A young man reels in a fish at Kriley Pond in Golden Gate Canyon State Park.

Colorado's Quality Waters

Plan your next fishing trip on a Colorado Quality Water!

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is excited to announce a new category of fishable waters that our talented team of fish management biologists has identified and nominated based on their fish sampling records, creel surveys, and professional biological assessments. The list is called Colorado Quality Waters. These waters are below the threshold to be considered Gold Medal, but they are recognized because of their fantastic and diverse fisheries.

Learn more about Colorado Quality Waters.

Colorado's Newest Gold Medal Waters

Years of consideration and conservation work all led to a golden moment for two pristine rivers in central Colorado.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission recently welcomed the Gunnison and Taylor Rivers as the newest Gold Medal trout fisheries in the state.

Learn more about the Watch the video or read more about the new Gold Medal Waters designation.

Fishing Licenses & Events

Fishing Brochure

NEW My CPW App

Example of My CPW login screen and fishing license front display on phone

My CPW is the official mobile app for CPW’s license and pass purchasing website CPWshop.com and includes access to: A list of active products on your CPWShop.com account, CPWShop mobile purchases, links to fishing reports, PDFs of the most recent brochures, and more (available to residents and nonresidents). Download from Apple App Store or Google Play.

Colorado Fishing

Fishing in Colorado equals opportunities to catch some 35 species of warm-water and cold-water fish. You can fish for a rainbow trout in a cool Rocky Mountain stream or troll for walleye on a sunny plains reservoir. Colorado offers everything in between, too. Choose to fish anywhere in 6,000 miles of streams and more than 1,300 lakes and reservoirs.

Annual fishing licenses are valid March 1 through March 31 (13 months). CPW provides a range of options for anglers from the annual fishing license to the one-day fishing license. Youth under age 16 fish for free. Buy a fishing license today!

CPW provides opportunities to learn how to fish throughout the season. Check the calendar for upcoming clinics.