Colorado Parks and Wildlife offering $10,000 in rewards for catching fish at Blue Mesa Reservoir
Jan 28, 2026, 4:08 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2026, 4:31 pm
Whether you’re an avid ice fisher or you’ve yet to give it a try, now is a great time to hit Colorado’s largest reservoir and not only catch some fish, but make some money too!
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is offering $10,000 in rewards for catching trout out of the the Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison.
The fifth annual Blue Mesa Lake Trout Tournament is happening now through April 30. The money will be divvied up to anglers who turn in the most heads of lake trout measuring 24 inches or smaller — $3,000 for the one who turns in the most, $1,500 for second, $1,000 for third and $500 for fourth. Anglers can turn in a raffle entry for each head, and for those who don’t finish in the top four, they’ll have a chance at $200 going to 20 names being drawn.
The purpose of the tournament is controlling numbers of lake trout that prey on kokanee salmon.
Be aware that a drive from Denver to the Blue Mesa Reservoir is about four hours.
