Reporting by Miles Blumhardt, Fort Collins Coloradoan
Thousands of fish died in an inlet to Boyd Lake on Aug. 1-2 due to low water levels, an issue that has plagued fishing and other water recreation as Colorado battles through a relentless drought.
The mostly dead fish were trapped in the inlet to Boyd Lake State Park that flows from private Horseshoe Lake just to the west of the state park in northeast Loveland. The water level is so low in Boyd Lake that the inlet only contained intermittent water, trapping the fish in pockets of water during a time when temperatures reached 100 degrees.
“It’s the unfortunate circumstances of being in an unprecedented and historic drought year,” Kyle Battige, Colorado Parks and Wildlife northeast senior aquatic biologist, told the Coloradoan while helping a netting operation of live and dead fish the morning of Aug. 3 “There’s just not a lot we can do about it.”
Battige said the dead fish did not come from Boyd Lake but drained in from Horseshoe Lake through the inlet under the county highway that separates the two lakes as the water was drawn down by Greeley & Loveland Irrigation Company. That company owns the water rights in the two lakes, with the water used for drinking water in Greeley and for agriculture irrigation.
The vast majority of the fish in the inlet were invasive common carp, which the agency does not manage as a game fish, along with a few game fish such as walleye and white bass. Battige and other agency staff netted live carp to relocate to bodies of water where carp are sought by anglers and removed dead fish.
“The recreational fishery in Boyd Lake today is still OK,” Battige said. “CPW has a lot of resources invested in this property and we are actively monitoring and adapting to the situation. We are in regular communication with the ditch company to determine how much water is in the lake.”
Emergency declaration pending on Boyd Lake
Battige said if low water levels threaten the walleye and white bass populations in the lake, the agency could declare an emergency public fish salvage. That order removes all bag and possession limits and allows fish to be taken by all legal methods.
A valid 2026 Colorado fishing license is still required for those ages 16 and older. The order allows for keeping fish that otherwise likely would die from low oxygen levels in low water conditions.
The agency has ordered fishing closures around the state this summer as well as emergency fish salvages, including locally at Timnath Reservoir and at Douglas Reservoir near Wellington.
“We’re not at that point and we hope we don’t get there, as there is still quite a bit still out in Boyd Lake,” Battige said.
The lake currently has a maximum depth of 30 feet, but water is likely to continue to be drawn down for drinking and irrigation.
“Fish kills are something that happen; we see them in localized ponds every summer,” Battige said. “What we are experiencing in 2026 is unprecedented. People need water and when you don’t have water the fisheries do not do well.”
One of those fish kills took place in a pond at Fossil Creek Community Park in Fort Collins in July.
Low water levels prompted popular Boyd Lake State Park to close the lake to motorized boating for the season June 28. That came after the Coloradoan reported in March that Boyd Lake Marina would not operate for the 2026 season due the concessionaire failing to meet contract requirements. The closure left more than 100 slip and mooring ball renters without a place to store their boats.
This story was updated to add a video.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan.
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