Rendezvous 2017 Recap

This past weekend, over 100 chapter leaders, volunteers, Trout Unlimited staff, and partners joined Colorado TU in Keystone for the annual Rendezvous spring meeting. This year the theme was Homewaters where participants learned more about specific issues that are affecting not only their homewaters, but the homewaters of all Colorado chapters. These issues included mining projects, protecting public lands, creating healthy urban watersheds, connecting local communities to their homewaters, partnering with agriculture, and learning about water laws in Colorado. Participants in the weekend heard from National TU staff, chapter leaders, professionals in the related fields, and locals from various watersheds throughout the state. Each session focused on various aspects of each issue affecting watersheds all over. The presentations from various sessions can be found on the Rendezvous page!

Included in the presentations from National TU Staff was the keynote speaker at the Saturday Night Banquet, TU President and CEO, Chris Wood. Wood spoke about the future of TU in the midst of an uncertain political climate. Wood reassured everyone that TU will continue to not only defend our prized fisheries and public lands but go on the offense and fight for protections of areas. We will also make sure we are working for our trout and salmon as opposed to working party lines.

The banquet also included the presentation of chapter, volunteer leadership, and partner awards. The awards included:

• John Connolly Outstanding Chapter Communications Award:  West Denver Chapter
• Exemplary Youth Education Award:  Gunnison Angling Society
• Exemplary Project Award:  Dolores River Anglers
• Outstanding Volunteer Awards:  Mark Hanson, Dustin McCory, Tim Toohey
• Exemplary Chapter Award:  Five Rivers Chapter
• Distinguished Service Award:  Gil Hassinger
• Exemplary Guide & Outfitter Awards:  Telluride Outside, Trouts Fly Fishing
• Trout Conservation Award:  Paul Bruchez
• Bruce Hoagland Award for Leadership in Conservation:  Buck Skillen
• Silver Trout Foundation also recognized Rick Matsumoto and John Aaron with the Silver Trout Award.

The weekend started off with the a Cast N' Sip event where guests were treated to a "Seven Deadly Sins of Casting" presentation by Johnathan Walters. Afterwards everyone could apply their newfound knowledge and participate in casting games like tic-tac-toe. Beer was provided for the event by Upslope Brewing Company.

New to this year's Rendezvous was a poster session in which chapters from around the state made a poster highlighting their chapter and the work they've accomplished over the last year. Throughout the weekend, guests were able to walk around and read the posters to gain a better of understanding of what each chapter is doing on their homewaters.

Saturday morning, before the Homewaters sessions began, Colorado TU held it's spring board meeting. The council went over the current "State of CTU" and discussed other pressing topics including the Parks and Wildlife Financial Sustainability Bill.

Also at the board meeting, the Council awarded six Gomolchak mini-grants from CTU to help with a chapter project. The following chapters were awarded grants of $1,000 for their specific project.

• Cheyenne Mountain: Greenback youth education publication.
• Colorado River Headwaters: Fraser Flats project.
• Gore Range: Blue River Explorer hike.
• West Denver: Clear Creek Habitat Improvement Project.
• The Greenbacks: Rock Creek-Black Canyon greenback barrier design & construction.
• Denver Chapter:  South Platte Stream Management Plan.

At Rendezvous each year the election of CTU's Board of Directors takes place and this year the positions up for election were the President and Vice President. Former Vice President, Cam Chandler, was elected as President of the Board of Directors. While former Director-at-Large, Dick Jefferies, was elected Vice President of the Council.

Congrats to our Spring Raffle Winner

Congrats to the 2017 Statewide Raffle Winner, Doug Nielsen. Doug is the winner of a two-day, one-night float trip through the Gold Medal waters of the Gunnison Gorge for two with Black Canyon Anglers. The trip also includes one night’s lodging and dinner for two at Gunnison River Farms the night prior to the launch.

