Fishing in Colorado
Water-specific fishing rules and legal methods
How to read Colorado's special fishing regulations for a named lake or river stretch, including methods, closures, limits, and release rules.
Read from general to specific
- Start with the statewide rule for the species and method.
- Find the named water in the special-regulation section.
- Follow the more specific rule for that lake, reservoir, or stretch.
- Check posted closures and signs at the site before fishing.
Words that should make you slow down
Artificial flies and lures only
Natural bait may not fit that rule. Read the current definition before changing hooks or adding scent.
Catch and release
The listed fish should go back promptly. Keep the fish in the water as much as possible.
Closed area or date
A spawning reach, dam area, inlet, or season can be closed even when nearby water is open.
Special size or count
Measure and count under the named-water rule, not the statewide default you remember.
Snagging season
Snagging is not a general fishing method. CPW offers special snagging seasons for kokanee salmon only at listed waters and times.
Signs and current orders matter
A brochure can be updated by a current closure or emergency order. Read signs at the access point and check the managing agency when conditions have changed.
Take this with you
Before you cast
- ✓ You searched the exact water or river stretch in the current brochure.
- ✓ Your bait, lure, fly, hooks, and number of lines fit the rule.
- ✓ You know the keep, release, size, and count rules for the fish.
- ✓ No posted closure or current order changes the plan.
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: Fishing methods, limits, and closures can differ by water and change by season or order. The current CPW listing and posted rules control the day.
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.
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.
Boats and Clean, Drain, Dry
The Colorado checks for boat registration, aquatic nuisance species stamps, inspections, launches, and cleaning gear between waters.