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North Sterling State Park, located just north of Sterling, is a large park providing recreational opportunities for northeastern Colorado. The lake measures nearly 3,000 surface acres at full capacity. 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.
From CDOW 2010 Fish Survey and Management Data
The reservoir is routinely reduced to approximately 1,500 acres or less during the irrigation season. Unfortunately, the reservoir is drawn down while panfish are spawning, limiting recruitment of critical prey species such as bluegill and gizzard shad. These young fish seek refuge in littoral habitat, but this habitat is lost as the water level begins to drop, increasing their vulnerability to predation. The risk of being consumed is heightened as the water level continues to drop and fish are concentrated into a successively smaller pool. Young fish of other species such as walleye, saugeye, and wiper are also negatively impacted by reservoir draw down.
Currently, there are too few gizzard shad present in the reservoir to adequately support the large biomass of sportfish. Fortunately, a better water year in 2008 led to higher gizzard shad abundance in 2009. Though gizzard shad abundance is increasing, the forage base is still too small to support the reservoir’s large biomass of sportfish. Thus, efforts are being made to stock adult gizzard shad into the reservoir in hopes that a few high water years will allow them to pull off a large spawn or two and supplement the forage base.
Walleye/Saugeye - In hopes of creating a premier walleye and saugeye fishery in eastern Colorado, crews drastically increased fry and fingerling stocking rates in 2004. Since that time, nearly 22.2 million walleye and saugeye have been stocked into North Sterling Reservoir. Unfortunately, these species did not perform as well as hoped leaving unfulfilled desires in biologists and anglers alike. Annual surveys from 2005 to 2009 yielded extremely low numbers of walleye and saugeye. These low numbers were reflected in anglers’ catches as well. Low abundance can be partly attributed to reservoir draw down, which dewaters critical littoral rearing habitat that young fish use to seek refuge from predators. The mean lengths of walleye and saugeye collected during the 2009 annual survey were 17” and 21”, respectively, supplying anglers with keeper-sized fish. However, anglers will likely find walleye and saugeye fishing difficult in 2010 due to the low abundance of these species. Anglers seeking walleye are encouraged to visit Jumbo Reservoir and Prewitt Reservoir.
Channel catfish - Approximately 267,000 channel catfish have been stocked since 2004. Regardless of stocking rates, few channel catfish are sampled in nets during annual surveys. It is likely that these low numbers do not accurately reflect the fish population, but the sedentary nature of channel catfish instead. This species tends to lay low as water temperatures decline in the fall, which is when the annual surveys are conducted. Hook-and-line usually produces more fish than gill nets, so anglers should not be discouraged to fish for this species. The nine channel catfish sampled in 2009 were 23” on average and weighed nearly 5 lbs. Park rangers observe anglers catching decent numbers of large catfish on an annual basis, so anglers are encouraged to fish for this species at North Sterling Reservoir.
Wiper - Catch rates of wiper were much higher than those of walleye and saugeye during the 2005-2009 annual surveys and in creel surveys. This was surprising considering nearly 60 times more walleye and saugeye were stocked than wiper since 2004. Though wiper are abundant, their relative weights are low, reflecting North Sterling Reservoir’s inadequate forage base. Due to the low abundance of prey, the reservoir should be managed for fewer predatory species. Since wiper have performed better and have provided a better fishery to the angler than walleye and saugeye, future management will focus on wiper. Stocking rates of other species will be reduced until a larger forage base is established.
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 |