The Gunnison Gorge is home to some of the state’s Gold Medal Waters and is a world-class fishery for large rainbow and brown trout. And is one of the best fishing trips in the lower 48 states.

Black Canyon Anglers have been guiding on the Gunny for over a decade and have knowledge about the fishing, geology, and wildlife in the area. Along with the excellent fishing, there is beautiful scenery and the occasional encounters with big horn sheep, mule deer, river otters, and eagles.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the raffle, helping Colorado TU raise over $7,000 that will go towards on-the-ground projects to help protect and restore Colorado’s fisheries and watersheds.

Support Sustainable Funding for Colorado's Fish and Wildlife

The Colorado General Assembly is taking up legislation – HB 17-1321 – to authorize the Parks and Wildlife Commission to have the power to set its own fee rates, up to a specified cap, instead of the Colorado Legislature setting all fees. This action would enable them to increase fishing and hunting license fees in order to provide needed funds to maintain fish and wildlife management and to meet growing demands for habitat conservation and for hunting and fishing access. While the bill provides a needed financial boost to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), it does include limitations on using these funds for fee title land and water purchases – limiting an important tool in CPW’s tool box for protecting habitat, improving stream flows, and securing access. You can help by contacting your state Representative – today – and letting them know that you support increasing CPW funding, and that you believe CPW should retain authority to purchase land and water to benefit fish and wildlife.  The most effective way to make your voice heard it to call your Representative directly – using your address, you can look up your Representative and their contact information here.  Or you can quickly comment using our email template by clicking here. 

Colorado TU’s Board of Directors has voted to support HB 1321.  Since 2009, CPW has cut or defunded fifty staff positions and sliced $40 million from the wildlife budget. Without new revenue, more painful cuts are inevitable.This bill gives the Parks and Wildlife Commission authority to set fees, within a cap set at a 50% increase from current levels.  Importantly, it allows future license fees to be adjusted gradually over time to keep up with inflation rather than needing the legislature to approve larger increases every few years. The bill would also allow out-of-state fishing license fees for Colorado to be increased to bring Colorado’s pricing in line with peer states like Montana, Wyoming, and Utah. A senior fishing license (not more than half the regular price) would also be re-instituted.  The bill also would add a new sticker and fee program for boats, to help finance inspections for aquatic nuisance species.  You can read more about the bill here.

While the bill provides much-needed financial support for CPW, it also includes language limiting the agency’s purchase of fee title land and water. While such permanent purchases of land and water are not frequent, they are important – for example for expanding or establishing new state parks, obtaining water rights to benefit fisheries, or protecting key wildlife habitat if a landowner wishes to sell their property rather than putting under conservation easement.

Please tell your Representative to support HB 1321’s enhanced funding for CPW, and also to support CPW’s ability to use purchase land and water to benefit fish, wildlife and recreation in Colorado.

2017 Rendezvous: Homewaters

Registration is now open for 2017 Rendezvous! The agenda for Rendezvous Weekend can be viewed here!

Rendezvous will also be featuring a Women's Weekend complete with massages, brunch, and much more!

This is the largest annual meeting held in Colorado for TU members, chapters, leaders and supporters. This 3-day weekend is packed with workshops, presentations on important conservation issues and current projects, the annual business meeting for Colorado TU where new officers will be elected, plenty of time for networking, sharing ideas and socializing, and a Saturday evening banquet featuring delicious food and presentation of CTU's annual awards plus a keynote address from National TU CEO/President Chris Wood. This weekend is great for all members (new and old), chapter leaders and anyone interested in what Trout Unlimited in Colorado needs to accomplish this year to protect our cold water resources.

The theme for Rendezvous 2017 is Homewaters. Colorado contains 24 local chapters with their own homewater rivers and streams that all face unique challenges and issues. This year's Rendezvous will help chapter leaders and TU members tackle the issues happening in their own backyard with help from National and Colorado TU staff,  industry experts and organizational partners! From agriculture partnerships to mine drainage to urban rivers, we'll have sessions covering all different types of challenges facing our rivers so those in attendance can take back to their chapter useful information on protecting and restoring their local homewaters and fisheries.

