As the open water fishing season comes to a close and winter rears its ugly head, I can’t help but reflect on my last few fishing seasons. It’s been 5 months since my return to Minnesota and the 2 years before that I was living in Colorado. A lot of people have asked me how the fishing changes from state to state so I thought I would take some time and share my answer to that question.
There are many things that contribute to my love of fishing but one that really stands out to me is the diversity of the sport. I knew that moving to Colorado meant my fishing style would change and that excited me! I love fishing in new landscapes, chasing new species, and practicing new fishing techniques.
Some of the differences that come to mind when comparing my fishing adventures in Minnesota to Colorado are as followed:
Bodies of Water – This is an obvious difference between the two states: Minnesota has 11,842 lakes of 10 acres or more and Colorado has more than 2,000 lakes, ponds and reservoirs. Both states offer a lot of stream and river fishing opportunities as well.
Trout – The first thing people think of when Colorado fishing is brought up is Trout. For good reason, Colorado Parks & Wildlife spends more than a million dollars each year stocking several different species of Trout. For a “trout bum” or an avid fly-fisherman – Colorado is a dream destination. Almost every single body of water in Colorado (river, lake or reservoir) has at least one species of Trout stocked in it. In my short stay in CO I was able to catch 8 different species of Trout (Rainbow, Brown, Brook, Cutthroat, Cutbow, Tiger, Golden and Lake Trout). Trout fishing in general is less common in Minnesota and the opportunity to target to them is dependent on your location within the state as they are not stocked too commonly in certain counties.
Seasons – 
Fishing in Minnesota is limited by seasons. These seasons and dates are put in place to protect the species of fish during its spawn. Colorado doesn’t have statewide seasons for their fish – instead each body of water can have individual rules regarding fishing during a spawning season. For example, some well-known Walleye lakes in CO will prohibit fishing near their dams during the walleye spawn and some sections of river will prohibit fishing during the trout spawning run. Not to say that I don’t agree with the MN Department of Natural Resources choice of implementing seasons for specific fish but I found it to be refreshing to know I can fish for Walleye, Bass and Pike all year long in Colorado.
Fly Fishing – If you look at all the fishing licenses purchased in each state, I think you would find that the percentage of fly fisherman/woman is much higher in Colorado than it is in Minnesota. Not to say that no one fly fishes in Minnesota but it’s the minority of the angling community in most of the Midwest. I learned how to fly fish (not very well) when I was a child while targeting Panfish. I had a blast using the long rod to throw small poppers for Sunfish and ripping streamers for Crappie but that’s a lot different than wading a Gold Medal tailwater in Colorado for trophy trout. The latter takes a lot more patience, accuracy, knowledge and skill.
Ice Fishing – I noticed that the Ice Fishing community in Colorado was significantly smaller than in Minnesota which I enjoyed because at times it felt like a family. I was able to forge some great relationships with Colorado anglers who shared a similar passion for the ice. In the low elevations areas in Colorado some reservoirs and lakes don’t fully ice up or not enough to be declared safe for ice fishing. Most of the bodies of water in Colorado don’t allow the use of permanent shacks or driving on the ice (trucks, snowmobiles or ATV’s) but the views that they offered I will never forget. Colorado also gave me the opportunity to ice fish in October for the first time in my life. Granted we had to work for it by hiking several miles up the mountainside and packing in all of our gear (auger, flasher, rods, bait, etc.) but it will be something I talk about for a long time.
Lake Houses – One of the first things I observed while fishing Colorado lakes was that there were hardly any lake front properties. Almost all of the Colorado shorelines are undeveloped which is a great thing for water quality. I’m not sure of the percentages but most of the lakes in Minnesota that I have been on have houses or cabins on them. I fished a lot of different lakes in Colorado and I never saw one lake front property.
Those are some of the differences that quickly come to mind when I think about fishing in CO and MN. In conclusion, both states offer incredible places to fish and should be a destination for every angler out there.
