Fishing and Hunting???

[motoracer51]

Originally Posted by HunterRiderJohnny

Ok...so it's either great fishing and hunting....or, everything sucks here due to overpopulation and land development, etc..
I get it..
You don't need anymore outsiders..
I understand, really I do.
Ya know what tho.
Hunters and fishermen are usually very environmentally conscious, good people...like me.
Hate land development, pollution and overfishing....like me.
And, would go out of their way to rectify environmental problems....like I will.
If anything, I think Colorado needs more hunters and fishermen.
They're good for the environment..

...way better than a prius.

Jazzlover knows a TON about everything in Colorado, but his hatred, although understandable, towards development is OFF THE CHART.

I came from Long Island, NY, and I know development all too well. Also, my time in south east FL during the 90's and early 2000's was round two of a boom.

I watched the AG and fishing industries decimated on Long Island from development, regulations, and urban sprawl.

I also believe in property rights, and have a little education in economics. If he wanted to preserve land, he should have bought it up ala Ted Turner.

I bought 27 acres out here in western Colorado, bordered by BLM. I'll never have people breathing down my back ( unless Congress decides to develop BLM land ) and if that happens, I'll move to my property in Italy.

I came out here for the relative freedoms, gun laws, and out door activities.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by motoracer51

Jazzlover knows a TON about everything in Colorado, but his hatred, although understandable, towards development is OFF THE CHART.

Call it what you wish. The area I live in has lost probably half of its prime ag land (orchards, especially) to stupid land development in the last 25 years. Critical game migration routes and winter range, both critical to long-term survival of big game species, are disappearing at a torrid rate. There is hardly a major streamcourse in the state that, if it has not already been compromised, is being eyed for metropolitan water diversions or dam-building. Do I hate that kind of development? Damn skippy, I do.

I said earlier--I really admire the DOW folks, as well as the resource managers for the Forest Service and BLM. They have a near-impossible job to do managing what remains of Colorado's natural heritage. They have little control over what happens on the adjacent private lands, though, and it is on those lands that the most destructive kind of exploitation and development is occurring. It's easy to get worked up about the exploitation of lands for energy of minerals development, but the truth is that recreational and suburban development may be a much more extensive and thus damaging kind of development over the long term. But people don't want to acknowledge that.

[HunterRiderJohnny]

"I came out here for the relative freedoms, gun laws, and out door activities."

Motoracer51, I hear ya brother...
Sounds like you have 27 acres of Paradise...
I agree 100% with Jazzlover when it comes to land development. I moved from NY to Palos Verdes, Ca. when I was a kid. It was all modest houses and horse corrals. The land was mostly undeveloped canyons. Tons of wild area to explore. I was down in those canyons just about every weekend hiking, and hunting dove with a crosman pellet gun. I caught poison oak so many times I actually built up immunity to it. I would usually shoot a couple in our backyard before heading to school during the week and bbq them on the weekend. I got to the point where I could shoot the heads off of those "little green army men" with a crosman 760 pump and a cheap Tasco scope mounted. It was great...
Then the fat cats came in and develop...I mean, destroyed virtually everything I had loved about living there. Asphalt and big houses soon covered all my trails and little creeks.
Once it's gone...it's gone forever...
Wherever I end up, I will do anything I can to keep that from happening again.

[Roese]

planning on moving to colorado springs within the next year. currently live in southwest florida but originally from ohio. my passions are hunting and fishing. was wondering how hunting is in that area? is there public land near by?

[ryanek9freak]

Any decent hunting is at least 2 hours away, unless you want to hunt pronghorns on the plains. Fishing, eh, you can drive 45 minutes to Pueblo resivour (sp?)

[80skeys]

Old thread. But I'm updating this with fresh information:

Originally Posted by Road to Fishes

I am leaving Northern California where I was born and raised. I am leaving my favorite Hunting and fishing spots, and have deep fear that I will have to travel back home to continue pursuing "productive waters", so to speak.

Yes, unfortunately in my experience Colorado waters are not particularly productive. (I've mentioned this a couple times in different threads.)

How is the stream fishing, and what area's of the state hold the Trophy Stream Waters? Is the trout fishing as good as I am hearing?

So there's basically three different kinds of streams in Colorado:

• ones that are accessible which a have a lot of fishing pressure and are therefore not productive;
• ones that are designated protected catch-and-release waters which require special skills and knowledge (the trout in these waters are very picky due to being caught and released so many times, you have to know a lot about the local insects)
• ones that are remote and not easily accessible: these are great but require work to get to.

I am not looking for anyone's secret spot, I am willing to pay my due's.

In north-central Colorado, north of the town of Dotsero and west of the towns of Yampa and McCoy, in the Flat Tops wilderness, there are some high mountain lakes accessible via several mile trails which can be hiked or 4-wheeled. These lakes don't receive much fishing pressure and are really awesome. You can be assured of pretty easily catching your limit of really nice wild trout. From I-70, take Hwy 131 north. Once you start getting around the town of McCoy, look for access roads going left towards the mountains. There will be signs for "mountain acces", "national forest", etc. These roads will go to campgrounds and the trailheads for the aforementioned trails. If you have any questions just ask the locals or the people in the campgrounds - especially those with 4-wheelers. They will know which trails to take to get up to the lakes.

What I am looking for is a friendly point in the right direction.
Also how is the public land hunting? I have briefly looked at the CODOW and not pulled a whole lot of info other than what fee's I will be paying. Are the Elk in healthy populations?

Western Colorado around Grand Junction is well known for Elk hunting. The launching point for many hunters are the small towns at the base of the Grand Mesa, about 20 miles east of Grand Junction. There is a Cabelas in town, and the folks there will be able to answer any questions you have and help point you in the right direction. To answer your question: yes, Colorado is great for Elk.

How is the Deer Hunting?

Same thing. My buddy lives in Collbran on the Grand Mesa, gets himself permits every year, and for deer simply sits on his back porch and shoots. For elk, he has to hike or 4-wheeler into the high country on the Grand Mesa.

What is a good resource to use other than the DOW for info and feedback?

Cabelas in Grand Junction: http://www.cabelas.com/retail-stores...junction.shtml

[Mike from back east]

Great story about a guy who went Elk hunting and bagged a large black bear instead....with a bow.