We have lined up speakers this year that will help us explore solutions, inspire new ideas, and develop projects on your chapter's local waterways. We also want each chapter to share their homewater projects and success stories with us! New this year, we will be featuring a Poster Session that will be set up all weekend including for the Saturday night cocktail hour. These posters will help share each chapter's stories on the projects and issues facing their homewater streams. We hope that all 24 chapters are represented in this poster board session (even if no one from the chapter can make Rendezvous, we hope you can send a poster board to share your local work with other TU members!). Please contact Shannon Kindle for details on the poster session!

Friday afternoon will consist of a Chapter Leaders Summit that will address the challenges facing all chapters from retaining members, to developing projects, to diversifying your membership. Friday evening we will hold a social event complete with beer, heavy hors d'eouvres, and casting! There will be a silent auction plus fly casting demos, instruction, and contests for a chance to win some awesome prizes and connect with other TU members and professionals. On Saturday, we will hold the CTU board meeting and begin our Homewaters workshops. The Saturday night banquet will feature a delicious meal and presentation of CTU's annual awards to chapters and volunteers for their distinguished work. We will also be hosting Trout Unlimited CEO and President, Chris Wood, as the keynote speaker.

Sunday morning will contain more Homewaters workshops and a chance to network with other chapter and state leaders. This is a weekend you don't want to miss!

For more information, please contact Shannon Kindle SKindle@tu.org.

Antiquities Act and why should outdoorsmen care?

By Corey Fisher, Pulib Lands Policy Director What are national monuments and why should hunters and anglers care?

National monuments and the Antiquities Act have been in the news lately, with members of Congress pushing the Trump Administration to repeal some national monuments, and a renewed call in the halls of Congress to dismantle the act.

These discussions are usually somewhat abstract and exactly what a national monument is leaves many of us scratching our heads. But for sportsmen and women, there are a few things to know about national monuments and the act used to establish them:

1. National monuments are created when a presidential issues a proclamation designating a national monument out of existing public lands. Signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, sixteen U.S. presidents – eight Democrats and eight Republicans – have used the Antiquities Act to protect some of the nation’s best public land hunting and fishing opportunities. National monuments are not a “land grab” as some opponents erroneously claim; these lands are already owned American public.

2. The Antiquities Act helps keep our public land like it is, preventing changes that would negatively impact our hunting and fishing heritage. Importantly, each proclamation designating a national monument is different, and each one identifies the values that are to be protected for that specific area, including fish, wildlife, and hunting and angling. For instance, the 2015 proclamation designating Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in California listed trout, salmon, steelhead, elk and mule deer as monument features and noted that the area is important for “recreation opportunities, including hunting, fishing”. In doing so, by law these values will be conserved.

3. National Monuments protect quality hunting and fishing opportunities on public lands. Many monuments allow traditional uses to continue, including hunting and fishing; here’s a list. In short, uses that were allowed before a monument is created are typically allowed after a monument is created, while future activities would degrade fish and wildlife habitat – such as mining or oil and gas development – are not allowed except where there are already valid existing rights.

4. The Antiquities Act is needed more today than ever. In today’s Congress, even widely supported, bi-partisan proposals can get wrapped up in unrelated political fights, but the Antiquities Act offers a path forward to see conservation initiatives through when Congress won’t act. For instance, Browns Canyon National Monuments in Colorado was designated in 2015 after over two decades of unsuccessful legislative proposals from both Republican and Democratic members of Colorado’s Congressional delegation. If the authority for a president to designate a monument were taken away, legislation to conserve Browns’ Canyon would still be languishing in Congress.

5. In the West, national monuments are usually managed by a multiple use public land management agency, commonly the Forest Service or BLM. A designation typically doesn’t change who manages public lands, only what features will be conserved, such as fish and wildlife habitat. Importantly, modern monument proclamations explicitly state that fish and wildlife management authority will be retained by fish and wildlife management agencies, just as it was prior to designation.

