Halloween Family Fun fishing booth

A great club turnout and warm, sunny weather were an unbeatable combination Saturday as hundreds of costumed kids lined up at the club's fishing booth in downtown Loveland.  Part of the annual Halloween Family Fun Festival, the booth offered the young "anglers" a pretty good chance of landing a piece of candy.  Thanks as always to Karol Stroschein for organizing this fun outing, and to all who made it a great success.

Jim Cadle, left, and Roger Smith wait to put candy
on the hooks of costumed anglers, while Karol Stroschein
helps a little one prepare to cast.

Barbara Ding, foreground, and Karol Stroschein
hand out goodies at the club's Fishing Booth
Saturday in downtown Loveland.

Roger awaits the arrival of a young angler's hook.

Nancy Paller has passed on

Nancy Paller, wife of former Loveland Fishing Club member Jerry Paller, died Tuesday following a lengthy illness.

Nancy and Jerry had moved from Loveland to Florida and were living near St. Louis, MO, at the time of death.  She was a fine lady.

Reminder, bruce's! Thursday, Nov. 8

It's fall - time for one of the club's most cherished, inexplicable traditions:  a road trip to Bruce's!Spouses are encouraged to come along on this one; assure them that alternative choices exist, but the big draw is All-You-Can-Eat Rocky Mountain Oysters.  The plan is to gather at the southeast corner of the King Sooper Parking Lot off Lincoln Avenue and 29th Street at 11:30 a.m. and carpool to Bruce's, a half-hour or so northeast of Loveland.  Or just meet us there about noon.  It's a pretty big place, but we make up a pretty large crowd, so let Norm know whether you plan to join us.

Most of us carpool; meet around 11:15 a.m. at the southwest end of the King Soopers parking lot off 29th and Lincoln.  Directions:  Take I-25 to Harmony Road in Fort Collins (38E toward Timnath) and go east about 7 miles to Severance.  Look for Bruce's on the left.  You can also take Colorado 392 through Windsor to U.S. 85, then go north about 4 miles to first street in Severance.  To read about what you're getting into, click http://www.brucesbar123.com/

Let's go fishing Tuesday

Okay, let's accept the sorry fact of life that some club members are too cold-natured to go fishing Monday.  And let's meet about 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16 at River's Edge.  It's supposed to be well into the 50s by then - maybe a bit warm for a trout, and near-perfect for the dedicated trout angler.  The fish should be ravenous in Dragonfly, and they've moved in pretty close to shore, so bank fishing will be first rate.

Questions?  Contact Bill by e-mail.

Sign up to help with our fishing booth at Oct. 27 Halloween Fest

Hundreds of Loveland's cutest kids will be turning out for the annual Loveland Hallow Family Fun Fest Saturday, Oct. 27, and one of the most popular attractions is the club's Fishing Booth.  It's a great deal of fun, helping the costumed youngsters "fish" for candy, and the more volunteers we have the more we can enjoy the event.

Karol Stroschein is recruiting volunteers to help in shifts, beginning with an 8 a.m. setup through the festival itself, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the downtown Loveland parking lot at Peters Park and 5th, just south of the Loveland Museum.  Sign up at Friday's breakfast, or contact Karol by e-mail.

Signs of a potentially good trip ...

Walt Graul's old Division of Wildlife buddy caught this big rainbow last week at the Delaney Buttes, a good sign for those of us planning an overnight trip there the week of Oct. 2-No. 1.

We'll be driving over in the morning and staying at a motel in Walden. More details to come.

It's almost Delaney time! Mark Oct. 29-Nov. 1 on your calendar

This is when the big browns move in shallow to spawn, and pretty much everything in the North and South Delaney reservoirs is gorging itself before iceup. Okay, it may be a bit chilly, with the occasional likelihood of blizzard, but that only adds to the excitement of the season.  So get out your long johns and set aside Monday, Oct. 29 through Thursday, Nov. 1 for this annual club trek.

Here's Charlie with a fat memory
of an earlier Delaney outing.

Okay, maybe this one was swimming
in a South Dakota fish hatchery, but
the trout get pretty big where we're going...

We'll likely just do an overnight at a Walden motel, but hold the dates so we can plan around scary weather forecasts. Some folk may prefer a day trip, though it's about a 3-hour drive.

Fishing is generally done from shore or by wading, though Wayne Baranczyk's shown questionable judgment in his float tube, during rare moments of relative calm on these wind-swept reservoirs.  Interested? Drop me an e-mail, or let's talk about it over breakfast.

Koon wins annual Club Derby

So the Loveland Fishing Club welcomed David Koon to the club this past April, and this past Wednesday, darned if he didn't land a 17 1/2-inch largemouth, earning him the title of club champion and giving him bragging rights for the next 12 months, 25 bucks and his name on the winner's trophy.

David, left, and Dan celebrate the win.

No question, fishing was slow for just about everyone else at the Colorado Youth Outdoors' Swift Ponds, with a starting temperature of 38 degrees under bluebird skies.  Dan Barker won $25 for biggest non-bass of the day, a pint-size but reportedly really scrappy 8-inch crappie.

David's name will be engraved on the winner's trophy alongside winners of the past.  Has anyone told him yet he'll have to return the trophy in one year - and cook up next year's derby lunch?

Boat ramp hours reduced at Horsetooth, Carter after Oct. 1

It's that time of year - boat ramp hours are cutting back. Satanka ramp at Horsetooth is shutting down for the season effective Oct. 1.  Here's the full schedule...

Hours of operation at boat ramps for Oct. 1-7, 2018:

Horsetooth Reservoir County Park

• South Bay ramp: 6 a.m.-10 p.m., 7 days a week
• Inlet Bay ramp: 6 a.m.-10 p.m., 7 days a week
• Satanka ramp: Closed for the season

Carter Lake County Park

• North ramp: 6 a.m.-10 p.m., 7 days a week
• South Shore: Closed for the season
• North Pines ramp: 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Thursday - Sunday

Hours of operation at boat ramps for Oct. 8-31, 2018:

Horsetooth Reservoir County Park

• South Bay ramp: 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday - Friday and 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
• Inlet Bay ramp: 8 a.m.-4 p.m., 7 days a week
• Satanka ramp: Closed for the season

Carter Lake County Park

• North ramp: 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday - Friday and 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
• South Shore: Closed for the season
• North Pines ramp: 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursday - Sunday and holidays

Boat ramps may close earlier than scheduled due to low water levels. For the up-to-date schedule of boat ramp hours, visit www.larimer.org/boating.

Bring a tape measure Wednesday. And something to write with

Reminder, the club's annual derby will be held Wednesday, Sept. 26 from 8 a.m. to noon at Colorado Youth Outdoors, followed by a cookout.

You can lug around as many poles as you want, but only use one at a time, artificial bait only. The grand prize winner is the man or woman who catches the biggest bass.  A second prize will be awarded to whomever catches the largest single fish of any other species, as measured by length. So Norm will be going after another big old carp.

We'll have index cards to record our catch, but bring along a tape measure and something to write with.