Loveland Fishing Club Blog

Usually we tell a veteran Loveland Fishing Club angler they kept their thumb on the scale measuring a fish (Not mentioning anyone by name here; just saying. In this case I think relative newcomer Ken Tarvin is being way too honest in his measurement of the big old Colorado Master Angler-class largemouth he caught last week.  "Big ol' Bass today," he reported after visiting a local pond. "Biggest I've ever caught. Measurement comes in at 18.75 which should qualify me for a Colorado Master Angler Award." It should also put Ken in the running for Loveland Fishing Club Angler of the year, the annual competition to see who can land the biggest fish based on Colorado Parks and Wildlife criteria for Master Angler. But your Editor keeps looking over a blowup of the tape measurement Ken did on the beast, and here's HIS semi-professional conclusion:       From the front, t he yellow tape measure extends past the lip. If you look closely at where the tip of the fis...

 The fishing was a bit slow but the conversations proceeded at a rapid pace Saturday, June 6 at the 2026 Loveland Fishing Club Senior Day, a joint project between the club and City of Loveland Open Lands & Trails.  About two dozen senior anglers were hosted by the club at Rivers Edge Open Space, along with some younger folks we welcomed as well, fishing during Colorado's annual Free Fishing Weekend.  Thanks again to all who volunteered, and to Debbie Eley, Resource Specialist and volunteer coordinator for Open Lands & Trails.  Click here for photos taken during the event:  2026 Senior Day

  As a well-aged fisherman, I am like a well-aged wine, one that gets a bit better with each passing season. (My fishing buddies think of me more as aging catfish bait.) But the net effect is the same: Like the infinite number of monkeys sitting in front of an infinite number of typewriters, occasionally my time in a belly boat pays off with something useful. In this case, I’ve found a quirky way to ambush some fine fish that have been safely hiding in shallowest water they can find.  I’m not conceited enough to think there aren’t other anglers experimenting with something similar. (On the other hand, at least one of those social media geniuses should have spilled these beans on Facebook or something before now.) Regardless, let me tell you about a new (to me at least) tactic to adapt gear meant for "forward facing sonar" and deep water to fish Colorado’s notoriously shallow, weed-choked shorelines. If you fish gravel ponds and other small bodies of water along the Front Rang...

  Ken Tarvin and a friend recently decided they had to  drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park and fish before the crowds and reservations came into effect. He shares this report: (Editor's note: ignore the byline at the top; I don't know how to delete it. Ken wrote this: ☺ We wanted to fish Moraine Park and so, with the morning sun shining, we made the drive up the canyon into Estes Park and headed to the Beaver Meadows entrance. There were few other vehicles and we were quickly in the park after showing our pass.  The plan was to fish the Big Thompson around the Fern Lake trailhead first. It was full however, so we backtracked to an open parking space down the road a bit. We both fish Tenkara, and so with rods and flies in hand we made our way to the river. The flows were good and the water was COLD at 46°F. The problem, as my friend put it, was it was a great day for fishermen. Bright and sunny with almost no clouds isn't a recipe for eager trout and it turned out th...

We couldn't have picked a nicer day for the 2026 Loveland Kids Fishing Derby: sunshine and eager anglers. More than 250 kids registered to fish, before they and their families lined the banks of the North Lake Park Duck Pond Saturday. An 11-year-old Elie won the top prize for biggest trout of the day, a handsome 13/12-inch rainbow. Two-year-old Zealand earned his new rod and tackle with a 7 1/2-incher. "Everyone stepped up," says Derby Chair Bob McHale. "My thanks to all the club's volunteers, and our teammates from Loveland Police, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Kiwanis and Colorado Youth Outdoors and Outdoor Buddies." For a slide show on the Derby, click this link: 2026 Kids Derby Photos below: Bob McHale and Zealand, and Elie with her winning catch.

  Fishing club friend and Front Range guide Brad Peterson passes this along:  BREAKING: Union Reservoir Boat Launch Advisory Water levels at Union Reservoir have dropped to the point where I am not recommending any boats over 18 feet attempt to launch, and dual axle trailer rigs should stay home. The ramp is extremely shallow right now — you’re looking at getting your vehicle nearly to the point of water in the cab just to get a boat in the water. On top of that, there are larger gravel and rocks near the loading area, and I’m already hearing reports of anglers hitting their prop while loading. That’s an expensive and frustrating end to a fishing trip. NoCo Fishing News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Upgrade to paid We’ve talked about the reality that we’re going to lose lakes to boating as the summer wears on — and I’m afraid Union is the first domino to fall. I was hoping we’d at leas...