Fishing Awards and Records

If an angler catches a fish they believe may have broken the weight record in its species, they can apply to have the fish certified as a new state record. Verified state record applicants will receive a lapel pin.
Angler with large trout
Angler Caryn Feil shows off a bruiser brown trout that she caught at a Gold Medal water.​

Video: Colorado Angler Catches 'Unofficial' Record-Sized Smallmouth Bass

Catch a Record

Fishing Awards and Records

Colorado Parks and Wildlife recognizes licensed anglers who catch exceptionally large fish through three separate programs, Record by Weight, Record by Length (released only) and Master Angler.​​​​​

Old Length Records

Prior to January 2020, the fish that were considered for the Records by Length program came through our Master Angler program.  To view state records that existed before January 2020, please see the Heritage Master Angler Length Awards below.

Catch a Record

Fish Records by Length

In this program, records are by length (inches). To qualify for a fish length record, anglers must release the fish. This program requires anglers to follow specific steps for record submission and acceptance.

    The angler will fill out and return the application form (PDF), provide a picture of the fish on a measuring device, and have a witness sign the application. This will be mailed to the Assistant Chief of Hatcheries in Denver.

    To accurately measure a fish for a length record:

    • You MUST place the fish directly on the measuring device (ruler, tape measure, etc.). As pictured above, the measuring device shall be behind or under the fish and not following the curvature of the fish.
    • You MUST align the fish at a clearly marked area of the measuring device. In the image above, the 1-inch mark is used to clearly and accurately indicate the starting point for measurement.
    • You MUST place fish on its side with the jaw closed.
    • You MUST squeeze the tail fin together to obtain the maximum overall length.
    • You MUST measure a straight line from the tip of the snout to the extreme tip of the tail fin.

    IMPORTANT: When applying for a state record by length, the fish must be greater than the length of the current record fish, or if there is no current record, the fish must be greater than the qualifying length, both of which are listed in the table below.

    How to measure a fish's length

    Applications can be sent to:

    Record Fish Program
    Colorado Parks and Wildlife
    Attention: Assistant Chief of Hatcheries
    6060 Broadway, Denver CO 80216

    NOTE: Northern pike and smallmouth bass caught in waters west of the Continental Divide will only be recognized for the State Record by Weight category. 

    Catch a Record

    Fish Records by Weight

    For each of 49 different species of fish, this program tracks the heaviest fish ever caught in the state of Colorado. If an angler catches a large fish that they believe may have broken the weight record in its species, there is a series of steps that must be taken to have the fish certified as a new state record. Verified state record applicants will receive a lapel pin.

    This is the oldest of Colorado's fishing recognition programs.

      The angler will fill out and return the application form (PDF) and meet the weight record requirements below. This will be mailed to the Assistant Chief of Hatcheries in Denver. To weigh your fish, please visit any state-certified scale at any of the four Colorado Parks and Wildlife regional offices.  

      To apply for a weight record:

      • Potential record holders must have a valid Colorado fishing license, or be under the age of 18.
      • The catch must be made in Colorado in compliance with all state fishing rules and regulations.
      •  The fish in question must be weighed on a state-certified scale (lbs and oz), and there must be either a weight receipt or picture of the fish on the scale with the weight visible, signed by a person who witnessed the weighing. 
      • The fish may not be frozen, gutted, or altered in any way. 
      • The fish must be examined and identified, and the application signed by a CPW employee before an application is submitted. 
      • * The employee must fill out and return the application form to the Assistant Chief of Hatcheries in Denver with a picture of the fish on the scale showing the weight, weight receipt of fish when possible, and a picture of the fish on a length-measuring device.

      Applications can be sent to:

      Record Fish Program
      Colorado Parks and Wildlife
      Attention: Assistant Chief of Hatcheries
      6060 Broadway, Denver CO 80216

      Catch a Record

      Master Angler Awards

      Anglers who catch a qualifying-length fish will receive a Master Angler certificate and patch. There are 43 categories of species recognized in this program, and there can be more than one master angler award given in each category every year. Master Angler recognizes anglers for success in their sport, as well as to promote the conservation of fishery resources and quality trophy sized sport fish.

        MasterAngler.png

        Anglers who wish to receive a Master Angler Award must submit an application detailing the catch. Only one patch per angler will be awarded each year. However, anglers who submit more than one entry will receive a certificate for each accepted additional entry. 

