Fishing in Colorado
Bait and live-bait rules in Colorado
Where ordinary bait is allowed, why chumming is illegal, and how elevation, the Continental Divide, source water, and receipts affect live baitfish.
Ordinary bait
Allowed does not mean allowed everywhere
The statewide starting point
Bait may be used as a fishing aid where permitted. Chumming, which means putting bait in the water mainly to attract fish, is prohibited.
Artificial-only waters
A water marked for artificial flies or lures can exclude natural bait, added scent, or other materials covered by the brochure's definitions.
Search the exact name
A nearby lake can allow worms while the reservoir or river stretch beside it does not.
Live baitfish
The Divide and 7,000 feet change the rule
West of the Continental Divide
Collection, use, and possession of live fish for bait are generally prohibited. Navajo Reservoir is the listed exception.
East above 7,000 feet
Collection, use, and possession of live fish for bait are generally prohibited.
East below 7,000 feet
Wild baitfish generally may be used only in the same body of water where they were collected. They may not be stored or moved elsewhere unless a listed exception applies.
Important exceptions
A few places use a different live-bait path
Six southeastern counties
Baitfish collected for personal use in Baca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero, and Prowers counties may be transported, stored, or used within those six counties, but not outside them.
The upper Arkansas and Watson Lake
Live fish for bait are also prohibited in the Arkansas River above Parkdale and in Watson Lake.
Commercial bait
Live aquatic organisms from a commercial source must travel with a receipt. Importing live aquatic wildlife into Colorado requires CPW authority unless a regulation allows it.
After fishing
Do not dump live bait into another water
Follow the brochure's possession rule and the source-water limit. Drain bait water where directed, dispose of unused bait lawfully, and clean, drain, and dry gear before the next water.
Take this with you
Before you fish with bait
- ✓ The exact water allows the bait or scent you plan to use.
- ✓ You are not chumming.
- ✓ Any live baitfish are lawful for the side of the Divide, elevation, and source water.
- ✓ Commercial bait has its receipt and unused bait will not be released elsewhere.
Official sources and review
Check the current rule before you act
These links go to the agencies that control this part of the trip. Use the exact page, license, listing, map, order, or confirmation for your situation.
Use this carefully: Live-bait rules turn on the exact water, elevation, source, and location. Check the current brochure before collecting, carrying, storing, or using live fish as bait.
Keep going
More about fishing in Colorado
Trout fishing
The statewide trout limit, named-water exceptions, brook trout, protected cutthroat, legal lines, and the rules to check before keeping a fish.
Kokanee and snagging
Ordinary kokanee angling, the narrow snagging exception, statewide limits, fish identification, and the named-water rules that control the season.
Walleye, saugeye, and sauger
The shared statewide limit, the eastern drainage exception, named-water size rules, identification, and ordinary fishing methods.
Northern pike and tiger muskie
The very different statewide limits, fish identification, legal methods, named-water rules, and live-fish restrictions.
Bass, catfish, and panfish
Statewide warm-water limits, shared species groups, western and eastern exceptions, named-water sizes, and fish identification.
Ice fishing
Fishing licenses, tip-ups, second rods, hole size, shelters, fires, exact-water rules, and a calm check on changing ice.
Licenses and limits
Who should check for a Colorado fishing license, how statewide limits work, and why the exact water listing matters before you keep a fish.
Where to fish
How to use the CPW Fishing Atlas, find public access, and check the bank, streambed, parking, and land-manager rules for a Colorado fishing spot.
Rules for the exact water
How to read Colorado's special fishing regulations for a named lake or river stretch, including methods, closures, limits, and release rules.
Boats and Clean, Drain, Dry
The Colorado checks for boat registration, aquatic nuisance species stamps, inspections, launches, and cleaning gear between waters.