Are trout in hot water?

The best thing anglers can do to preserve a precious resource during the heat of summer is to quit fishing when water temperatures approach the mid-60s.

Reader Bob Beer e-mailed that he just returned from Montana, where prolonged heat and drought have prompted official requests that anglers not fish past noon because the stress of fighting rod and line could kill fish.

"I wonder if that might help at Antero and some of the other lakes in Colorado," Beer wrote.

Sure, it would help if anglers cut the trout some slack when they are stressed by heat and poor oxygen.

Even people who fish only for the frying pan end up fighting and losing some fish and releasing others for various reasons. The struggle could kill those fish when waters are hot.

Multiply those incidents by hundreds of anglers and you end up with intolerable collateral damage.

Colorado's wildlife commissioners were aware of the heat factor when they voted Monday to cut Antero's bag and possession limits back to two fish of any size.

But they did not discuss asking anglers not to fish. Nor did Denver Water suggest temporarily closing the reservoir. Maybe they should have.

Fisheries biologist Jeff Spoon, of the Division of Wildlife, said Antero's water temperature a few days ago was 68 to 70 degrees "with a refuge of 64 degrees."

That refuge was the coolest water a fish might find in the deepest part of Antero - which isn't very deep or very cool.Tuesday, the wildlife division offered these tips for releasing fish to minimize stress:

• Land the fish quickly; do not play it to exhaustion.

• Use strong line, tippets and tackle to help reduce the fight time.

• Keep fish in the water while removing the hook.

• If the fish is deep-hooked or gill-hooked, cut the line close to the hook.

• Revive the fish by holding it upright in the water until it swims away.

• Gently release fish; don't throw them back.

A better idea might be to quit fishing with bait, which trout tend to swallow fatally; or with lures fitted with treble hooks, which damage fish jaws and gills and can make releasing fish a difficult, wrenching job.

Montana does something else right to cut fish some slack. In many of its best trout waters, it allows bait fishing only by children.

GOOSE LIMIT RAISED: The Colorado Wildlife Commission on Monday raised the dark goose limit for the Central Flyway portion of the state to four geese (it was three) for the 2007-08 hunting season.

In keeping with liberal waterfowl frameworks the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offered this year, commissioners also added a full week to the beginning of eastern Colorado's dark goose seasons.

East of the Continental Divide, the regular dark goose hunting season will run Nov. 17 through Feb. 17. It was originally scheduled to open Nov. 24.

Early goose seasons for the northern Front Range, South Park and the San Luis Valley are scheduled for Sept. 29 through Oct. 8, running a day later than previously planned.

In the Pacific Flyway, managers added a second canvasback duck to the bag. The limit will be two canvasbacks.

Fishing hot spot: Upper Gunnison River

• Why here? Barring localized rain, the river is low, clear and fishing well.

• What's hot: Trout feeding on emerging caddis and a variety of nymphs, including stoneflies. Kokanee salmon from Blue Mesa Reservoir have begun moving into the river.

• Fly box: Elk-hair caddis, yellow Humpies, Stimulators, 20-Inchers, Western Coachmen and Woolly Buggers; Mepps and Panther Martin spinners for spin fishermen.

• Best times: Early mornings and late afternoons.

• How to get there: From Denver, go southwest on U.S. Highway 285 to U.S. 50 near Poncha Springs. Turn right (west) onto U.S. 50 and go over Monarch Pass to Gunnison. Colorado 135 follows the river upstream to Almont; U.S. 50 parallels it downstream to Blue Mesa Reservoir.

• Ask the experts: Gene Taylor's Sporting Goods in Gunnison, 1-970-641-1845.

• Fishing report: For the Colorado Division of Wildlife's complete fishing report, visit RockyMountainNews.com/fishing

dentrye@RockyMountainNews.com

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