Know Your Fish
Fishing in Colorado means opportunity and chance to catch some 35 species of both warm- and cold-water fish. You can fish for the famed rainbow trout in a cool Rocky Mountain stream or troll for walleye on a sunny plains reservoir. And Colorado offers everything in between, too.
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Invasive Species
Walleye
This species is not fishable.
Walleye are silver or golden to dark olive brown in color. Dark spot at the base of the three last spines in the dorsal fin. White spot on the bottom lobe of the tail. Teeth are sharp canine shape.
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Invasive Species
White Bass
This species is not fishable.
White Bass are bright silver. 6 to 8 distinct, uninterrupted black stripes on their side. Front portion of their dorsal fin is hard-spined, separated from soft-rayed rear section. Lower jaw protrudes beyond their snout.
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Invasive Species
White Crappie
This species is not fishable.
White Crappie are greenish to dark olive on their back with purple to emerald reflections. Their sides are silvery green with 7 to 9 dark vertical bars. Anal fin is nearly as large as the dorsal.
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Invasive Species
White Sucker
This species is not fishable.
White suckers are a robust species with a snout that barely overhangs the ventral mouth. The mouth has a thick upper lip and lacks an indentation where the upper and lower lips meet. The lower lip has a deep median indentation. They also have large scales relative to other Colorado suckers. The dorsal fin is not falcate (curved like a sickle) in shape.
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Invasive Species
Wiper
This species is not fishable.
Wiper Bass have a dark gray or silvery blue body. 6 to 8 thick dark horizontal broken stripes run above and below the lateral line. Wiper Bass have a deep, flat body. Small head and distinct back arch.
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A cross between a striped bass and a white bass, wipers can be distinguished from striped bass by the broken, rather than solid horizontal stripes on the sides of their body. Wipers also grow rapidly and exhibit greater strength and vitality than either parent species – traits fishery biologists call “hybrid vigor.” Depending on forage conditions, wipers can grow up to seven pounds by three years of age and reach in excess of 20 pounds at 10 years of age.
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Invasive Species
Yellow Perch
This species is not fishable.
Yellow Perch have 6 to 9 dark, vertical bars on top of bright yellowish green to orange color on their side. Long dorsal with two distinct lobes. Lower fins have a yellow to orange tinge.
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Researching Colorado Waters
Aquatic Research
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Aquatic Research Section provides a combination of field and laboratory experimentation to answer statewide fisheries management questions and manages aquatic species.
Aquatic Health Lab
The Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory provides in-house support and diagnostic services, including Bacteriology, Molecular testing, Whirling disease testing, Virology and Parasitology.
Aquatic Toxicology Lab
The Aquatic Toxicology Lab conducts experiments that help inform decision makers and managers about pollution and water quality risks.
Hatcheries
CPW operates 19 fish hatcheries, where over 90 million fish per year are bred, hatched, reared and stocked. This includes over 30 different species of fish as well as the boreal toad.