On an icy day, go fishing online

Okay, I'll traipse back onto the ice with you folks now and again.  But it's the middle of frigging winter here in Colorado, and time to mope and look ahead to an early spring.  To really turn spring fever into a proper obsession, here is a short introduction to taking advantage of the web to put a whole range of fishing options at your fingertips. Just click and daydream...

Free ice fishing clinic Feb. 9 at St. Vrain State Park

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife is partnering with Dave Bryant from Lake Ice USA to offer an informative and free clinic for beginning ice fishing anglers Sunday, Feb. 5, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Advance registration is required.

If the ice is not a safe depth, the clinic will be cancelled.

WHERE: Mallard Pond, St. Vrain State Park, 3785 Weld County Road 24 ½, Firestone.
TO BE PROVIDED:  Fishing poles and all gear needed to learn to ice fish. Participants do not need to bring their own poles, but can if they wish to fish after the clinic as well.
WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING: Warm clothing (the entire clinic will be outdoors), snacks and water, fishing license (Children under 16 are not required to have a fishing license). Note: You must purchase your license BEFORE the clinic. Individuals without a license cannot participate in the fishing portion of the clinic.

To register please e-mail wildlife.neoutreach@state.co.us or call 303-291-7804 and leave a message with name(s), address and phone number. Space is limited to 25 people.

February Fishing Calendar posted!

Tom Miller is taking over the role of planning our monthly calendar, and February has enough activities to keep everyone busy.  Here's the link to the calendar, on http://www.lovelandfishingclub.org  Just go to the calendar and click on the specific day for details about an event.

• Join Dave Harem for a day of fly fishing the Big Thompson on Thursday, Feb. 2, or try Boyd for ice fishing, if conditions permit.
• Thursday, Feb. 9, ice fishing at Dowdy Lake. As usual with out-of-town trips, meet at the east side of the K-Mart parking lot at 8 a.m. to carpool.
• Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 21-22, Ice fishing, Lake John.  Again, carpool. Contact Richard Radies for information; and book your own motel room in Walden.
• Thursday, Feb. 23, ice fishing, Michigan Lake. Carpool.

If you have suggestions for future trips, or feedback on how to make the process better, let Tom know.

New club officers elected

Dave Boyle

After a year of service as vice president, Dave Boyle has been elected to a year-long term as club president, and Jerry Miles succeeds him as vice president.

They were elected by unanimous proclamation of club members at the annual club banquet Jan. 20 at the Chilsen Center.

Charlie Higgs will now sere as treasurer and Eugene Speidel will be secretary.  Ray Park will continue on the board of directs as immediate past president.

New DOW survey shows Boyd Lake fishing on upswing

Walleye fishing in Boyd Lake this year should be "the best in the past decade," according to an updated survey by Division of Wildlife biologist Ben Swigle.

 

Based on a gillnet survey conducted Sept. 9, walleye abundance has more than tripled since 2006, driven by the excellent survival rate among the 40,000 walleye finglerlings stocked in June 2009.

The number of yellow perch in the lake has also increased, Swigle found. The walleye abundance is driven by the excellent survival of the 40,000 walleye fingerlings stocked in June 2009. Additional walleye will be stocked in 2012. The number of yellow perch in Boyd Lake has substantially increased. 

 

The DOW also surveyed Carter Lake, where the walleye fishery has declined in recent years, with encouraging results. In the first survey since anglers were allowed to keep more fish, walleye abundance has decreased while trout abundance has risen. Also, the average walleye length increased from 15.4 inches (2010 survey) to 19.0 inches (2011). 

Swigle's reports also acknowledged the Loveland Fishing Club's role in creating spawning plots at Lonetree and Long Habler. While the gillnet surveys did not show substantial increase in fish abundance, the projects need 3 to 4 years to be fully evaluated.
You can read the full survey reports on these and other lakes including Loveland, Lonetree by visiting this website: this website.

Cold, windy fun



No stone unturned:  Norm Englebrecht peers
through his ice hole for signs of trout.

Okay, it was windy and cold, and the bites were few and far between from Antero Reservoir's husky trout.  What the heck, still a great day to be outdoors in the mountains of Colorado, as 10 of the fishing club's toughest anglers demonstrated on the Jan. 10-12 trip.  Good food, good companionship and as my daughter's friend said after their senior trip to the beach:  "The important thing is, we all got back safe."   


Setting up camp for the day. Photos by Keith Gentry.



Fundraiser breakfast Saturday, Jan. 7

Bring an appetite!  Bring relatives and friends!  Club volunteers will be serving breakfast at Applebee's restaurant, 213 E. 19th St., Loveland, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7, to help raise funds for club activities.

Tickets are $5, available from Merle Gordon in advance or at the door. 

Thanks to 2011 Club leadership



Our thanks to the 2011 elected leaders of the Loveland Fishing Club.  They are, from left, Vice President Dave Boyle, President Ray Park, Secretary Jim Roode and Treasurer Dave Harem.  Boyle will serve as 2012 president, and other club leaders will be elected at the Jan. 20 annual dinner. 

Check this out: tentative 2012 calendar

President-Elect Dave Boyle has compiled a tentative list of the likely volunteer and out-of-town fishing events of 2012, based on what we did in 2011.  Look over the list.  See anything you'd like to add or move to an alternate date?  Bring it up at the next meeting or Friday breakfast, or send Dave a note at davnboy@aol.com.

January

·         Jan. 7 Applebees
·         Jan. 20 annual banquet
·         Antero fishing trip
February
·         Colorado Children's Day@ Chilson
March
·         Agilent cleanup and fishing

Another roadtrip to Bruce's!

Those who associate Norm Englebrecht with Rocky Mountain Oysters will be delighted to hear he's organizing another road trip to the legendary Severance bar, on Wednesday, Dec. 7.

We'll gather at 11:30 a.m. at the bus stop near King Sooper's on 29th Street to carpool.

As George K notes in his note on the subject,  "There is an excellent variety menu."  But everyone knows there's also an all-you-can eat bull ball eating opportunity.  Here's a link to Bruce's website.

There is an excellent variety menu.

Date: December 7, 2011

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