Anglers Earn $20 Bounties for Northern Pike at Wolford Reservoir

Aspen —“$20 incentive.” That’s the term the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website uses to describe what is essentially a bounty hunter’s job in the high country. No fancy language, no "aquatic nuisance species mitigation strategy." Just twenty bucks for every Northern Pike you drag out of Wolford Mountain Reservoir and present to the guy at the check station.

Let’s do the math. Wolford sits just north of Kremmling, owned by the Colorado River District. It’s a decent spot — healthy populations of rainbow and brown trout, plus Kokanee salmon, which are landlocked and spend their whole lives in freshwater. But the pike? Those are the problem. They were introduced illegally, and now they’re eating the fish we actually pay to stock. On paper, the pike are a pest. In practice, they’re a paycheck.

The catch: you have to show the fish to an official. In our case, that was a guy named Keith. Friendly, knowledgeable, and willing to talk fishing while you wait. He gave us tips on launching the boat with the low water and the treacherous ramp. The water level at Wolford fluctuates because it’s released to maintain downstream conditions and water rights. So the banks are exposed, no vegetation to hold the ambush-feeding pike. They prefer 12 to 20 feet of water, not far from the shore, where they feed on the trout and Kokanee.

We trolled baits with large bills designed to dive deep. Four rods off the boat, two straight off the stern, one on each side. Light line, 12-pound test, for the toothy pike. We weren’t catching the largest in the reservoir, but we weren’t catching young "hammer handles" either. The dogs were just glad to be on the boat.

For context, this isn’t a statewide program. It’s specific to Wolford Mountain Reservoir. You can’t catch a pike at Stagecoach, Rifle Gap, or Harvey Gap and expect the same reward. The bounty is a targeted tool to reduce the pike population in a specific water body where they’re causing the most damage. It’s a classic western approach: put a price on the head of the animal that’s ruining your livelihood.

The practical bottom line? If you’re fishing Wolford Mountain Reservoir, keep an eye out for the check station. If you land a Northern Pike, don’t just toss it in the cooler. Take it to the station, let them verify it, and pocket your twenty dollars. It’s not a fortune, but it’s a nice offset to the cost of gas, bait, and boat maintenance. And if you’re a serious angler, it might just be enough to cover the next trip.