Colorado anglers will have a chance to win boats and fishing gear at two upcoming fishing tournaments sponsored by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The fishing tournaments are free and open to anyone with a 2016 Colorado fishing license. No pre-registration is required.
A smallmouth bass tournament will be held June 4-12 at Ridgway State Park in Ouray County. At Elkhead Reservoir in Northwest Colorado, there will be a smallmouth bass and a northern pike tournament June 11-19.
For both tournaments, fish of all sizes will be “PIT” tagged. At Ridgway, 10 smallmouth bass will be tagged; at Elkhead, 10 northern pike and 10 smallmouth bass will be tagged.
When fish are turned in by anglers for the day, CPW staff will check them with an electronic scanner. Those who have caught tagged fish will be eligible to win a boat to be awarded by each tournament. To qualify for prizes, anglers must keep all the fish that they catch. Those who don’t catch tagged fish will also be eligible for prizes.
At Elkhead, for both species, prizes will also be awarded for largest and smallest fish caught each day, most fish caught each day and most fish caught for the full tournament. At the Ridgway tournament, there will also be prizes for anglers 15 years and younger.
Outstanding camping facilities are available in both locations, so anglers can get an early start in the morning and fish well into the evening. Ridgway State Park offers 283 campsites and three yurts. The daily entry fee to the park is $7 per vehicle and camp sites range in price from $18 to $26 per night. At Elkhead, which is part of Yampa River State Park, there are 16 campsites. Daily entry to the park is $7 per vehicle and all campsites cost $18 per night.
For more information for the Ridgway tournament, call Ridgway State Park at 626-5822 or 252-6000; for the Elkhead tournament, call 276-2061. Complete rules for the tournaments and fishing tips can be found at http://cpw.state.co.us/tournament.
Navajo Lake Marina will celebrate Welcome to the Water from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 11 at the marina, 1448 NM-511, Navajo Dam, New Mexico.
There will be free kayaking, a kids fishing contest, free hot dogs, a treasure hunt and more.
For more information, call 505-632-3245 or visit www.navajomarina.com.
Herald Staff
