Ice Fishing for Beginners — A Colorado Starter Guide
New to hard water? Here's the genuinely minimal kit, the license you need, how to find safe early ice, and the simplest way to catch your first fish in Colorado.
When the rivers freeze, we don't stop
Ice Fishing.
Colorado hard water: Eleven Mile, the South Park reservoirs, and the high country. Trout, kokanee, pike, and perch through the ice, covered honestly and from out there.
The plan
Where to go
Colorado hard-water — Eleven Mile, Tarryall, Blue Mesa kokanee & lakers.
How to fish it
Jigging tungsten, reading a flasher, tip-ups, dialing a finicky winter bite.
The gear
Rods, flashers & cameras, augers, shelters, the jigs that actually produce.
Stay safe
First-ice rules, ice thickness, what to carry, and when to walk away.
On the ice
8 posts
Ice Fishing with Kids in Colorado: The Best Kid Fishing There Is
Why hard water is secretly the best fishing for kids — and how to actually pull it off in Colorado so they stay warm, stay safe, catch fish, and ask to come back.
First Ice Safety — How to Read Colorado Hard Water
First ice is the most dangerous ice. How to judge thickness, what to carry, how to fish with a buddy, and when to walk away — a Colorado hard-water safety guide.
Forward-facing sonar through the ice: my setup, and whether it's worth it
Forward-facing sonar through Colorado ice: what it shows, what a full setup costs, how it's used to find and hold fish, and whether it's worth the money.
First Ice Is Coming to Colorado — What the Hard-Water Season Actually Looks Like
Colorado's hard-water season is close: when the ice forms lake by lake, CPW's thickness rules, where a first-timer starts, and what this drought winter changes.
February Ice Fishing at Eleven Mile Reservoir — Best Month on the Ice
February is peak ice fishing at Eleven Mile Reservoir. Why it's better than January, where the fish are, and what changes about the bite as winter peaks.
Ice Fishing Gear for Eleven Mile Reservoir — What Actually Works
The specific gear that works for ice fishing Eleven Mile Reservoir — rods, electronics, shelter, auger, and layering for Colorado's South Park cold.
Ice Fishing Eleven Mile Reservoir — The Complete Colorado Guide
Everything you need for ice fishing Eleven Mile Reservoir — access, best spots, target species, regulations, and what the ice looks like in January.