Clean, drain, and dry the boat and the waders
After a Western Slope day, do one job before the next water. Clean the boat and the waders, drain every place water sat, and dry them on purpose. Colorado Parks and Wildlife's clean-your-gear page, read October 24, 2026, is the page for this. Aquatic nuisance species hitchhike on the boat, the trailer, the tires, the boots, the waders, and the gear. The mistake is calling a muddy boot rinsed because you kicked it in the river on the way out.
Clean
Scrub. CPW says to scrub the bottom of the boots or the waders with a brush and take off all mud, plants, and organic material between each use. On a boat, take plants, animals, and mud off the hull, the trailer, the hitch, and the motor. Do the work away from a storm drain and away from the next water. The mistake is a pile of mud on the ramp that the next rain washes back in, or a hose pointed at a curb drain. Bag the debris and throw it in the trash.
Drain
Pull the plug before you leave the ramp. Open the live well, the bilge, the anchor locker, and any compartment that got wet. Lower the motor so it can empty. On a kayak or a canoe, CPW says to carry it to a dry spot, then tilt it and empty the compartments. Sponge the spot that will not drain on its own. The mistake is the plug in your pocket so you do not lose it, while the bilge still holds water. CPW's inspection page says plant fragments and animals can hide in that mud and live for many days out of the water.
Dry the waders before the next stretch
A scrub is not the end. CPW says that before the next body of water, or before you move to a new stretch of river, you pick one treatment and you actually do it. Accurate as of October 24, 2026, the choices on the clean-your-gear page are a soak in 6 ounces of quaternary ammonia cleaner per gallon of water for at least 10 minutes, a soak or a spray with 140 F water for 10 minutes, or a complete dry for a minimum of 10 days. The same page also says you can freeze the waders and the boots overnight. Rinse water has to come from a clean source. Dump the chemical bath away from any water, and follow the label. The mistake is a boot that dried on the drive from one river to the next. Accurate as of October 24, 2026, that drive is not the 10-minute bath and it is not the 10-day dry.
The boat still has to stop
A motorized boat, a sailboat, or a jet ski is not on the honor system. CPW's boat inspection page, read October 24, 2026, says those boats must be inspected by state-certified staff before they enter the water in Colorado. The same page says the law requires them to be cleaned, drained, and dried every time they enter or leave any water. Accurate as of October 24, 2026, CPW lists 77 inspection sites. The mistake is driving past the station because you only moved from one Western Slope ramp to another.
If you have a green seal, you still stop. The seal has to be intact, and the receipt has to match. Accurate as of October 24, 2026, a quick pass is for a boat going back to the same water, or a boat that has been out of the water more than 30 days. Anything else can get a check. If it is not clean and dry, it gets inspected again. If an invasive species is on the boat, the page says the staff cannot let it leave and they decontaminate it on the spot. Accurate as of October 24, 2026, that decontamination uses hot water from 120 to 140 F. The mistake is a damp bilge and a story that the boat was already checked last week.
Unused live bait goes in the trash. CPW says never dump it into the water. If you find something on the boat that you think is an invasive species, the inspection page, accurate as of October 24, 2026, says to report it to CPW's Invasive Species Program office in Denver.
CPW's clean-your-gear page and CPW's boat inspection page are the two pages to read before the next launch.
Planning a day on the water? Check our Colorado fishing reports, browse VCO merch (made to order, ships from Grand Junction), or open the VCO Trip Builder.