Watch Ace Pilots Deliver Over 90,000 Trout to Colorado’s Alpine Lakes

You learn something new every day if ya keep your eyes open. Today I got a first-hand look at how Colorado Parks and Wildlife restock trout in the alpine lakes of Gunnison and Delta counties.

Tiny cutthroat trout are loaded into live wells on planes and flown over the lakes designated for stock and release their cargo which floats down to the surface of the water. In a couple of years, these tiny trout that look like minnows now will grow up to be full-size fish of nearly 10 inches or more.

Get our free mobile app

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Pilots Restock Alpine Lakes

These pilots might have one of the most scenic jobs you can find in Colorado. They float up above an average of 10,000 to 12,000 feet, line up their plans as if on a bombing run, then they need to be at just the right height to make sure the fish drop out of the plane and into the right lake. How would you like to ride along on one of these runs?

How Do the Fish Survive the Drop?

Because the fish are so tiny when they are delivered to the lakes the drop really has little effect on them. Since they are so small, Parks and Wildlife say they really more or less float down to the surface of the water like feathers when they are dropped out of the plane.

Parks and Wildlife Delivered About 90,000 Fish to 73 Lakes

Colorado Parks and Wildlife was able to drop nearly 90,000 fish in just a matter of days into about 70 different lakes last week. In another year or two when you head out on a fishing trip, just imagine all those trout that will be just about full-grown and ready to make a great catch. Flip through the photo gallery below to check out the drops.