6. Monuments ensure the public has a voice in the management of their public lands. When developing a management plan, agencies are required to involve the public, including consultation with tribal, state, and local governments. The process for developing monument management plans is the same process used to create management plans for other public lands, with public input at the beginning of the process and a draft plan that is made available for review and comment before a final decision is made.

7. Today, Congress is trying to dismantle this important tool. Congress has shown a renewed interest in repealing the act outright, or creating hurdles to monument designation that would render the act useless. One such bill in the Senate, S. 437, places a higher bar for the approval of monuments than Wilderness, even though national monuments are a far less restrictive designation.

8. You can help. Theodore Roosevelt was the father of the Antiquities Act and it is critical that hunters and anglers speak up in support of this important tool for conservation – take action today and tell Congress don’t mess with Teddy’s law.

Behind the Fin: Jason Groves

How long have you been a TU member? I joined Trout Unlimited five years ago while attending law school in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Why did you become a member and what chapter are you involved with?

I first joined TU in order to learn. I wanted to learn how to be a better fly fisher. I also wanted to learn more about the local fisheries and waters that sustain them. Having moved to two different states prior to settling my family in Basalt, Colorado in 2013, becoming a member of TU taught me about the pursuit of trout and the local streams in each state more than I ever could have expected. Through TU, I’ve connected with and befriended many veteran anglers that know the craft and know the issues and challenges facing our watersheds as intimately as anyone.

I’m a member of the Ferdinand Hayden Chapter (FHTU) in the Roaring Fork Valley. I serve as the president of the chapter.

What made you want to become involved with TU? I think Aldo Leopold put it best when he stated, “There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.” I’m one of those who cannot live with out them.

What is your favorite activity or project that you have done with TU?

I’m proud of a number of things that FHTU accomplished this past year. From supporting our friends and neighbors’ efforts to secure protections for the Thompson Divide area, to funding and supporting the Ware-Hinds fish passage project, which will provide a critical bypass around an irrigation diversion dam on an important tributary of the Colorado River, to our regular partnerships with other local organizations on river cleanups, and a host of other activities. We even managed to squeeze in a chapter excursion up to Trappers Lake.

Looking ahead, there’s a lot of important work yet to be done.

I know you won’t tell me your top spot, so what is your second favorite fishing spot or favorite fishing story?

Lately, given the short days and a demanding work schedule, it’s been teaching my 2 year-old son, Henry to roll cast in the house with his toy training rod. His favorite thing to say after casting is, “It’s a whopper!”

To your first question: there’s so much water to explore in this valley. (How’s that for a lawyer answer?) Just when you think you have a handle on it, the weather or the season changes. As much as I enjoy skiing, I also personally love winter fishing on the middle Roaring Fork and the Frying Pan near Basalt. There are no lift lines and usually no one in your favorite hole! In the summer months, I have a similar mantra and usually keep to the smaller tributaries of the Roaring Fork outside of Aspen. It’s hard to beat a good weekend hike with family and small streams in high country. From my perspective, the wilder the place, the better.

What does being a part of TU mean to you?

Being a part of TU means that you’re passionate not only about the incredible trout fishing opportunities that our state has to offer, but also about the decisions and issues that impact the long-term health of the rivers and streams on which we all depend. As a conservation organization, TU does a terrific job by engaging and partnering with the stakeholders across the spectrum on a given issue or project and by finding common ground.

What else do you do in your spare time or for work?

I’m a water attorney, licensed in Colorado and Montana and practice exclusively in the areas of water rights law, water resources, and water quality. When I have spare time and I’m not hunting or fishing, I’m an avid trail and ultra-marathon runner.

