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Located in Kiowa County, which is on the eastern plains of Colorado, Nee Noshe has suffered low water for several year and is in the process of rebuilding. The county is named for the Kiowa Nation and contains 1,771 square miles of land and 15 square miles of water.
Kiowa County 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.
Nee Noshe Reservoir has been very low for the past several years. The lake suffered a partial winter-kill during the winter of 2006—2007. Game fish numbers declined sharply. Water was purchased for Nee Noshe in 2008. This water added valuable habitat to the lake. More water is needed in the immediate future, as the lake is still very low. Fish stocking strategies are aimed at rebuilding this fishery.
2009 CDOW Fishing Forecast
Some much needed water was added to Nee Noshe Res. in 2008. This water was purchased by CDOW from the City of Aurora. Extra mountain snow melt allowed for 10,000 acre ft. of water to be moved to Nee Noshe. Some of this water was lost in transit, as the canal that supplies Nee Noshe (Kicking Bird Canal) has been dry for numerous years. Some of the water intended for the reservoir was lost as it soaked into this earthen canal. This purchased water increased the lake depth by 8 vertical feet. This is a substantial gain and has provided immediate benefits for the reservoir. The added water allowed the previously dry boat ramp to be put back into service. Currently, the new south boat ramp is the only ramp usable at Nee Noshe. This ramp is currently able to service small to medium sized boats. Fish stocking will continue in an effort to rebuild this once tremendous warm-water fishery. Low water levels combined with the severe winter of 2006-2007 all but eliminated the sport fishery at Nee Noshe. The 2008 annual gillnetting survey
demonstrates this fact. Although few adult game fish were present, an encouraging number of small fish were caught. More water is needed to ensure the success of future fish stocking. The water added in 2008 is a good start, but the future success of the fishery at Nee Noshe depends upon additional water runs. Fishing at Nee Noshe in 2009 will most likely be limited to catfish and small wipers. Some nice sized blue and channel cats can still be caught at Nee Noshe. Anglers targeting blue catfish are successful using suspended bait fish. Channel catfish can be caught with a variety of baits including worms, shrimp, crawdads, dough bait, cut shad, or chicken livers.
CDOW Relative Abundance 2008 Fish Survey
wiper 42%
Blue Catfish 17.3%
Channel Catfish/drum 1%
Carp 6%
Shad 33.3%
Getting there: From Eads, go 11 miles south on HWY 287 to Kiowa County boat ramp access road; then .25 mile east to public boat ramp.
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.
2 gravel and 1 cement boat ramps. Currently, only the
gravel ramp on the south side of the lake is in service.
Ice Fishing: No
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