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North Sterling State Park, located just north of Sterling, is a large park providing recreational opportunities for northeastern Colorado. Measuring nearly 3,000 surface acres at full capacity, this beautiful plains water has distant views of the Rockies to the west. The surrounding area is home a wide variety of wildlife including deer, eagles, pelicans, coyotes, rabbits and many species of waterfowl and shorebirds. North Sterling has over 140 well-maintained campsites. Water-skiing is popular, as is swimming and there are over 6 miles of trails around the lake give you an excuse to stretch your legs.
North Sterling Reservoir provides quality fishing for walleye, wiper, trout, and catfish but is primarily known for its high abundance of wiper. The park is open year round to angling.
Special Note: The marina concession has closed its business at North Sterling Reservoir State Park. – We do not anticipate that the marina store or boat fuel will be available for the 2009 season. Bring boat fuel with you and buy supplies, bait and fishing licenses before coming to the park. Please call the Park Office at 970-522-3657 for further information.
2009 Fishing Forecast
Walleye/Saugeye –Since 2006 more than 20 million walleye/saugeye were stocked at North Sterling in hopes of creating a premier walleye fishery in eastern Colorado. To date, gillnet and other surveys indicate this plan has failed. More evaluation is needed, but in the meantime anglers may find walleye fishing rather difficult. Keeper-size fish were collected during each of the 4 previous gillnet surveys, but overall abundance is low. Certainly walleye fishing will be good at times, but prolonged success will not be a reality.
Wiper –Wiper abundance at North Sterling has remained consistent since 2005. This trend has translated into the catch and release of countless fish with the occasional take of a keeper sized wiper. During 2008, park rangers reported many anglers having 50 fish-days while taking home 1-2 keepers. The gillnetting survey confirmed these results as wiper averaged 14.6” in length during 2008. During 2009 anglers should hook more 15”+ wipers.
Catfish –Few channel catfish were collected during the 2008 gillnet survey. Although good catches of large cats were observed by park rangers, the sampling gear we used likely limited our ability to accurately gage the structure of the catfish population. Catfish anglers should not overlook North Sterling as the DOW has stocked 80,000 channel cat fingerlings since 2006.
Crappie –North Sterling Reservoir typically receives the largest plant of crappie among any lake/reservoir in the state. Despite the lack of detection in the surveys, park rangers reported good catches of crappie during 2008. Anglers should find crappie action sporadically good in 2009.
Future Management–Based on surveys and angler input, more wiper and fewer walleye were stocked at North Sterling in 2008. This strategy will continue in 2009 and beyond. In addition, the DOW has aggressively been stocking adult gizzard shad to make the wiper’s favorite meal more abundant. Shad are also an important component in the walleye diet. During 2009, the DOW will more aggressively sample the bluegill and crappie population to better assess the success of these plants.
CDOW Relative Frequency Table Based on Gillnet Surveys
2007 2008
Walleye 7.2% 5.8%
Saugeye 4.2% 0.6%
Crappie 6.5% 0.0%
Channel Catfish 6.5% 1.9%
Gizzard Shad 15.6% 1.9%
Wiper 22.8% 41.3%
Freshwater Drum 0.8% 0.0%
River Carp Sucker 0.8% 40.6%
Common Carp 35.0% 4.5%
Northern Pike 0.8% 1.9%
Bluegill 0.0% 0.6%
Rainbow Trout 0.0% 0.6%
Getting there: From the Sterling exit (#125) on I-76, turn left at the stop sign and follow the highway over the bridge into town. Continue on Chestnut St. (US Hwy. 6) three blocks, jog left onto Platte St. Go 2 blocks, turn right onto N. 3rd Ave. and go 4 blocks to Broadway. Turn left and go 4 blocks to N. 7th Ave. (CR 39). Turn right and go 12 miles to the reservoir.
Fees: Colorado State Parks Pass
Daily - $6
Annual pass - $60
Boating: All Boats Allowed. Boating is prohibited from Nov. 1st through the last day of the migratory waterfowl season, and until ALL ice is off the reservoir.
Craft propelled by hand allowed to set and pick up decoys and retrieve downed waterfowl.
As of March 4, 2009 the reservoir is open to boating.
Ice Fishing: Permitted
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