Best Fishing Spots in Colorado

A Deeper Look at Fishing in Colorado

Fishing Heritage in Colorado

Colorado is a coldwater fishing state in its bones. Long before the first miners showed up in the 1850s, the Ute, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Apache, Comanche, and Pueblo peoples fished the headwaters of the Colorado, Arkansas, South Platte, and Rio Grande, taking native cutthroat trout from clear mountain streams and using fish as a seasonal food alongside game and gathered foods. The Greenback cutthroat, now Colorado's state fish, was once so abundant in the South Platte and Arkansas drainages that early settlers reported catching wagonloads with hand nets. The Gold Rush of 1859 changed everything.

Mining sediment, dewatering, and the introduction of non-native rainbow, brown, brook, and lake trout pushed native cutthroat populations to the edge. By the early 1900s, the Colorado Rio Grande cutthroat, Colorado River cutthroat, and Greenback cutthroat were all considered nearly extinct. Brown trout, imported from Germany in the 1880s, took to Colorado's rivers immediately and now form the backbone of trophy fisheries on the Frying Pan, Taylor, Gunnison, and South Platte. The construction of major dams in the mid-20th century, including Blue Mesa, Granby, Dillon, Cheesman, and Ruedi, created big tailwater fisheries below cold-bottom releases that produced trophy trout almost immediately.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), formed in 2011 by merging the Division of Wildlife and State Parks, runs one of the most ambitious native fish recovery programs in the country, with Greenback cutthroat now successfully reintroduced to a network of high-country streams. Today the Centennial State pulls millions of angler-days a year and is one of the top trout destinations in North America.

The Best Fishing Spots in Colorado

The South Platte River below Cheesman Reservoir and through the Cheesman Canyon is one of the most famous wild-trout fisheries in the country, with trophy rainbow and brown trout in technical, gin-clear water. The Eleven Mile Canyon and Deckers stretches lower down also produce trophy fish year-round. The Frying Pan River below Ruedi Reservoir near Basalt is a tailwater famous for huge rainbows fattened on mysis shrimp escaping the dam, including fish over 20 pounds. The Gunnison Gorge, accessible by hike-in or float, runs through deep red-rock canyon and offers wild brown and rainbow trout in big water.

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison upstream is a Gold Medal water with trophy fish and stunning scenery. The Taylor River below Taylor Park Reservoir near Almont produces some of the largest trout in the state in its tiny tailwater section. The Arkansas River from Leadville down through Salida and Cañon City is a long, wadeable freestone with strong populations of brown trout. Spinney Mountain Reservoir on the South Platte holds trophy rainbow, brown, cutthroat, and pike.

Blue Mesa Reservoir, the state's largest, is famous for kokanee salmon and lake trout (Mackinaw), with state-record lake trout caught here. Eleven Mile Reservoir and Antero Reservoir up on the South Platte plains hold trophy trout and northern pike. Pueblo Reservoir on the southeast plains is a warmwater destination for walleye, smallmouth, white bass, and wipers. The Yampa, White, and Green River systems on the Western Slope offer wild trout and warmwater bass fishing in canyon country.

Game Fish Species You'll Find in Colorado

Trout are king. Brown trout dominate most freestone rivers and tailwaters and grow to trophy size in the Frying Pan, Taylor, Gunnison, and South Platte, with state-record-class fish well over 30 inches landed every year. Rainbow trout, mostly stocked but with strong wild populations on certain rivers, are the most commonly caught fish, and the Hofer-strain rainbows resistant to whirling disease have helped restore wild rainbow numbers. Brook trout fill smaller, colder streams above 9,000 feet and provide easy dry-fly action for backpackers.

Cutthroat trout, including the recovering native Greenback, Colorado River, and Rio Grande subspecies, are cherished and increasingly catch-and-release in their native waters; Colorado's Cutthroat Slam program rewards anglers who catch all four native subspecies. Lake trout (Mackinaw) thrive in deep cold reservoirs like Blue Mesa, Granby, and Dillon, with state-record fish over 50 pounds and a strong winter ice fishery on Granby. Kokanee salmon, the landlocked sockeye, run hard in late summer and fall and are heavily targeted at Blue Mesa and Granby with snagging seasons in tributaries each fall. Mountain whitefish, native and underappreciated, share many trout streams and bite eagerly on small nymphs.

