FISH SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION General Information: Crawford Reservoir is a popular fishery that provides angling opportunity for yellow perch, channel catfish, northern pike, rainbow trout, black crappie, and largemouth bass. This reservoir, located in Crawford State Park, covers 414 surface acres at full capacity and is open year round to angling. Visit the State Parks website for information on regulations, camping, and recreation: http://parks.state.co.us/parks/crawford Location: 2 miles south of the town of Crawford on Hwy 92. Primary Management: Warmwater Mixed Species Lake Category 602 Amenities Previous Stocking Sportfishing Notes Boat Ramps (2) Campgrounds (2) WARNING!!! Prevent the Spread of Zebra Mussels and other Aquatic Nuisance Species Showers Visitors Center Restrooms Parking Areas Picnic Shelters Clean, drain, and dry your boat after each use. Crawford State Park requires mandatory boat inspections before launching. Please check with the park for more information 2015 Rainbow Trout (10 ): 3,000 Rainbow Trout (2 ): 12,000 Channel Catfish (8 ): 3,000 Black Crappie (2 ): 10,600 Largemouth Bass (2 ): 8,000 2014 Rainbow Trout (11 ): 9,000 Channel Catfish (8 ): 3,000 Largemouth Bass (2 ): 8,359 Black Crappie (2 ): 20,000 2013 Largemouth Bass (4 ): 6,400 Regulations NEW: Limit for largemouth bass is 1 fish over 18 in length. No bag or possession limit on northern pike No bag and possession limit on yellow perch. From fence on top of Crawford Res dam downstream to N boundary fence, fishing in spillway, stilling basin and outlet canal prohibited. Rainbow Trout Ice fishing is best. Good spots include the peninsula cove Good baits include jigs, spoons, and wax worms Black Crappie Good spots include the East shore primarily around the Clear Fork boat ramp cove Good baits include small tube jigs and worms Channel Catfish Good spots include the north side of peninsula cove and near the dam Good baits include night crawlers, stinkbaits, and dead minnows Largemouth Bass Good spots include the rocky areas near the dam and flooded vegetation in the spring. Good baits include crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and soft plastics.
Figure 1. Species composition of fish sampled in Crawford Reservoir 1995-2008. Before 1995, the reservoir was managed for quality perch and largemouth bass fishing and rainbow trout opportunity. Two illegal introduction in the mid to late 1990 s, common carp and northern pike, had drastic impacts on the fish community. By 2005, northern pike and common carp represented large proportions of the fish present in the fishery. By the late 2000s, largemouth bass and rainbow trout became very rare in Crawford Reservoir due to pike predation, and in 2012, stocking of rainbow trout was eliminated.
Relative Weight Panfish Average length (in) Northern Pike Average Length (in) Crawford Reservoir 9 35 8 30 7 6 5 4 3 Black Crappie Yellow Perch Northern Pike 1995 2000 2003 2005 2008 25 20 15 10 5 0 Figure 2. Average length in inches of perch, crappie, and northern pike sampled in Crawford Reservoir 1995-2008. When northern pike first appeared in the reservoir, their average size was small as they reproduced well in a new environment. In 2003 there were lots of small pike in the reservoir and panfish size increased. Once the pike population matured and took advantage of stocked rainbow trout, their growth quickly increased to produce trophy sized fish. Since 2008, the quality of the pike fishery has declined, as they have outstripped their forage base of rainbow trout, yellow perch and black crappie. 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 2008 2013 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Length (in) Figure 3. Body condition of northern pike sampled in 2008 and 2013 at Crawford Reservoir. The dashed yellow line represents the body condition of a healthy northern pike in average condition. In 2008 northern pike had above average body condition and were growing to sizes over 40 inches. By 2013, once they had outstripped their forage base, their condition fell to well below average, and few fish over 24 inches were present in the fishery.
Figure 3. Population estimates for northern pike larger than 18 inches in 2008, 2014 and 2015, pre and post removal. In 2008, the regulations were lifted to allow unlimited harvest on northern pike, which reduced their populations by 2014. In 2014 and 2015, CPW conducted removal efforts to further reduce their population. This management strategy was determined necessary to reduce the numbers of northern pike to restore a balanced fishery of rainbow trout, yellow perch, black crappie, largemouth bass and channel catfish. Figure 5. Lengths of black crappie sampled in 2014 and 2015 from Crawford Reservoir. Following the 2014 and 2015 pike removal efforts, far greater numbers of black crappie are living to adult sizes, and a good age-class of 7-10 inch fish was sampled in 2015. Now that the pike population is under control, crappie fishing should continue to improve over the next few years.
Figure 6. Lengths of yellow perch sampled in 2014 and 2015 from Crawford Reservoir. Following the 2014 and 2015 pike removal efforts, far greater numbers of yellow perch are living to adult sizes, and a good age-class of 5-7 inch fish was sampled in 2015. This age class should grow to over 10 inches in length for the 2016 fishing season. Now that the pike population is under control, perch fishing should continue to improve over the next few years. Figure 7. Lengths of largemouth bass sampled in 2014 and 2015 from Crawford Reservoir. Following the pike removal efforts, far greater numbers of largemouth bass are living to adult sizes, and a good ageclass of 11-15 inch fish was sampled in 2015. This age class should continue to grow to Master Angler sizes (>18 ) for the 2016 fishing season. The regulations were changed for largemouth bass starting in 2016 to allow harvest of only one largemouth bass over 18 inches. This regulation change will protect largemouth bass as they grow to larger sizes to create a trophy sport fishing component to the fishery. Now that the pike population is under control, largemouth bass fishing should continue to improve.
a b Figure 8. Panel a: Black crappie sampled in 2014 with large wound from a northern pike attack. Panel b: Largemouth bass sampled from Crawford Reservoir in 2014. Management Summary The reduction in northern pike numbers over the last few years in Crawford Reservoir has allowed a more balanced fishery to develop. Angling opportunities should be good in 2016 and continue to improve for the next few years for black crappie, yellow perch, largemouth bass, rainbow trout and channel catfish. The one fish over 18 inch regulation for largemouth bass should be effective at improving the quality of the largemouth bass fishery providing a trophy component to the fishery at Crawford Reservoir that is more sustainable and balanced than the fishery was present in the past. Offering angling opportunities for a diverse group of fish allows for broader angling opportunities than were historically available at Crawford Reservoir. Northern pike removal efforts in 2014 and 2015 were effective at reducing the northern pike numbers, and has resulted in restoring balance to the fishery. These removals will not be conducted in 2016 in order to evaluate how fast the population will increase. Once this rate of increase is determined, removal efforts will be conducted as necessary to maintain low numbers of northern pike and maintain the balanced fishery that has developed in the last few years. Rainbow trout stocking along with black crappie, largemouth bass and channel catfish stocking will be continued over the next few years and the effectiveness will be evaluated via annual surveys. There are tagged northern pike still present in the reservoir, and tagged fish caught by anglers should be reported by calling the phone number on the tag.