Colorado Parks and Wildlife will give away kokanee salmon at 3 p.m. Friday and again on Nov. 13 at Lake Nighthorse Reservoir. Because of COVID-19 concerns, the giveaway will be handled differently than in past years.
At the reservoir entry station, each vehicle will be given a number and each person in the vehicle who wants fish will be counted. Drivers will be instructed to proceed to the parking area and stay in their vehicle. CPW staff members will then call out numbers and that vehicle will proceed to the top of the boat ramp.
One person with a container for the fish will be allowed to get out of the vehicle. That person must wear a mask. CPW staff members will distribute kokanee based on the number of fish that have been collected from the reservoir and the number of people in line. Each vehicle will only be allowed to go through the line once.
Anyone who wants fish must have a 2020 Colorado fishing license; kids younger than 16 will also be given fish.
The fish are harvested by Colorado Parks and Wildlife during the annual spawning operation at the reservoir. Kokanee are a freshwater, land-locked sockeye salmon. It is not native to Colorado but is well-suited to Colorado’s large reservoirs.
For more information about kokanee and all Colorado’s fish species, visit www.cpw.state.co.us.