Headwaters Chapter on Fraser Flats

On March 11, Colorado Headwaters Chapter President, Kirk Klancke, and chapter board member, Anna Drexler-Dreis, joined Good Morning Grand County to talk about water. Klancke was joined by Grand County Water and Sanitation District Manager, Bruce Hutchins, Klancke and Hutchins talk about the issues facing the water supply in Grand County and how the Learning by Doing initiative will help protect stream flows and temperatures of the Fraser River.

Klancke also speaks about the Fraser Flats River Enhancement project. Part of this project will include revegetation along the Fraser as well as stream channeling. Stream channeling will create a smaller river bed within the natural river bed to keep water consolidated during the low flow periods. This will keep the water moving faster, colder, and provide holding areas for trout.

Part of the project will also include a half mile of the river being open to the public for fishing. "We can improve the stream sections of the Fraser and its tributaries to the point where it will be healthier now than it was when I started fishing there 46 years ago," said Klancke.

Drexler-Dreis talked more about the Fraser Flats project, the first Learning by Doing project since its inception. The first step in the Fraser Flats project will entail planting willows along the Fraser River for just under a mile in an area that was heavily overgrazed. With willows in place, the river will experience more stable conditions and improve the stream banks to provide more trout habitat. Volunteers will help with the harvesting and planting of these willows.

The segments below were from the Good Morning Grand County episode on March 11, 2017. If you wish to view the whole episode, you can check out their YouTube channel!

A Celebration of Pat Oglesby

Pat Oglesby passed away on December 15, 2016. A lifetime member of Trout Unlimited, Pat was a recipient of the council's highest honor, the Silver Trout award, for his leadership, dedication, and work on protecting Colorado's fisheries. Pat resided in Grand Junction with his wife Carol and was very active with the Grand Valley Anglers chapter of TU. He embodied the true spirit of what Trout Unlimited is all about and will be missed dearly.

The following is a eulogy delivered by Pat's friend Shelley Walchak at the celebration of Pat's life on March 18th, 2017.

By Shelley Walchak

“A limb has fallen from our family tree I keep hearing a voice that says, “Grieve not for me Remember the best times, the laughter, the song. The good life I lived while I was strong. Continue my heritage I’m counting on you, Keep smiling and surely the sun will shine through. My mind is at ease, my soul at rest, Remembering all how I truly was blessed. Continue traditions no matter how small Go on with your life, don’t just stare at the wall. I miss you all dearly, so keep up your chin Until the day comes And we’re together again.” …Author Unknown

The optimistic, upbeat nature of that poem reminds me so much of Pat. It was just about 5 years ago when I met Pat and Carol at the Denver Fly-Fishing Show. I had gone to the show because I had decided I was going to take a year off work and go fly-fishing for a year in the Rocky Mountain States. I needed to find new friends who could help/join me in my quest.  I arrived at the show without knowing a soul and approached the IFFF booth to explain myself. I was immediately told that Pat and Carol were the folks I needed to meet. From that day forward a deep and loving friendship developed.  A year later I started my journey after much consultation from Pat. I was not long into my journey when I called Pat and Carol to see about a trip to the Taylor River to go fly-fishing. Now, a trip to the Taylor would seem like a perfectly reasonable thing to do except it was January…. And of course the Taylor is near Gunnison, regularly listed as one of the coldest spots in the country. It didn’t matter to me – I was going fishing and I didn’t care what kind of weather I was going to have to endure.

On the last day I saw Pat in October, we talked at length about that trip. He said he had been astonished by my single-mindedness – maybe simple mindedness as well. But, he had agreed to go and I met him and Carol for a couple days in Gunnison.

It had snowed feet just days before we got there but Pat and Carol still showed up. He kept asking me if I still wanted to go and I insisted I did. He was willing to see this through and so we headed up toward Avalanche Hole.

Pat decided he was going to stay up top and spot fish for Carol and me. It was somewhere between 10 – 20 degrees and they both thought I was crazy – but I was in love – in love with fly-fishing and I would do anything to be near a river. And so, Carol and I clamored over 5 foot drifts and made our way down to the river.

