Fishing in Colorado
Fishing licenses and catch 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.
Start with the person, then the water
The angler
People age 16 or older generally need to buy and carry a current license. Residents age 16 or 17 have a youth license; nonresidents age 16 or older use a nonresident adult product.
Youth under 16
They may fish without a license and may take a full bag and possession limit. They still follow every method, species, size, closure, and named-water rule.
The license year
An annual fishing license is valid from March 1 through March 31 of the following year. Read the dates printed on a short-term product.
The Habitat Stamp has an age range
People age 18 through 64 generally need one Habitat Stamp for the license year when buying a fishing license. The first two one-day or additional-day licenses are an exception, and some disability or lifetime products work differently.
Bag and possession are different
Daily bag
This is the most fish you may take in one day. A fish on a stringer, in a cooler, or kept in a live well counts even if you later give it away.
Possession
This is the most you may have at one time in the field, in transport, or in storage. Frozen, smoked, canned, or otherwise preserved fish count until they are eaten.
The exact water
Statewide totals are defaults. A named water can have a different count, protected size, season, method, or release rule.
A second line needs a second-rod stamp
CPW allows an angler to use a second rod, hand line, or tip-up after buying the stamp. The stamp does not add another bag limit, and youth fishing with a second line need the stamp too.
When you are not sure what you caught
Do not guess your way into a harvest rule. Keep a current fish-identification source handy, take a clear photo, and release the fish promptly when the rule or species is uncertain.
Take this with you
Before you keep a fish
- ✓ The angler's current license and stamps are settled.
- ✓ You found the exact water in the current brochure.
- ✓ You can identify the species and know the size and count rules.
- ✓ You know whether that water requires release or limits the method.
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: License products, fees, dates, limits, and special regulations can change. Confirm the current CPW Fishing Brochure and the exact water listing before fishing or keeping a catch.
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.
Bait and live bait
Where ordinary bait is allowed, why chumming is illegal, and how elevation, the Continental Divide, source water, and receipts affect live baitfish.
Ice fishing
Fishing licenses, tip-ups, second rods, hole size, shelters, fires, exact-water rules, and a calm check on changing ice.
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.