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There is good news for accomplished Colorado anglers who are looking for a little recognition. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife recognizes licensed anglers who catch exceptionally large fish through two separate programs.

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This is the oldest of Colorado's fishing recognition programs. For each of 38 different species of fish, this program tracks the heaviest fish ever caught in the state of Colorado.  If an angler catches a large fish that he believes may have broken the weight record in its species, there is a series of steps that must be taken to have the fish certified as a new state record.

View records and information on qualifying from the Records by Weight page.

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Due to statewide demand for a fishing recognition program that also honors catch-and-release anglers, about ten years ago the Master Angler Program was initiated. This program has both a kept fish category and a released fish category. There are 26 species categories recognized in this program, and there can be more than one master angler award given in each category every year.

Running in conjunction with the Master Angler program are the state released fish records, which are judged by the length of the fish rather than by weight. At the end of every year, the Master Angler entries are examined to see if any new length records have been set. If they have, they are added on the table of record fish by length in place of the previous record holder. 

More: 
Records by Length
Master Angler Award Program