Ridgway Reservoir Smallmouth Bass Classic returns July 5 through Aug. 10

John Livingston
Southwest Region Public Information Officer
970-759-9590 / [email protected]
@CPW_SW

June 23, 2025

RIDGWAY, Colo. – Prize money has doubled for the return of the smallmouth bass harvest incentive tournament this year at Ridgway State Park's reservoir.

The 2025 Ridgway Reservoir Smallmouth Bass Classic will open at 7 a.m. July 5 and continue until 6 p.m. Aug. 10. This is the 10th edition of the tournament.

In 2024, the tournament moved from being conducted annually to an every-other-year format. That has allowed Colorado Parks and Wildlife to raise the available prize money for each tournament.

“This is a great opportunity for anglers to not only win cash prizes for smallmouth bass fishing, but it allows them to play an integral role in helping us achieve management goals and suppress the population of these invasive fish,” said CPW aquatic biologist Eric Gardunio. “We are hopeful that the larger prize purse will increase participation to help us with those goals.”

The total prize purse for this year’s tournament will be $20,000. The angler who harvests the most smallmouth bass will earn $10,000. Second place will receive $5,000, and third place will take home $1,000.

There will also be three tagged smallmouth bass that are worth $1,000 for any angler who turns in those fish.

Each smallmouth bass turned in will also count as an entry into a raffle to be held at the end of the tournament. The grand prize is $500 with five additional raffle prizes of $100 each. The anglers who win first, second or third place for most fish caught will be exempt from the raffle drawing.

“This allows any angler who turns even one fish in during the tournament window to be eligible for a cash prize,” Gardunio said.

The tournament has been effective at helping CPW reduce the population of smallmouth bass in the reservoir in an effort to protect native fish and water users downstream of the reservoir. The total tournament record was set during the 2022 tournament, when 5,500 fish were harvested.

Smallmouth bass, introduced illegally to Ridgway Reservoir, are predatory fish that can survive in western Colorado rivers, including the Uncompahgre River which flows from the reservoir. There is a risk of smallmouth bass escaping from the reservoir into the river where they could reproduce and consume native fish species that are found nowhere else in the world. Smallmouth bass have escaped other impoundments in western Colorado and are adversely affecting populations of native fish in several rivers.

There are no bag or possession limits on smallmouth bass at Ridgway Reservoir, and there are no daily time restrictions on angling within the official tournament period.

All smallmouth bass must be turned in at the Fish Drop Box located next to the fish cleaning station at the Ridgway Reservoir boat ramp. It will be open from noon July 5 to 6 p.m. Aug. 10.

This is a smallmouth bass only tournament. Anglers may possess other species as allowed by Colorado Fishing Regulations, but they may not be entered in the tournament.

CPW will accept either an entire bass carcass or just the head if anglers wish to keep the meat. Carcasses turned in for the tournament will be considered a donation to CPW and will be utilized for research purposes. Anglers who choose to turn in heads only should prepare the edible portions of their bass for human consumption per CPW angling regulations.

Participating anglers must turn smallmouth bass carcasses or heads into the drop box and are responsible for following the rules of the drop box for fish to be counted in the tournament. The drop box will include instructions for use, bags for fish carcasses and fish registration cards. The fish registration cards must be filled out in their entirety, signed and placed into the carcass bag each time fish are turned into the drop box in order to be counted in the tournament.

Participants more than 16 years old will need a valid Colorado fishing license as well as a valid Colorado State Parks pass to enter Ridgway State Park.
 
Ridgway State Park, located about 20 miles south of Montrose in southwest Colorado, is one of the state’s most beautiful parks. Camping, playgrounds, hiking trails, picnic areas, a swim beach, boating and river fishing are available.

Boaters are reminded that their craft must be cleaned, drained and dry before entering the reservoir at Ridgway State Park. All boats are subject to inspection for aquatic nuisance species.
 
For more information about the park and to make camping reservations, go to: https://cpw.state.co.us/state-parks/ridgway-state-park.