1; Table 1) could be due to gear selectivity, meaning that the fish may
have been too small for the nets’ mesh to catch, instead of low survival.
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
Table 1. Summary data for fish caught during the 2015 annual survey at Jackson Reservoir. Data are
based on 81 hours of gillnetting and 75 hours of trap netting.
About the Fish... Walleye and saugeye Unlike the wiper population, which declined
from 2005 to 2015 (Figure 1), Jackson Res-
ervoir’s walleye and saugeye populations
have grown (Figure 2). Furthermore, higher
numbers of walleye and saugeye than wiper
have been caught during the last six annual
surveys. These trends are due to the high
recruitment of walleye and saugeye (Figure
2), poor recruitment of wiper (Figure 1),
and low availability of wiper. In contrast to
wiper (Figure 1), the size distribution of
walleye and saugeye has also been good,
with all size-classes present each year
(Figure 2). Of the walleye and saugeye sam-
pled during the 2015 annual survey, 40%
exceeded the 15” minimum size limit, 53%
were 10.0 to 14.9” long, and 7% were less than 10.0” long (Figure 2). The largest walleye measured 25.8”
and weighed 7.7lb (Table 1). Several fish that were in the 10.0 to 14.9” size-class should grow to exceed 15”
by the summer of 2016. Due to the large success of these species in recent years, walleye and saugeye fishing
was good during 2015 and should be even better in 2016.
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
Figure 2. Walleye/saugeye
c a t c h - p e r - u n i t - e f f o r t
(CPUE) during the 2005 to
2015 annual surveys at
Jackson Reservoir. No an-
nual surveys were con-
ducted in 2008, 2012, or
2013 due to extremely low
water levels that prevented
boats from being launched.
For comparative purposes,
the number of fish collected
was standardized per gill-
net.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Wall
eye/
Sau
gey
e C
PU
E
(#/n
et)
Year
≥ 25.0"
20.0 - 24.9"
15.0 - 19.9"
10.0 - 14.9"
< 10.0"
25.8 in; 7.7 lb
About the Fish... Black and white crappie Anglers caught more black crappie at Jackson Reser-
voir than any other species during the 1980s. After
wiper were stocked (1988), fewer black crappie were
caught by anglers and in annual surveys, presumably
due to wiper predation. The decline of the wiper
population over the last several years (Figure 1) has
allowed the black and white crappie populations to
flourish once again. In fact, 35% of the catch during
the 2015 annual survey was comprised of crappie
(Table 1). Crappie can be difficult to locate at Jack-
son Reservoir, but anglers can once again expect to
catch several preferred- (10-12”) to memorable-sized
(12-15”) fish (Figure 3).
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
y = 0.0004x3.2677
R² = 0.9889
y = 0.0004x3.1375
R² = 0.9585
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0 15.0
Wei
gh
t (l
b)
Length (in)
Black
crappie
White
crappie
M P
Q
Master Angler Award
S
Figure 3. Length-weight regression for black and white crappie caught during the 2015 annual survey at
Jackson Reservoir. Stock (S), quality (Q), preferred (P), and memorable (M) size categories are indicated in
green. Colorado’s Master Angler Award length for crappie is indicated in red. Data are based on 75 hours
trap netting.
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
Channel catfish Stocking of channel catfish into Jackson Reservoir began in
1959, and approximately 126,000 fish have been stocked
since 2005. Regardless of stocking rates, few channel catfish
are sampled in nets during annual surveys. It is likely that
these low numbers do not accurately reflect the fish popula-
tion, but the sedentary nature of channel catfish instead. This
species tends to lay low as
water temperatures decline
in the fall, which is when
the annual surveys are
conducted. Hook-and-
line usually produces
more fish than gillnets,
so anglers should not
be discouraged to fish
for this species.
Though only one
small channel
catfish was caught
during the 2015
annual survey
(Table 1), larger
fish undoubtedly
lurk in the reservoir
as indicated by the
two Master Angler
award-winning fish
(36” and 33”) that
were caught during
the 2013 fishing season.
About the Fish...
Wiper
Walleye
Rainbow trout
Channel catfish
Common carp
Other
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
About the Anglers...
2012 Jackson Reservoir creel survey According to the 2012 creel survey, almost 6,900
anglers fished Jackson Reservoir for nearly 29,100
hours between May and September of 2012
(Table 2). Ninety-nine percent
of anglers were Colorado
residents, of which 38%
were from nearby towns in the
seven surrounding counties
(Morgan, Weld, Washington,
Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, and
Yuma). Non-resident anglers were from Nebraska, Wyoming, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Minnesota.
