Fishing now allowed for first time at Rueter-Hess Reservoir

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Local residents looking for a place for recreational shing now have Rueter-Hess Reservoir — near Parker and Castle Pines — as an option for the rst-ever time, Douglas County says.

Catch-and-release shing at the reservoir will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, starting Aug. 4 and running through October.

“To maintain the vitality of the sh, a limited number of shing opportunities will be available each day the reservoir is open,” the county said in a news release.

Reservations are required and were to open online at 9 a.m. Aug. 2.

Each day that shing is open, 25 adult anglers with valid state shing licenses will be allowed to sh. ose younger than 16, who are not required by the state to have a license, are not required to register but may still sh, the news release says.

You can sh from the shore or a paddleboard, kayak or canoe. ere is no cost to sh at the reservoir, but the county asks that you reserve your spot ahead of time. ose planning to drive into the reservoir need a daytime parking pass, which costs $10 per vehicle. e reservoir has been stocked with walleye, yellow perch, largemouth bass, wiper (striped hybrid bass), channel cat sh, black crappie and blue gill. Only arti cial lures and ies, and barbless single hooks, are allowed, and bait is not allowed. Tackle boxes and licenses will be checked, the news release says. ere is “no discussion at this time” on whether non-catch-and-release shing will be o ered at the reservoir in the future, said Wendy Holmes, county spokesperson.

You can register for shing and a parking pass at the same time at douglas.co.us/ rueter-hess-recreation/ reservations-rueter-hess.

Other water activities e reservoir remains open for non-motorized water activities including paddleboarding, canoeing and kayaking from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays into late October. Motorized or belly boats are not allowed.

(Swimming is also not allowed, Holmes said, noting that the reservoir is primarily a drinking-water source.)

Access to the reservoir is free. Again, those who want to drive and park at the reservoir need a one-day parking pass for $10 per vehicle.

New oversight of recreation e change means more time for paddleboarding, canoeing and kayaking starting with this year’s water recreation season at the reservoir, now already underway. e reservoir is a drinkingwater storage facility owned and operated by the Parker Water and Sanitation District, the entity that provides drinking water to much of Parker and some nearby areas. e county website describes the reservoir as a place for “history bu s, day hikers, dog walkers, watersport enthusiasts, and local anthropologists alike.”

Douglas County’s elected leaders recently approved an agreement to take charge of recreation at Rueter-Hess Reservoir, in a move that the county said would allow for more access.

Opportunities to enjoy the reservoir area were to expand based on the agreement by the county and the municipalities that sit near the water, providing more sta and a streamlined nancial structure for overseeing recreation.

Getting there e reservoir area sits o Hess Road just west of Heirloom Parkway, generally between the City of Castle Pines and the Town of Parker.

It’s accessible about 4 miles east of the interchange of Interstate 25 and Castle Pines Parkway, which becomes Hess Road, or about 4 miles west of the intersection of Parker Road and Hess Road.

Construction to add a new pipeline near the reservoir is ongoing, so you may see construction tra c at the entrance, the news release says.

For more, see the county’s website at tinyurl.com/ BeforeYouGoRueterHess.