Colorado anglers changing plans ahead of Antero Reservoir closure

For guides, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts across Colorado, Antero Reservoir has quickly become a second home where people were hoping to make many more memories this fishing season.

"Antero is one of the best fisheries in the state," said Travis Sawyer, Owner and CEO of Kindred Anglers. "[It's] one of my favorite reservoirs ever since I was a little kid growing up."

Now, however, many fishing guide businesses like Sawyer's are scrambling to change customer bookings in the wake of Denver Water's decision to close recreation at the Antero Reservoir for the 2026 season. The goal of the water authority is to prevent water in Antero Reservoir from evaporating this summer by draining it and transferring it to Cheesman Reservoir.

"I didn't think that it was going to go to this extreme," said Sawyer. "We have months and months of trips now that we're going to be refunding."

This announcement comes nearly a week before the boat ramps at Antero Reservoir open.

Guides like Schyler Lopez say they were already anticipating a tougher season for fishing than last year due to the ongoing drought and low snowpack levels. However, they wish they had been warned about the drainage a lot sooner.

"There was no warning back in, you know, say early March, April, early April as to where we could get a jump ahead of the curve," said Lopez, owner of Call of the Wild Outdoor Adventures.

Denver Water and Colorado Parks and Wildlife are still casting lines on a plan to keep fish alive during the drainage process, though there have been no official announcements about what that would look like or when the drainage will begin.

"We have state record brown trout," said Lopez. "We have state record muskie in this reservoir, and it took 10 years for those fish to actively become that large."

While there may be nothing they can do to stop the closure, those within the fishing community say they still want to get involved in the process to help preserve the wildlife there.

"It would be absolutely amazing just to know that some of those really big incredible breeders that they have in those fisheries get transported to Eleven Mile or Spinney or Cheesman, or wherever it is, effectively and healthfully," said Sawyer. "Even if that means that we don't get to fish for them."