The majority of anglers fished with bait (74%), while 15% of anglers fished with a combination of bait and
lures, and 11% of anglers fished with lures only. The remainder of anglers fished with flies or bow and ar-
row. Nearly one-half of anglers targeted wiper (Figure 4). Walleye were also highly sought after (Figure 4).
Nearly 8,300 fish (all species included) were caught, of which approximately 46% were kept and 54% were
released. In general, most anglers enjoyed their fishing trips at Jackson Reservoir, ranking their trip quality
as either excellent (18%), good (51%), or average (20%). Likewise, most anglers approved of the fish they
caught, ranking fish quality as either excellent (35%), good (56%), or average ( 8%).
Figure 4. Fish species targeted by anglers during
the 2012 Jackson Reservoir creel survey.
48% 30%
About the Anglers...
Table 2. Jackson Reservoir creel survey summary (May through September of 2012).
2012 Jackson Reservoir creel survey continued...
Thank you to all of the anglers who were willing to participate in the creel survey!
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
Shore anglers Boat anglers Total (all anglers)
21286 7777 29063
4477 2382 6859
5721 2553 8274
2723 1060 3783
2998 1493 4491
0.27 0.33 0.28
0.13 0.14 0.13
0.14 0.19 0.16
4.76 3.26 4.24
KEPT CATCH (# OF FISH)
RETURNED CATCH (# OF FISH)
TOTAL CATCH/HR (# FISH/HR)
KEPT CATCH/HR (# FISH/HR)
RETURN CATCH/HR (# FISH/HR)
AVERAGE COMPLETED TRIP LENGTH (HRS)
Statistic
Estimates
FISHERMAN-HOURS (# of HRS FISHED)
FISHERMAN (# OF ANGLERS)
TOTAL CATCH (# OF FISH)
About the Anglers...
A B C D E3)
2012 Jackson Reservoir creel survey continued... Anglers were asked the following three questions and had
the following responses:
1) Using the following scale, please rank your support (or
not) for the future stocking of yellow perch in Jackson
Reservoir?
A) Strongly support stocking
B) Support stocking
C) It does not matter one way or the other
D) Do not support stocking
E) Strongly against stocking
2) Of the following warmwater fish species, which would you
most like to catch at Jackson Reservoir?
A) Walleye/Saugeye
B) Wiper
C) Crappie (black and/or white)
D) Yellow perch
E) Channel catfish
3) What percentage of your angling time today did you
spend actively targetting trout?
A) 0%
B) 1-32%
C) 33-65%
D) 66-99%
E) 100%
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
A B C D E2)
A B C D E1)
69%
14%
5%
5% 7%
40% 3%
39%
1%
17%
36% 15%
37%
5% 7%
Master Angler Awards
Jackson Reservoir LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 2016
FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT DATA Mandi Brandt - Aquatic Biologist (Brush)
Year Species Length Angler name
2015 Common carp 31" David Coulson
2014 Wiper 29.5" Ben Krosschell
2014 Wiper 26" Brandon Harrigan
2013 Channel catfish 36" Delilah Lewis
2013 Channel catfish 33" David Huynh
2013 Common carp 32" Benjamin Martinez
2013 Common carp 31" Bryan Hostetter
2012 Wiper 29" Todd Wilkie
2012 Yellow perch 12 1/2" Cody Kalous
2012 Common carp 30 1/2" Richard Sweatland
2011 Smallmouth bass 20" Mitchell Ellis
2011 Freshwater drum 20" Makayla DeFebio
2011 Common carp 34" Marlee Davis
2011 Common carp 32" Chris Davis
2011 Common carp 30 1/2" Chris DeFebio
2011 Common carp 30" Forrest Czarnecki
2010 Common carp 35" Thomas Gipple
2009 Wiper 29" Jennifer Lockman
2009 Channel catfish 31 1/2" Adam Barg
2009 Brown trout 22 1/2" Rick Dunn
2009 Common carp 30" Derek Mitchell
2008 Wiper 28 5/8" Ursula Lottman
2008 Channel catfish 32 1/2" David Sanger
2008 Channel catfish 32" Richard Watts
2008 Common carp 32" Derek Mitchell