Colorado River to be stocked with Hofer rainbows

DOTSERO, Colo. – Wildlife officials are restocking after several thousand fish were killed when a monsoon downpour in July washed silt and debris into the Colorado River below Dotsero and through the Glenwood Canyon.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials plan to restock the river on Tuesday with several thousand Hofer rainbow trout that are resistant to whirling disease, which is another threat to the state’s fishing industry. The disease is caused by a parasite and can cause skull and spinal column deformities in young trout.

Glenwood Springs area wildlife manager Perry Will says the fish kill from the downpour in July was unfortunate, but it’s providing wildlife officials an opportunity to stock the river with fish resistant to the disease.