Blue Mesa Lake Trout Tournament

TL;DR:

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will host the 2026 Blue Mesa Lake Trout Tournament from January 1 to April 30, offering $10,000 in prizes for anglers who harvest lake trout under 24 inches. The tournament helps balance the reservoir’s ecosystem by protecting Kokanee Salmon and Rainbow Trout populations. 

• Enter by cutting off lake trout heads and dropping them off at Elk Creek, Iola, or Lake Fork Marinas, or CPW offices in Gunnison or Montrose.
• The goal of this tournament is to reduce small “Pup” Lake Trout to protect Kokanee Salmon and maintain the balance of Blue Mesa’s fish. 
• Small lake trout are very tasty! Try them baked or grilled.

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) will once again host a lake trout fishing tournament on Blue Mesa Reservoir in 2026. The tournament will run from January 1 to April 30, 2026. CPW will award $10,000 in prize money to anglers to incentivize the harvest of lake trout that are less than 24 inches long. We interviewed local aquatic biologist Giulio Del Piccolo to learn more about the history of the Blue Mesa lake trout tournament, why it’s important and how you can get in on some of that $10,000 prize money.

Q: How did the Blue Mesa lake trout fishing tournament come about?

A: From 2009 to 2017 small “Pup” Lake Trout were removed using gill nets. However, intensive gill-netting efforts are time consuming and expensive. In addition, these efforts occasionally resulted in unintended mortality to large trophy-sized fish and other species such as Kokanee Salmon. In 2020, the first Blue Mesa Lake Trout harvest incentive tournament was held. This tournament resulted in the removal of over 4,000 “Pup” Lake Trout (less than 24 inches). Due to this success, CPW has decided to continue to partner with anglers to manage Lake Trout in Blue Mesa through a harvest incentive tournament.

Q: How does removing lake trout help the ecosystem?

Lake Trout are a highly predatory species. Changes in the operations of Blue Mesa Reservoir in the 1990s improved spawning conditions, leading to an increase in the number of Lake Trout in the Reservoir. The abundance of Lake Trout in Blue Mesa in the early 2000s led to significant declines in the abundance of Kokanee Salmon and Rainbow Trout. Removing Lake Trout helps to balance the ecosystem by reducing the amount of predation on Kokanee and Rainbow Trout. In addition, it decreases the amount of competition among the fish for food resources, which helps grow large trophy-sized Lake Trout.

This photo and the photo at the top of the page are used courtesy of Giulio del Piccolo.

Q: Are lake trout good to eat?

Small “Pup” Lake Trout are very good to eat. In Blue Mesa their flesh often has an orange tinge and is reminiscent of salmon. Many people enjoy them smoked or grilled on the barbeque. My personal favorite recipe is to bake them with butter, garlic, pepper, lemon, and salt.

Q: What other types of fish might anglers catch in Blue Mesa? Are there any other “problem” fish?

A: In addition to Lake Trout, other species commonly caught in Blue Mesa include Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Kokanee Salmon, and Yellow Perch. Yellow Perch were illegally introduced into the reservoir in the early 2000s. Yellow Perch compete with Trout for food and prey on juvenile Kokanee Salmon. There is no bag limit on Yellow Perch in Blue Mesa and they are delicious!

Q: Have invasive zebra mussels been found in Blue Mesa? How can anglers help keep them out?

A: No, invasive Zebra Mussels have not yet been found in Blue Mesa. However, they have been found nearby in the Colorado River. Zebra Mussels can spread by hitchhiking on watercraft, trailers, vehicles, tires, boots, waders, equipment, gear, firewood and even dogs! Anglers should be sure to clean their gear before and after use to help prevent the spread of Zebra Mussels and other aquatic nuisance species.

Q: What do you wish people knew about the tournament or Blue Mesa in general?

A: The Lake Trout tournament is a unique partnership between CPW and the angling public to maintain the Kokanee Salmon fishery while promoting the growth of trophy Lake Trout.

Anglers have the opportunity to win prizes even if they submit only Lake Trout head. Twenty heads are randomly selected to award $200 prizes are randomly awarded to anglers who did not finish in the top four.

How to enter the 2026 Blue Mesa lake trout tournament

Here are the rules for the tournament, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife:

To participate in the tournament, anglers who harvest a lake trout 24 inches or smaller should cut the fish’s head off behind the gills and turn the heads into a collection point. There are three collection points at Blue Mesa Reservoir at the Elk Creek, Iola and Lake Fork marinas. Heads can also be turned in at CPW offices in Gunnison and Montrose.

The angler who turns in the most fish heads will earn the first-place prize of $3,000. The second-place award is $1,500, third place will take home $1,000 and fourth place will earn $500. Anglers that missed out on the top four prizes will be entered into a raffle for one of twenty $200 prizes with one entry for every head submitted.

Tournament rules

• Anglers register by turning in lake trout heads.
• Lake trout must be harvested legally from Blue Mesa Reservoir between January 1, 2026 and April 30, 2026.
• Only heads from lake trout 24 inches or less are counted. CPW has determined head size for 24-inch fish.
• Anglers can turn in as many heads as they wish, but may not pool catch with other anglers. Pooling will result in disqualification.
• Plastic bags and data slips for angler information provided at collection stations. Use only pencil for data slips.
• Unless otherwise noted, heads can be turned in only at approved collection stations.
• After head is removed, fish must be prepared for human consumption.
• Employees of Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the National Park Service are not eligible to participate in the tournament.

Fishing in the Gunnison Valley

Anglers come from near and far to fish the waters of the Gunnison Valley. Cast for rainbow and brown trout in the Gold Medal waters of the Gunnison and Taylor rivers, catch cutthroat in the high alpine lakes near Crested Butte, or snag a kokanee salmon in Blue Mesa Reservoir during their fall spawning season. To learn more about fishing here, check out our guide to fishing in the Gunnison Valley.

Colorado’s best ice fishing

The Gunnison Valley hosts two ice fishing tournaments each year, one on Blue Mesa and one on Taylor Reservoir. To learn more about these tournaments, fishing guides and ice fishing in general, visit our guide to the Gunnison Valley’s ice fishing tournaments.