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Nee Gronde Reservoir is located on the eastern plains of Colorado in Kiowa County. Named for the Kiowa Nation the county covers 1,771 square miles and including 15 square miles of water. The county seat is Eads. This ares is where the Sand Creek Massacre (the outright slaughter of more than 400 unarmed Cheyenne and Arapaho women, children) took place on November 29, 1864. The national scandal that erupted over this event eventually cost Territorial Governor John Evans his job for his part in the incident. Colonel John Chivington, commander of the US forces involved, was castigated by Congress and his reputation is still tainted by what happened that day under his command. In 2005, the National Park Service finally designated the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site and in 2007, set a stone plaque in place as a memorial (but it seems the plaque is in the wrong place.
The reservoir is co-managed by Amity Irrigation Co., BLM, and CDOW. Faciluties include a state-maintained boat ramp and with floating pier at County Rd. There is an additional ramp available
at privately owned campground on north side of lake. Visitors will find primitive camping, restrooms.
With a typical depth of 10-15 ft and 1700 surface acres, Nee Gronde Reservoir provides excellent fishing for saugeye, wiper, white bass, and smallmouth bass. Good populations catfish are present as well. This lake is a popular hot spot for spring saugeye and wiper fishing. Smallmouth bass action has improved in the past 2 years. Crappie fishing can be good in the spring, but action has declined in the past few years. Weather conditions can change quickly, high winds are common. Lake contains many submerged trees and bushes that are potentially hazardous.
2009 CDOW FIshing Forecast
Other than minimal precipitation, no fresh water was added to Nee Gronde Res. in 2008. Water levels continue to slowly decline. Nee Gronde is still a fairly deep lake, with depths of over 25 ft. in some areas. Nee Gronde has greater average depth than other area lakes, which helps to slow the effects of drought.
A major boat ramp reconstruction project was conducted at Nee Gronde during the spring of 2008. Over 1200 tons of rock was hauled to the site. CDOW heavy equipment crews, Area 12 property staff, and Area 12 Aquatic staff spent about 3 weeks on site constructing the new ramp. These efforts resulted in a 100 ft. extension to the access jetty, a new turn-around area close to the ramp, a new cement ramp constructed from hog slats, and a new floating pier. These new facilities provided access for boaters throughout the 2008 boating season. For 2009, some repairs will be necessary. The pre-cast cement hog slats proved not able to withstand the pressures of boat and trailer traffic. The cement portion of the ramp will be reconstructed using a more durable product. 2009 is shaping up to be an excellent fishing year at Nee Gronde. Anglers can expect good fishing for saugeye, wiper, white bass, smallmouth bass, and catfish. Smallmouth bass fishing was excellent in 2008. Many anglers caught large numbers of 15+ fish during spring and summer months. These fish are abundant in Nee Gronde and can be caught by using twister tail jigs or shad-imitating crank baits near the many submerged trees along the edge of the lake. Saugeye
fishing hits its peak during May and early June. Anglers consistently catch 5 fish limits of 15 20 inch fish, with occasional 22+ fish. Successful methods include drifting or slow trolling jigs tipped with a minnow or worm, trolling walleye style crank baits or worm harnesses, and live bait fishing. Wiper action often coincides with saugeye fishing, but can begin earlier (mid-April) and often extends throughout June. Fall fishing for wipers can also be very good. Effective methods include trolling shad imitating crank baits, casting jigs or spinners, or bait fishing with worms, minnows, shrimp, or crawdads. Nee Gronde has typically had a good population of white bass. Fall sampling in 2008 revealed a large crop of 10 fish currently in the lake. These fish will grow quickly and should provide excellent white bass action in 2009. Methods described for wipers work equally well for white bass. Channel catfish are also plentiful, and can be caught using typical baits such as worms, shrimp, crawdads, dough bait, cut shad, or chicken livers.
As mentioned earlier, Nee Gronde contains many submerged trees. The branches are notorious for snagging lures, props, anchor ropes, etc. Many anglers choose to use less expensive gear when fishing at Nee Gronde, knowing that chances are good they wont be going home with the same lure they tied on to start.
Relative Species Availability based on 2008 Survey Data
White Bass 40.5%
Wiper 26.1%
Channel Catfish 4.5%
Carp 1.2%
Shad 10.9%
Saugeye 11.1%
smallmouth bass, yellow perch 1.3%
Striped Bass 3.9%
Getting there: Kiowa County. Travel south of Eads, CO on US Hwy 287 15 miles to Reservoir
Fees: None
Boating: All Boats Allowed. Boating is prohibited in a manner that creates a white water wake in the channel between Upper Queens and Lower Queens.
Ice Fishing: No
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