After four fishless hours and a propane heater gone dry – we made our way back to Gunnison and ate a hearty meal at a local restaurant. It was no surprise to me that Pat ran into some folks he knew. He seemed to know people wherever he went.

Our excursion ended the next day for them as bad weather rolled in and the temperature dropped even lower. Off they headed to Grand Junction although I was bound and determined to catch at least one fish on the river. Bad weather turned into a blizzard and the fish got the best of me.

It was this passion that we shared deeply – as I’m sure many of you will attest to. Fly-fishing can be a very affirming, very spiritual experience. Pat understood that. Fly-fishing is about ritual and mystery. It’s about acknowledging a power greater than our own. Recognizing that we play a small part in the scheme of things.

It’s also about faith. Faith that the next cast will be the one, that the fish on the line will make it onto shore, and that if this day didn’t go well the next would be better. It’s about our connection to each other, taking comfort in each other’s company and joy in each other’s success.

I found that connection with Pat and he will always have a special place in my heart. Saying these words makes me think of a poem by Delmar Pepper that goes like this.

I've finished life's chores assigned to me, So put me on a boat headed out to sea. Please send along my fishing pole For I've been invited to the fishin' hole.

Where every day is a day to fish, To fill your heart with every wish. Don't worry, or feel sad for me, I'm fishin' with the Master of the sea.

We will miss each other for awhile, But you will come and bring your smile. That won't be long you will see, Till we're together you and me.

To all of those that think of me, Be happy as I go out to sea. If others wonder why I'm missin' Just tell 'em I've gone fishin'

Pat did his good deeds by stealth. He never advertised the fact that he helped so many people in so many different ways. He never talked about his numerous acts of kindness. Yet I believe that almost everyone here today has been at the receiving end of that kindness.

I will miss him as a fountain of general knowledge. If I ever needed to know anything there was always a good chance that Pat would know the answer. If he didn't he'd make sure he found the answer for me.

I will miss him most of all as a friend because good friends like Pat don't happen often in a lifetime. Throughout the years, I’d call to speak with Carol, as a friend and editor of my book, and if Pat picked up, it was an hour before I got to Carol. And sometimes, Carol would have to wait for another day.

To honor Pat, I’m going down to the bank of a river. I’m gonna cast my line out over the swells, and hope for lots of fish, and regardless of whether I get a bite or not…I will be glad and thankful to simply be convening with the spirit of Pat, casting out his own line…not just to pass the time, but to make the passing of time a gift, and a lesson on how life ought to be lived…patient, thoughtfully, and with eager anticipation of the nibble or strike at the hook.

I imagine this is what Pat would say if he could be here…

Don’t grieve for me now, I’m free I’m following the path laid out for me. I turned my back and left it all. I could not stay another day To laugh, to love, to work or play. Tasks left undone must stay that way I’ve found my peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void Then fill it with remembered joy. A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss Ah yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow. I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow. My life’s been full, I’ve savored much. Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch. Perhaps my time seemed all too brief

Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief. Lift up your heart and share with me. I am set free.

I give you this one thought to keep I am with you still. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow, I am the sunlight on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. So not think of me as gone I am with you still in each new dawn. …Author unknown.

Overlap Season

By: Jack Bombardier, Confluence Casting In many mountain towns, there is said to be a fifth season, in addition to the usual four, called Mud Season. That’s true in much of Colorado, but the Centennial State can also claim to have a sixth season, one I like to call Overlap Season.  This occurs when you can fish, ski or golf within the same period of time.  Overlap Season usually begins sometime in March, or can be as late as April, but this year it began in February.  The snow is still deep, the fish are biting, and the fairways are greening up.  Although I’m not a golfer, I do try to make the most of the skiing and fishing opportunities that I can. It’s an awesome time of year to live in Colorado, and makes me glad that thirty-one years ago to this very month, I made it my home.