The state's warmwater menu is bigger than visitors expect: walleye, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, white bass, wipers (striper-white bass hybrids), channel catfish, northern pike, tiger muskie, yellow perch, and crappie all thrive in plains reservoirs like Pueblo, Aurora, Cherry Creek, and Chatfield. The state record lake trout is over 50 pounds and the state record largemouth is just over 11 pounds.

Fishing Licenses and Regulations in Colorado

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) manages sport fishing. A license is required for anglers age 16 and older, and kids under 16 fish free. Licenses are sold online through the CPW website, at CPW offices, and at hundreds of license agents including outdoor stores and many gas stations near fishing destinations. Resident annual fishing licenses typically run around $40, and non-resident annual licenses run higher, generally in the $90 to $100 range, with one-day and five-day non-resident options popular among visitors.

A Habitat Stamp is required with most license purchases. A second-rod stamp lets you fish two rods at once. Senior residents 64 and older get reduced-fee licenses, and free or reduced licenses are available for low-income seniors, disabled veterans, and qualifying youth. Special river regulations including catch-and-release, artificial lures only, slot limits, and reduced bag limits apply to Gold Medal Waters and Wild Trout Waters; always check stretch-specific regs before fishing.

Boating regulations require all motorized vessels to undergo aquatic nuisance species (ANS) inspection at most major reservoirs to prevent zebra and quagga mussel introduction. Tribal fishing on the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute reservations requires separate tribal permits.

Best Seasons for Fishing in Colorado

Colorado fishing happens year-round, but altitude and snowpack call the shots. Lower-elevation rivers like the South Platte, Arkansas, and lower Frying Pan fish all winter, with midges and small mayfly nymphs producing through cold months. Spring runoff, generally May through early July depending on snowpack and elevation, blows out most freestone rivers; tailwaters stay clear and fish well. Summer is prime time, with caddis, pale morning duns, green drakes, golden stones, and grasshoppers driving great dry-fly action from June through September.

Fall brings the brown trout pre-spawn run and aggressive streamer fishing in October. High-country alpine lakes generally fish from late June through early October. Kokanee snagging seasons open in late summer at Blue Mesa and Granby. Ice fishing kicks off in late November on smaller plains and mountain lakes and runs through March on bigger lakes; Eleven Mile, Spinney, Antero, and Lake Granby become winter destinations.

CPW stocks tens of millions of trout annually across rivers, lakes, and urban ponds.

Local Fishing Tips for Colorado Anglers

On the South Platte tailwaters, tiny midges (size 22 to 26) under indicators are the daily bread, with RS2s and small Pheasant Tails as backup. The Frying Pan demands mysis shrimp imitations near the dam and standard mayfly nymphs farther down. Brown trout streamers crushed dead-drifted through deep slots produce the biggest fish in October on the Gunnison and Yampa. For high-country alpine lakes, small Adams or Parachute Hopper patterns and a 4-weight rod usually get the job done.

Walleye anglers at Pueblo Reservoir vertical-jig the rocks in spring and troll crankbaits in summer. Lake trout at Blue Mesa take big tubes and jigs in 60 to 100 feet of water year-round, with through-the-ice action in winter. Be aware of altitude effects; fishing at 10,000 feet feels harder than fishing at sea level, and afternoon thunderstorms develop fast in summer. Stream access in Colorado is contentious; the high-water mark rule does not allow wading on many private waters as it does in Montana, so know exactly whose water you're stepping on.

Many of the best stretches run through ranch country, and you can lose the right to wade by stepping onto private banks.

Colorado Fishing FAQ

Sources & Further Reading

• https://cpw.state.co.us/
• https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/Fishing.aspx
• https://cpw.state.co.us/buyapply/Pages/Fishing.aspx
• https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/GoldMedalWaters.aspx