Holiday group portrait!

 

Alert Loveland Fishing Club member Dave Boyle got us all together for a group photo at Tuesday's annual Holiday Party. All together, a very distinguished looking group of anglers. 

Reminder: Tuesday's meeting is a party with gift exchange

There's no formal agenda for the 2 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17th general meeting. Instead we're having a party and gift exchange. 

There'll be coffee and cookies, but feel free to bring something else to share with the rest of the club. If you forget or choose not to participate in the gift exchange; just don't pick up a gift. Pick out something new for about 10 bucks. Wrap it up but don't put your name on it.  See you Tuesday.

Looking back to December 2010: Another Loveland Fishing Club posting from years past

 Okay, as promised, here's another look back at life in the Loveland Fishing Club a few years ago. In this case, it's a reprint of the first of the club newsletter, The Forgetful Angler. A number of things have changed since then, to wit:

Um, we don't have a newsletter any more; just these e-mail postings that simultaneously appear on the club blog, http://lovelandfishingclub.blogspot.com. We do have a Facebook presence, but don/t use it much. There's also a fond reference below to breakfast at the Widow McCoy's. We don't do breakfast there anymore; if fact, there's no longer a Widow. We do spend about the same amount of time at Friday breakfast somewhere, talking about hip replacements and gall bladder surgeries. And Tom Miller can still stretch a half-hour trip to Fort Collins into an all-day adventure. Enjoy. Bill 

First topic:  Why Real Anglers Don't Tweet. 

 Below is the first of what could be a monthly report on essential club activities.  Your suggestions would be much appreciated.  Bill P

I am often asked why we do not have a Loveland Fishing Club Facebook account, and why members cluster together like a school of baby shad every Friday morning at the Widow McCoy's to talk about events of the week just past.  In the spirit of the season, I will share these and other closely held club secrets:  The answer, people, is that we've got time on our hands.

Looking back again: Ice out at Delaney Buttes!

That photo posted to the blog last week by Pat Mikulak of the late Norm Engelbrecht sparked Walt Graul to come up with one of his favorites, shown below: eight club members who ventured to Delaney on April 25, 2022 in search of open water and big gullible trout. That's Walt on the right and Jim Roode far left. Jim and Jim Clune started our ice out tradition well over a decade ago. That's likely our first group venture together after the Covid-19 outbreak pushed anglers and everyone else into isolation. Note the blue sky:  we should start preparing for the 2025 trip. 

Pat shares a memory of a good old friend

 This is a season where memories can come flooding back. In this case, Loveland Fishing Club's Pat Mikulak is sharing the photo below taken a few years ago at Boyd Lake of the late Norm Engelbrecht, easily the club's most obsessive ice fisherman. Looking at it makes me think of Norm flat on his stomach on the ice, looking down into his fishing hole. 

 "He was such a good friend and mentor," Pat recalls, adding that the much-customized sled on Norm's left is now one of Pat's favorite possessions. Have any other memories of past seasons that you'd like to share? Send them to me at billjohnp@gmail.com. Bill 

Second in our series looking back to years past: "First ice fishing trip of 2019!"

Following up on our Nov. 22 post, "What shall we talk about until Spring?" following is the second in a promised intermittent series of articles that appeared on the Loveland Fishing Club blog in years past. Remember, this is a reprint; do not show up at the K-Mart parking lot Tuesday expecting to find:

1. Well, for one thing, the K-Mart. It's now called Jax. 
2. And don't look for other eager club members anxious to go fishing. We did that five years ago.

I don't recall how this planned first ice fishing trip of 2019 turned out (hey, I'm almost as old as some of you guys). But I suspect we did really well. 

(And as for 2024 fishing, know that the Johnstown Scheels Ice Fest is this Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a free ice fishing bucket going to the first 200 attendees. I've not heard from any club members who've ventured out on the ice yet, but Wayne and I did pretty well about a week ago on some open wateer at the Recycle Pond. Bill 

First Ice Fishing Trip of 2019 (again, not 2024) 

Meet at the K-Mart parking lot at 8 a.m. Tuesday and carpool to Red Feather Lakes, where we'll fish Dowdy or West Lake.  We're pretty sure the ice is thick (enough) and the early-season bite should be astounding.

Newbies to ice fishing:  if you don't have the equipment or the know-how, no problem.  Give me a call and one of us will loan you bait and tackle.  Dress in layers; the only hassle with the Dowdy Lake area is an occasional frosty wind.  You might want to invest in Yak Trax or other ice grippers; you should have a pair if you live around here anyway.

We should have decent ice; Fish Explorer reported a 5-inch cap on Dec. 2.  To be sure, we'll have newest members test the footing, as a sort of good-hearted initiation.