        1. Paper forms will not be accepted. 
        2. Fish must be hooked, played and landed on sport tackle by the entrant. Fish that are snagged, speared or shot with a bow are not eligible. 
        3. Only fish caught in Colorado are eligible for entry and must be submitted within 60 days of the catch.
        4. The catch must be made in Colorado in compliance with all state fishing regulations and be submitted within 60 days of being caught.
        5. How to measure: Close fish’s mouth and measure from the tip of jaw to the tip of the tail with measuring device behind the fish and not following the curvature of the fish. This is the total length.
        How to measure a fish's length

        Qualifying Lengths

        SPECIES
         
        ​LENGTH (inches)
         
        TROUT
         
        ​Arctic Char
         
        ​18
         
        ​Brook
         
        ​16
         
        ​Brown
         
        ​22
         
        ​Cutbow
         
        ​22
         
        ​Golden
         
        ​16
         
        ​Grayling
         
        ​15
         
        ​Lake
         
        ​32
         
        ​​Native Cutthroat
         
        ​20
         
        ​Snake River Cutthroat
         
        ​​20
         
        ​Splake
         
        ​20
         
        ​Rainbow
         
        ​24
         
        ​Tiger
         
        ​18
         
        SALMON & WHITEFISH​
         
        ​Chinook
         
        ​28
         
        ​Kokanee (angling only)
         
        ​20
         
        Mountain Whitefish
         
        ​15
         
        ​CATFISH
         
        ​Blue
         
        ​30
         
        ​Black Bullhead
         
        ​14
         
        ​​Brown Bullhead
         
        ​​14
         
        ​Channel
         
        ​​30
         
        ​Flathead
         
        ​30
         
        ​PIKE
        ​Northern
         
        ​36
         
        ​Tiger Muskie
         
        ​40
         
        ​PERCH
         
        ​​​Sacramento
         
        ​12
         
        Sauger
         
        ​16
         
        ​Saugeye
         
        ​26
         
        Yellow
         
        ​12
         
        ​Walleye
         
        ​26
         
        ​BASS
         
        ​​​Hybrid Striped (Wiper)
         
        ​​25
         
        ​​Largemouth
         
        ​18
         
        Smallmouth
         
        ​17
         
        ​Spotted
         
        ​18
         
        ​Striped
         
        ​28
         
        ​Rock
         
        ​10
         
        White
         
        ​17
         
        ​CARP & SUCKERS
         
        ​Common Carp
         
        ​30
         
        ​Grass Carp
         
        ​30
         
        ​Longnose Sucker
         
        ​18
         
        White Sucker
         
        ​22
         
        ​Tench
         
        ​18
         
        DRUM
         
        ​Freshwater Drum
         
        ​​20
         
        ​SUNFISH
         
        ​Bluegill
         
        ​10
         
        ​Green Sunfish
         
        ​10
         
        ​Hybrid Sunfish
         
        ​10
         
        ​Redear Sunfish
         
        ​12
         
        ​CRAPPIE
         
        ​Black
         
        ​14
         
        ​White
         
        ​14
         

        Current and Historical Record Holders

          Current Fishing Records by Length

          Spotted Bass

          18.00

          2021

          None

          No current record holder.

          Tench

          18.00

          2021

          None

          No current record holder.

          Tiger Muskie

          41.50

          2023

          Clear Creek Reservoir

          Kevin Snell

          Tiger Trout

          20.25

          2022

          South Platte River

          Kolton Paulson

          Walleye

          31.00

          2023

          Rifle Gap Reservoir

          Steven Stanton

          White Bass

          17.00

          2021

          None

          No current record holder.

          White Crappie

          15.75

          2023

          Pueblo Reservoir

          Pam Mitzner

          White Sucker

          22.00

          2021

          None

          No current record holder.

          Wiper

          28.50

          2023

          Pueblo Reservoir

          Gary Nussbaum II

          Yellow Perch

          14.75

          2024

          Rifle Gap Reservoir

          Kyle Gonyea

          Current Fishing Records by Weight

          Spotted Bass

          4.49

          2005

          Valco Ponds (Pueblo Co.)

