A vision that most folks have when pursuing their dream ranch is to have a beautiful mountain stream or river passing through the property. The second part of that vision is casting that fly perfectly into a pool in front of a waiting trout. “Does it have live water?” This is one of the top questions asked by clients when in the process of looking for a Colorado ranch. The next question that needs to be asked is what type of fishing do you prefer? And then the following question would be, what type of fishing can you afford?
Colorado River Fishing
River Fishing is generally considered the Holy Grail of fishing properties. This type of Colorado fishing property usually comes along with a hefty price tag. You can expect to pay a premium of at least $1,500 per acre extra for frontage on the Colorado, North Platte, Roaring Fork and other rivers. These prized fishing properties are sky rocketing in price as more large acreage Colorado ranches are being purchased for recreational purposes.
Colorado Stream Fishing
This can sometimes be a sleeper in terms of the quality of fishing that can be derived from a small stream. There are thousands of streams in all parts of Colorado. There is no particular part of the state that has better stream availability than another. With that being said, you will need to determine if the flows are consistent to provide adequate year around water to sustain a fishery. When in good condition, some of these streams can produce trout up to 16-18 inches in length and they are usually wild trout. In many cases, there is the opportunity to create habitat improvements on your fishing property for even better fishing results.
Colorado Lake Fishing
There are many properties with some sort of manmade or natural lakes on them. These can range from a small pond to several acres and, when managed properly, can provide some outstanding fishing opportunities. Many Colorado lakes that I have fished regularly produce fish in the five pound and up category. If you find that ideal property and it has everything that you want except fishing, you may want to consider building your own lake. The only caution is that you will need to navigate through the states complex water laws to insure that you do this properly. Please refer to the article on Colorado water rights in the ColoradoRanchForSale.com Library.
Colorado Public Fishing
Even if you have your own fishery on your new ranch, chances are you will eventually get bored and want to try some new water. The state is well known for its Gold Medal waters, including portions of the South Platte, Colorado, and Arkansas to name a few. The State has done a good job of making a fair amount of this fine river frontage open to the public. An important consideration is the location of your Colorado ranch land in relationship to available prime fishing opportunities.
At Colorado Ranch for Sale we have fished the entire state and can help you with the decision process on finding that ranch with fishing opportunities that meet your needs.