Actually, fishing on frozen water is not nearly the dumbest thing club members do regularly.  I've been following Dave Harem and crew onto the ice for a decade now, and haven't fallen in once.  Just take your time and look around, don't approach rocks and stuff sticking out of the ice, and resist the temptation to bounce over to look down my ice hole after I catch the first cutbow.  Bill

   # # # 

December meeting is Tue, Dec. 17. Gift exchange!

 ​Remember, there's no planned agenda for the last general meeting of the year, 2 p.m. Tuesday Dec. 17th.In its place: the annual holiday party! And gift exchange.

President Danny Barker and other club party lovers will ensure we have coffee and cookies, but if you're so inclined and handy around the kitchen, feel free to bring something to share with the rest of the club. If you forget or choose not to participate in the gift exchange; just don't pick up a gift., so we don't run low on presents when we get to my name. 

Remember, if you want to participate, get something (new) for about 10 bucks. Wrap it up but don't put your name on it.  We have a kind of raffle to decide who gets to pick first. Happy holidays, everyone. Bill 

Let's give Thanks to this great place we call home

 

We'd normally urge you to get out there and fish before the winter ice cap settles over northern Colorado lakes and ponds, but hey, Happy Thanksgiving Everyone. Enjoy the holiday, and maybe think about where to head with the ice fishing season opening soon in the high country. We're blessed to live in a special place. Bill

What shall we talk about until Spring? If we just reminisce, we've got two decades to work with

 Well, there's always ice fishing, too. But a distressing number of Loveland Fishing Club's finest tend to spend our winters huddled around the television set watching Harold Ensley or Homer Circle reruns. If you have a subject you'd like us to cover this winter, let me know, lovelandfishing@gmail.com Otherwise, consider this the first of a series of  past columns published on this blog over the past two decades. Some names may be unfamiliar, or bring back recollections of members past. If you need a briefing, ask an old timer. 

At this Friday's club breakfast, while reminiscing about great old trips of the past, a member with a good memory pointed out that most of our most unforgettable club events don't seem to involve the catching of a lot of fish. I simply note that no one likes a smart ass. 

To start this conversation going, following is an article originally posted on March 1, 2011: the first of our ongoing speculations on "Who's Loveland's Toughest Angler?" If you have a new candidate to suggest, drop me line. Bill 

The legendary Loveland Fishing Club is comprised of fisher men and women with a median age well into the '70s, maxing out at just over 90, with a tendency to test ourselves against the elements. With March winds howling, it's time once again to ponder, "Who's Loveland's toughest angler?"

My own claim to the title of toughest came during a February journey to the Sandhills of northwest Nebraska, where I'd forgotten my heaviest coat but bravely kept whimpering to a minimum on a day where the temperature never rose above zero. Others arguably have a more legitimate claim. 

There's Shirley Smillie, for example, who just celebrated 80, who kind of stunned everyone a few seasons ago when she turned out for a legendary minus-23 degree ice fishing trip to Lake Grandby, followed by an equally memorable midsummer catfishing trip to Kansas a few weeks after a lengthy hospital stay for heart problems.  Followed in turn by her hauling in a 45- or so pound spoonbill catfish on an early spring outing to eastern Oklahoma.

Water Symposium set for Oct. 30 at Embassy Suites in Loveland

 

Register Now for Fall Water Symposium on Oct. 30 at Embassy Suites in Loveland

The Northern Water’s Board of Directors and staff would like to invite you to attend our Fall Water Symposium from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, at the Embassy Suites in Loveland. Doors will open at 8 a.m. for check-in and to allow attendees to network.   

Northeastern Colorado water users will hear from multiple speakers regarding regional water topics. The Symposium will include a focus on the value water provides to our region and the importance of preserving the region’s base water supplies going forward. Related will be a forum discussing the ongoing challenges of growth. Additional presentations will include regional fire impacts to nearby water supplies, the management of aquatic weeds, an update on Colorado River happenings and the recently completed Colorado River Connectivity Channel project.  

The event will also include remarks from the new State Engineer Jason Ullmann and Colorado Water Conservation Board Executive Director Lauren Ris. Also, don’t miss the latest updates on construction of the Chimney Hollow Reservoir Project and environmental projects associated with the Northern Integrated Supply Project. 

Registration is now open to the public. Spaces are filling quickly, so we encourage you to register no later than Oct. 16 on our website to save your place for the day, which also includes lunch. If you are unable to register online, please feel free to call our registration line at 970-622-2234.   

When

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Where

Embassy Suites, 4705 Clydesdale Parkway, Loveland

Register for Fall Water Symposium

Agenda

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