Loveland Fishing Club Blog

About a hundred Leland Carpenter fans turned up at his home Saturday to wish him a happy 90th birthday. Even the Loveland Police stopped by the wish him well.  "This one meant something extra," a police spokesperson said on their Facebook page, after posing with friends and family (Leland, Robbie and friends shown at right) "An Army veteran celebrating 90 years. Nine decades of life, service, sacrifice, and stories most of us can only imagine. Showing up for moments like this reminds us why we love what we do ... . A sharp salute to you, sir. And a heartfelt thank you for your service. Happy birthday (again) from the LPD." Like the celebration the club held for Leland at the February meeting, the gathering was a surprise. 

 Thursday I may have implied that the Loveland Fishing Club's St. Vrain State Park outing wasn't a true success until after the hatchery truck arrived. I, uh, may have overstated the situation. Here's what happened. (Pay attention; it's a bit complex)  Yesterday, along with Pat Bocek, Darrell Knight, Doug Money, Ken Kesterke and a couple other club members, my brand new spinning rod and I probed the murky depths of Mallard Pond for a couple hours, seeking at least a holdover stocked trout. Bupkis. Otherwise, it was a beautiful day to visit St. Vrain, except for the sight of a dead carp here and there. Eventually abandoning my belly, boat, to gulp down another club-provided pastry and another club-provided coffee, I strolled over to the adjacent Sandpiper Pond. There I shared fishing suggestions with  club members who had abanded Mallard to join Dave Johnson and Chris Nelson. Then I, uh, went home. Possibly prematurely. Those remaining anglers later revealed that a fair...

 It was a beautiful day at St. Vrain State Park Thursday - temps in the '60s, a bit of a breeze, coffee and pastries for about 10 Loveland Fishing Club members who arrived ready to fish. Early on, the fish didn't seem ready to cooperate. Until late morning, that is, when Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff arrived with a generous stocking of gullible rainbows. Skills had much to do with it, of course, but over the course of the day our folks all caught fish, with a little help from our friends. Here are a few samples.: Pat Bocek Ken Kesterke and Bob Dierkes Bob and new friend

 Forget last week when it was cold and blustery. Join the Fishing Club Day at 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 at St. Vrain State Park. Carpool if you can and meet at the park administrative building, where we'll have coffee, water and snacks before fishing. Or if you just want to sit in the building and drink coffee, that's okay too. The park is just east of I-25 off highway 119 east of Longmont. 

 The "Loveland Fishing Club" has a FB page by the same name. The page is members only and only members can Post, see posts, see members. If you are a member of the Loveland Fishing Club and would like to join, send a request to jimroode@yahoo.com and I will send an invitation from the FB page. When you accept the invitation I will make you a member. Thanks Jim Roode 

Loveland Fishing Club members are invited to share in a Celebration of Life for long-time member Bill Hamlin, 82, who passed away Oct. 20.  The event, arranged by his sister Sharon Lundt, will be held at noon Thursday, March 5 at the VFW Post 15, 305 N. Cleveland in Loveland.  For Bill's complete obituary, click on the following link:  https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/loveland-co/william-hamlin-12569741

 Normally this time of year some of us would be planning a day of ice fishing at St. Vrain State Park, and others would be waiting for open water. Now we can all get together and gossip about this crazy warm weather - at the year's first Loveland Fishing Club outing of 2026. We'll meet at 9 a.m. in the conference room in the park's main building facing Mallard Pond, where the club will have snacks and drinks and sound advice on how to catch a fish in any of the many ponds. (Ask for directions at the gate) We'll talk about it at Tuesday's general meeting, 2 p.m. at Chilson Center. You can fish from the bank or by float tube or kayak - even ice fishing if you can find some. Multiple ponds were stocked with trout this fall in anticipation of a winter season that just didn't materialize. 

  For years now we've paused to honor whoever lands the club's biggest fish of the year, and here's Darrell Knight showing off that giant Bass Pond largemouth he caught last spring.  The winning fish is the largest one of any sport species taken from public water in Colorado, as a percentage of the Colorado Master Angler criteria for the species.  Darrell's largemouth was just shy of 120 percent. Remember, no private or out of state waters; no fish caught on a guided trip,   So get out there and start fishing; take a photo of the fish with a measuring rule, and submit it to Bob McHale. Entries are accepted through year-end.    

Okay, not much to report this winter about ice fishing on Front Range lakes and ponds. But Jim Barborak offers photos with young friends from seasons past. Below he and a neighbor buddy show off a day's catch at St. Vrain State Park, and Jim and granddaughter with her largemouth and a green lawn. Meanwhile, bottom photo, last summer gave Cindy Greenwalt the chance to land a gorgeous Wyoming carp. She's now sitting at home planning more fishing trips.   

That sacred club tradition - the occasional gathering at Bruce's in Severance for a plateful of Rocky Mountain Oysters is scheduled for this week. For newbies, know this is a really popular event for our spouses. And there are other things on the menu.   

 It's mid January already, time to start talking about what to do when Spring arrives. Terry Gibbons, Loveland Fishing Club member and webmaster for the Rocky Mountain Flycasters chapter of Trout Unlimited, will tell us about plans for the Northern Colorado Fishing Expo26. The annual fundraiser for Flycasters will be Saturday, March 28, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ranch, with exhibitors, fly tying and other diversions from this strange winter of ours. 

Okay, we asked for some new fish photos and one determined club member sent us one from a fishing trip that must have taken place a few years ago. Use our new Comment tool to tell the rest of us who this is (and take a stab at how long ago)

  Ok ay, it has the same name as the blog the club has used since 2010, and the archive of articles is intact. But with the help of some crazy new artificial intelligence tools, the Loveland Fishing Club has redesigned the blog in ways that should: Be much easier to view and navigate , particularly for folks using those annoyingly tiny cellphones Take advantage of tools that automatically update changing data , like weekly stocking reports Nudge members into communicating with each other more effectively Provide easy access to useful fishing information , like the Colorado Parks and Wildllife’s weekly stocking reports, fisheries biologists’ assessments of our fishing holes, and an evolving source of information on how to become a better angler. Replace the lengthy e-mails that have been sent to members with a single link to the full resources More N ew Stuff as we figure out how to find and share it. We’ll go over this at the January 20th meeting. For now, look around the blog, t...

 Okay, some of us have resorted to watching fishing shows on TV; others curse the lack of ice on our lakes and ponds. All of us could benefit from admiring or laughing at our friends' fishing photos. So share them with the club: So dig through your files and send a note to lovelandfishing@gmail .com with a photo or two. Add an explanation or defense if needed. Just remember, we are a clean-minded bunch and many of us have grandkids. So at least keep the nudes tasteful. EDITOR'S NOTE: we're redesigning the blog. Please see if test the Comment gadget below and see if you can attach your photo. Bill 

It's shortly after 9 a.m. Friday on Lon Hagler Reservoir. Temperature hovers around 39 degrees, no wind. Four anglers from the Loveland Fishing Club are afloat, one tossing his deadly chartreuse and white Gulp Minnow, the others pounding sand.  A few tense moments and ... that 12-inch rainbow strikes! And makes club history as the first official catch of the New Year. (Modesty prevents me from telling you who caught the beast. But as of now the chubby stocker holds the lead for 2026 Big Fish of the Year . If you think you can beat it, report to Bob McHale. ​ In the foreseeable future Northern Colorado weather is supposed to be in the high 50s, low 60s for the foreseeable future; water's about 34 degrees. So get fishing.      Photo by Bill Prater