A new year brings the next edition of the Blue Mesa Lake Trout Tournament put on by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
CPW will once again offer $10,000 in prize money to lure in angler participation for the tournament, which will be held at Blue Mesa Reservoir from January 1 through April 30, 2025.
“It is looking like 2025 will be a great ice fishing year at Blue Mesa Reservoir with a cold start to winter creating early ice on upper portions of the reservoir from the inlet to Elk Creek Marina,” said Dan Brauch, CPW Angler Outreach Manager. “Ice is thin but should continue to develop and, hopefully, extend to the lower two basins of the reservoir with cold weather in coming weeks. It is recommended that anglers take great care as ice conditions can be variable.”
 

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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’s offices in Gunnison and Montrose.
Four top prizes will be given out in 2025. 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 who 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.
All winners from the tournament will be notified by May 31, 2025. Anglers participating in the tournament must possess a valid Colorado fishing license and follow all Colorado boating and fishing regulations. 
“Any angler who harvests even one lake trout and turns in a head will have a chance to win,” said Brauch. “We encourage anglers to harvest small lake trout that are very abundant in Blue Mesa Reservoir to help maintain a balanced fishery. Small lake trout are great to eat, and we greatly appreciate anglers helping us manage the reservoir by harvesting small lake trout.”
This will be the fourth edition of the Blue Mesa tournament. This harvest-incentive tournament helps aquatic biologists maintain adequate kokanee salmon fry survival by limiting predation from lake trout. Abundant kokanee are key to maintaining excellent trophy lake trout growth and condition within the reservoir, as was highlighted by a recent catch of a lake trout weighing in at more than 70 pounds at the reservoir.
Unchecked lake trout population growth caused significant declines in kokanee abundance in previous decades. CPW research shows that smaller lake trout, those 24 inches and smaller, consume the most kokanee. Consequently, the tournament is focused on removing those fish.
Previous tournaments in 2020 and 2021 greatly helped CPW keep lake trout populations in check. But a survey of the reservoir in 2024 documented that the abundance of lake trout is on the rise.
“Lake trout are prolific, and recent monitoring has documented an increase in numbers of small lake trout, so ongoing harvest of small lake trout is needed to maintain numbers at appropriate levels,” Brauch said.
Maintaining abundant kokanee supports quality-fishing opportunities for kokanee and provides a source of kokanee eggs for restocking needs at up to 25 waters in Colorado. Abundant kokanee are also essential for maintaining continued growth of trophy lake trout at Blue Mesa Reservoir.
“We appreciate angler participation in maintaining balance in the Blue Mesa fishery,” Brauch said. “Working together, we will continue to provide quality opportunities for both kokanee and trophy lake trout.”