          Michael Hardin

          Tench

          5.38

          1998

          Home Lake, Rio Grande County

          Craig Curtis

          Tiger Muskie

          40.13

          1994

          Quincy Reservoir

          Jason Potter

          Tiger Trout

          10.25

          2017

          Rowdy Lake (Gunnison County)

          Chris Aguilar

          Walleye

          18.81

          1997

          Standley Lake(Jefferson County)

          Scott Regan

          White Bass

          4.44

          1963

          Blue Lake (Bent/Kiowa County)

          Pedro Martinez

          White Crappie

          4.00

          1975

          Northglenn Lake (Adams County)

          Daryel Thompson

          White Sucker

          5.42

          2011

          Aurora Reservoir

          Jay Grupp

          Wiper

          26.94

          2004

          Pueblo Reservoir

          Kevin Treanor

          Yellow Perch

          2.56

          2007

          Seaman Reservoir, (Larimer County)

          Justin Allbrandt

          The Heritage Master Angler Length Awards are a culmination of the largest fish of each species that was submitted through our Master Angler program from its inception through 2019.

          Heritage Master Angler Fish Awards

          Arctic Char

          26 7/8 inches

          Mount Massive Lakes

          Chuck Kubin

          Bluegill

          13 1/2 inches

          Sawhill Ponds

          Johnathan Lambert

          Blue Catfish

          35 inches

          Pueblo Reservoir

          Ben Tarver

          Brook Trout

          26 inches

          Gunnison River

          Mark Armstrong

          Brook Trout

          ​26 inches

          ​Crystal Lake

          Garrett McBride

          Brown Trout

          38 inches

          Colorado River

          Darrel Armstrong

          Black Bullhead Catfish

          22 inches

          Chatfield Ponds

          Brian Koprowski

          Channel Catfish

          42 inches

          Chatfield Reservoir

          John Fennell

          Common Carp

          42 inches

          Denver Pond

          David Torri

          Common Carp

          42 inches

          Chatfield Reservoir

          David Dashnaw

          Crappie

          19 1/2 inches

          Panama in Boulder Co.

          Ray Clusman

          Cutbow

          33 1/2 inches

          Gunnison River

          Patrick Duke

          Cutthroat Trout, Snake River

          31 inches

          Taylor River

          Sean Surniak

          Cutthroat (Native) Trout

          30 inches

          South Park

          Jack Duerson

          Flathead Catfish

          36 inches

          ​Lake Windsor

          ​Michael Nelson

          Freshwater Drum

          32 inches

          Jumbo Reservoir

          Keith Thompson

          Grass Carp

          46 1/2 inches

          Rock Creek Ponds

          Rory Chinatti

          Grayling (Arctic)

          20 1/2 inches

          High Lake- Collegiate Peaks

          Chris Wylde

          Green Sunfish

          11 7/8 inches

          Private Lake - Loveland

          Vincent Gigliotti

          Kokanee Salmon

          28 inches

          South Platte River

          Richard Eppard

          Lake Trout

          46 7/8 inches

          Morrow Point Reservoir

          Ryan VanLanen

          Largemouth Bass

          28 inches

          Rocky Mt. Arsenal

          Derek Mitchell

          Longnose Sucker

          22 inches

          Arkansas River

          Steven Fieldman

          Northern Pike

          48 inches

          Navajo Lake

          Dennis Bruce

          Pumpkinseed Sunfish

          10 3/4 inches

          Standley Lake

          Joey Slagle

          Rainbow Trout

          40 1/4 inches

          Taylor River

          Tony Felicilda

          Saugeye

          29 inches

          Bear Creek Reservoir

          Jim Jannicke

          Smallmouth Bass

          25 inches

          Private Lake - Weld County

          Sara Slagle

          Splake

          32 inches

          Horsetooth Reservoir

          Matt Snider

          Spotted Bass

          25 inches

          Private Pond in Longmont

          Forrest Carpenter

          Tiger Muskie

          58 inches

          Quincy Reservoir

          Tyler Snyder

          Tiger Trout

          28 inches

          Bar 2X Ranch - Gunnison County

          Trevor Nazzaro

          Yellow Perch

          17 inches

          North Poudre Reservoir

          Jeff Slatter

          Walleye

          38 inches

          Private Lake - Weld County

          Sara Slagle

          White Bass

          24 inches

          Welch Reservoir

          Neal Elmore

          Mountain Whitefish

          21 1/2 inches

          Roaring Fork River

          Justin Edge

          White Sucker

          22 1/2 inches

          Chatfield Reservoir

          Shaun Ross

          Wiper

          34 1/2 inches

          Bingham Lake

          John Fennell