Colorado Trout Fishing an Exciting Adventure

Colorado trout fishing is a sport anyone can enjoy. You do not need an expensive boat, depth locator, a pH meter, a guide or any other costly items. Just bring a spinning or spin casting outfit, a box of hooks, some night crawlers and a pair of hip boots. For those 16 and older, a fishing license and a trout stamp is required. It is important to know which streams to fish and to be able to identify different trout species. There are several trout species in Colorado. The Brown, the Rainbow, the Kokanne Salmon and the Lake trout are found in the Colorado streams.

Cutthroat (Native) Trout have a crimson slash on either side of the throat beneath the lower jaw. The greenback cutthroat trout sub-species was designated as the official state fish of Colorado in 1994. Brown Trout has spotting pattern that is made up of black spots and red-orange spots inside light blue circles. Rainbow Trout has identifying marks which are black spots on a light body and a red stripe along the sides of the fish. The pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins of a Brook Trout are often orange, edged with black and white. The body is dark with white and red spots inside blue circles. The Kokanee Salmon is a very interesting trout. At the end of their third summer, the females develop a red-gray-white pattern while the males develop a hook jaw and turn brick red. The Lake Trout (Mackinaw) has a white, irregular spot pattern on a dark body and veriform markings over the back and head. Unlike other trout, they have a deeply indented tail fin.

Get a map of the area you are going to fish and make sure that you are actually fishing in trout water. One of the biggest mistakes first time trout hunters make is using the wrong equipment. Use monofilament line no heavier than 6 pound test in cloudy or muddy water and no heavier than 4 pound test in clear water. Fill your reel spool with backing (some heavy line) and put about 30 yards of lighter line at the end. Use # 10 to #14 hooks. Do not use use long shank sunfish hooks. You should make sure you reel is clean so your line flows smoothly off the spool.

Colorado has some of the best trout streams. A large number of rainbow trouts can be found in Animas River. The Durango River has a slow flowing stream. A reservation fishing permit is needed if you want to fish in this stream east of Durango is Piedra River. Large Brown trouts and Rainbow trouts are abundant in this stream. It's highly likely that you will see wildlife such as bears, deer, and elk in this rocky area. The Dolores River is a great place to find Cutthroat, Brown and Rainbow trouts . Although the river is fishable year round, look out for freezes in the upstream area during the winter season. As they say, good fishing!