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
American Eel
This species is not fishable.
The American eel is an elongated fish with a single fin that extends down the back, around the tail and up the belly towards the vent. They are usually brown to gray on the back, fading to yellow on the belly. They possess scales so small that it appears like they have skin. Eels possess pectoral fins behind the head but lack pelvic fins.
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Invasive Species
Arctic Char
This species is not fishable.
Arctic char are dark-colored on the back, with light sides, becoming white on the belly. They are covered in red to yellow spots without a blue halo around them. They also lack worm-like vermiculations on the back (as in brook trout). They have a slightly forked tail, and the leading edges of the ventral fins are white.
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Invasive Species
Arkansas Darter
This species is not fishable.
The Arkansas darter is a three-inch cousin of the walleye and yellow perch. Its back has many fine, black specks and a dark, vertical wedge-shaped spot beneath its eye. Its body has 12 to 14 dusky stripes along the sides. In April and May, breeding males are bright orange underneath.
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Arkansas darters are 2½- to 3-inch fish belonging to the perch family. During April and May, the belly of breeding males changes from white to bright orange.
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Invasive Species
Black Bullhead Catfish
This species is not fishable.
The Black Bullhead has a black to olive colored back. Yellowish green sides. Cream to yellow belly. A light bar on base of their tail. Barbels around their mouth. A dorsal fin. Scaleless skin and a rounded tail.
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Invasive Species
Black Crappie
This species is not fishable.
Black Crappie have black to dark olive back, that is slightly more arched than White Crappie. Silver side with dark green/ black blotches.
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The easiest way to determine the difference between a black crappie and a white crappie is to count the number of spines in the dorsal fin. They also have seven to eight spines in their dorsal fin, and white crappie have six. Black crappie have irregularly arranged speckles and blotches in their color pattern as opposed to the faint vertical bars of the white crappie.
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Adult crappie are found in freshwater lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and streams. Crappie prefer cover, such as vegetation, fallen trees or boulders. They often form in large groups, called schools, in clear water among vegetation over mud or sand.
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Invasive Species
Blue Catfish
This species is not fishable.
Blue catfish are bluish to grayish in color with a deeply forked tail. The flanks of blue catfish are not spotted, and they have a light underside.
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Invasive Species
Bluegill
This species is not fishable.
Bluegills have round and flat body. Spines in dorsal and anal fines. Dark olive to green on their backs. Their sides are blended silver-gray, copper, orange, purple or brown. 5 to 9 dark, vertical bars run down their sides. Yellow underside and copper breast. Dark gill spot.
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Invasive Species
Bonytail Chub
This species is not fishable.
**This fish must be returned to the water unharmed as quickly as possible.** Bonytail Chub have gray or olive-colored backs. Silver sides. White bellies, with slight bump behind their head. An extremely thin caudal peduncle (area ahead of tail). The bonytail is the rarest of the endangered, native fish of the Colorado River and is thought to have evolved around 3-5 million years ago. It has large fins and a streamlined body that is pencil-thin near its tail. Its name describes the fish as an elegant swimmer and member of the “chub” group of minnows. The bonytail has a gray or olive-colored back, silver sides, and a white belly. Bonytail can grow to 22 inches or more and have been known to live up to 50 years.
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Bonytails are restricted to warm-water reaches of main-stem streams, but they have been found in reservoirs and backwaters of the Colorado and Green Rivers. They are also captive-reared in ponds.
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Conservation Status Federal: Listed as Endangered in 1980. Colorado: Listed as Endangered and designated Tier 1 Species of Greatest Conservation Need.
Once widespread, bonytail populations declined sharply after construction of dams that resulted in temperature and flow changes and with introduction of non-native fish that compete with and/or prey upon bonytail. USFWS determined that at least 4,400 individuals are needed for a minimum viable population (MVP). If and when a MVP becomes self-sustaining, a five-year monitoring effort must confirm continued existence of the MVP. Three additional years of monitoring and sustainability of the MVP will be required for delisting.
Invasive Species
Brassy Minnow
This species is not fishable.
Adult brassy minnows are 2 ½–3 inches in length and are variously described in color, perhaps due to geographic differences or changes that occur through preservation of specimens. The majority of descriptions include a brassy color on the sides. The enters of their large eyes are even with the tips of their snouts.
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Invasive Species
Brook Trout
This species is not fishable.
Brook trout have olive, blue-gray to black. Bronze to olive sides with red spots tinged light brown. Lower fins are red-orange with white leading edge. Tail slightly forked.
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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.