The Lower Upper Colorado River looks just gorgeous right now, low and clear and as olive as Al Pacino’s cheeks.  Water temps are up to fifty degrees, and from what I’ve seen “fifty” is the magic number in the springtime.  Fifty makes trout very, very happy.

But then your gaze rises above the water’s liquid allure, and up towards the mountains, where the pristine white blaze of perfect, pristine show shines like chrome.  That snow beckons surely as does the river, but there’s the knowledge that the window to enjoy those perfect slopes is closing fast.  To try and fool a fish?, or go carve through some aspen trees at Beaver Creek?  Hope to hold a crimson striped, spawning rainbow trout I I your hand, or hop off a cornice at A-Basin and carve a turn into some wind-deposited powder?  So many choices, and so short an Overlap Season to take advantage of!

How long the river will stay as perfect as it is now, on March 15^{th 2017}, is difficult to say.   With the deep snowpack we have, one would expect the water managers to start releasing water fairly soon to make room for the Big Melt.  But it’s been a weird winter, one which has flipped the pattern of the past few years.  For the past several winters now, we’ve had a lot of snow early in the season, and a lot in the spring, with the middle stretch of January and early February being dry and cold, without much snow.  This season, it was awful early, with Vail and Beaver Creek opening late and the World Cup races at the Beav being cancelled due to lack of snow (and overnight temperatures to warm to make it). But then the snow finally came, and by the end of February we were looking at snowpack numbers we haven’t had since the epic year of 2011.

Now it’s the middle of the March, and not only has the snow pipeline shut off, but the short-term prognosis is for more warm, dry weather. What that means for fishing is that as long as the water in the reservoirs stays up there, the fishing should be great!  This might be the best spring fishing since we had in the drought year of 2012, with one big difference. 2012 was a drought year and though it fished great back then, the Lower Upper was dominated by brown trout.  Low water conditions that fall led to the release of 30,000 catchable-size rainbows into the river, and those rainbows and their offspring are going to be spawning this year. This spring the river has fished well, and should get even better once the bugs start moving.  So if you want to make the most of Colorado’s Sixth Season, get up here soon and make sure you pack your skis and fishing gear.  You can even put a golf bag in the back if you still have room! So please give me a reason to leave my old Volant Chubbs in the back of the Saab, and come fishing!

Buy your Colorado 2017 fishing license now

From Colorado Parks and Wildlife Coloradans can purchase a 2017 fishing license starting March 15 through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. An annual license is good starting April 1, 2017 through March 30, 2018. CPW provides a range of options for anglers from the annual fishing license to the one-day fishing license as well as educational opportunities for those new to angling.

“Colorado provides outstanding fishing across the state for an amazing diversity of species ranging from cutthroat trout and kokanee to walleye and bluegill,” said Doug Krieger, CPW’s aquatic section manager. “I encourage experienced anglers to introduce a friend or family member to fishing this season. Fishing is a great activity to share with someone else and a great chance to get outside and enjoy Colorado’s natural resources.”

CPW stocks 90 million fish annually into waters throughout Colorado in order to ensure good angling opportunities. CPW does not receive general tax dollars and fishing license fees support all statewide hatchery and fish-stocking operations.

Buy a license online at CPW’s secure license application portal or by phone at 1-800-244-5613.

For individuals aged 18 through 64, a $10 Habitat Stamp is required with the first license purchase for the year. For more information, read about the Habitat Stamp.

Youth under age 16 can fish for free and CPW provides opportunities throughout the season to learn how to fish. Check the calendar on the CPW website for upcoming clinics.

Don’t forget to buy a state park pass when you buy your license. Colorado state parks offer 37 places to fish, 365 days of the year.

Get tips and stay up to date on Colorado fishing regulations by reading the 2017 Colorado Fishing Brochure. CPW also sends customers that sign up through the secure license application portal emails providing updated fishing conditions, tips, news and upcoming events as well as regulation updates.