Loveland Fishing Club Blog

Jim Visger has communicated that Chilsons will not have outside events tomorrow so the Casting With Kids event is CANCELED

Club members will demonstrate casting and other fishing techniques to attendees of the annual Kids day event at Foote Lagoon near the Chilson Center.  For more information, contact  Karol Stroschein. Setup begins at 10 a.m. and Karol will have donuts!

Norm Engelbrecht says he has never caught a fish out of any of the Laramie lakes so come join us and see if history will be made.  Merle Boden has had his gear in the back of his pickup for a month waiting to go somewhere so he's itching to go.  Fishing reports from the West Laramie Fly Store for the lakes are encouraging.  Lake Hattie:    10-14" of ice . Fishing is fair. The fishing is getting better since the derby at the beginning of the month. Meeboer:  Fishing is Good!  Ice is 7" to 10" thick, open water in the middle of the lake by the aerator. Twin Buttes:  Fishing is slow to fair. Ice is 7" to 9" thick. Gelatt:  Fishing is Fair. Ice is 7" to 9" thick Weather is always suspect but current reports for Tuesday show high temps of 45 degrees with wind up to 20 mph dependent on where you get your reports from. Monday has a zero chance of precipitation Norm, Merle and Rick will be leaving about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday for a ...

By Bill Prater So. I’m not sure exactly how warm it needs to get before we can cast again into unfrozen water, but I know it’s something more than 10 degrees. That’s exactly what it was 10 months ago as I emerged from Walt's warm truck for ice-out fishing in North Park. Ever the over-eager one, I quickly jumped into my waders - and then mid-thigh into the frigid water of a lake not fully committed to its spring meltdown. I managed one ragged, unsuccessful cast, then another. Then I raced back to that warm truck with both hands curled into a fetal position. And then and Walt and I sat for an hour swilling coffee and watching the temperature gauge still recording 10 degrees. Periodically I would wade back to see if my hands would start casting again (they wouldn’t), while Walt to his embarrassment never even got out of the truck. Charlie, Pat and whomever else was with us on that cold windy day never ventured from their vehicles until well past mid morning. The point - and I ...

Okay, I just got through watching Chad LaChance’s latest episode, about white bass at John Martin in early May last year. As I recall we scrubbed a trip about the same time due to high wind forecasts. Turns out he got blown off the lake early even in that big heavy boat of his...but not until he’d caught a buttload of big white bass and wipers. I’m thinking, long trip down there, possible gale force winds, but buttload of big white bass and wipers... So, what do you think?  Time to start planning the spring fishing season.

By:  Bill Prater Note:  These articles also appear on Fish Explorer Close the door, and move in close. Today we talk about a 21st Century way to explore the bottom of your favorite lake, pond or stream, using a free “Google Earth Pro” tool called “historical imagery.” Don’t let your eyes glaze over; this is harder to explain than it is to use. Most folks with a personal computer have used the application to see how their home looks from a few thousand feet in the air, or whether there’s a new truck parked outside an old girlfriend’s apartment. It’s an amazing, evolving tool that used to cost a couple hundred bucks; people use it to explore everything from vacation spots to Mayan ruins to the perfect spot for a new mall. But as a clever Fish Explorer, you can also use it to improve your knowledge of your secret fishing hole. And your buddy’s. (Note: this is a pretty non-technical way to study a lake bottom. To really get into this sort of thing, check out Dan S...

by: Bill Prater 2/5/2019 Note:  this article also appears on Fish Explorer . In   Part One  we used   Google Earth Pro   to introduce historical imagery to look back in time as water levels of lakes, ponds and streams fluctuate. Let’s take that further and explore the prehistory of a new lake:   BLUE HERON LAKE  in St. Vrain State Park near Longmont, Colorado. It was opened to the public a few years ago. Before that Colorado Parks and Wildlife transformed it from the spoils of an old gravel quarry into a nice little lake with reefs, humps and other intriguing underwater structure. If you didn't have a chance to look it over as it was being built, you can still look back on the building process using historical imagery.  After reading through this, I'm hoping you log onto the free Google Earth Pro application and get familiar with how it works, particularly the slider that moves you between the current satellite images and ones taken ...

There just wasn’t any competition… Norm Engelbrecht won the day. Saturdays ice fishing trip to Tarryall Reservoir to work with Outdoor Buddies and assist handicapped fishers was a big success. There were more “helpers” than there were handicapped people so we had an opportunity to just fish. Everyone there was friendly and if someone had a fish on many would trot over to see what was caught. The event organizers drove around offering rides in the four wheelers to anyone who wanted to get back to the parking area or back to the ice hole and ensured that if anyone needed help, they were there to assist with anything. Temps started at 0 degrees but with clear skies and no wind it warmed up quickly.   Tom Miller spent his time using his Go Pro camera wit h Alan Jones assisting and interviewed anyone that would talk with him. There were dogs on the ice and in ice sleds and there were tracked wheelchairs that climbed effortlessly up the snow bank pulling a sled behind them. I...