Loveland Fishing Club Blog

First, a short history lesson.    The informal title of Loveland's Toughest Angler has been conferred intermittently for two decades now, with no particular rules or a democratic vote, just the whim of the club's editor: Me. To qualify, you just have to impress the editor by unexpectedly tossing aside common sense or, over time, consistently perform memorable fishing feats of skill or guts. For no particular reason beyond showing yourself and your buddies that you still can. And will. Before we get to this year's winner, let's do a quick review of the club's history of questionable behavior. I recall that the title was initially bestowed on former member Frank Zupanc, known for solitary, crazy angling adventures in a notoriously leaky belly boat. Those feats were made even more adventurous and memorable by that broken neck of his. And don't forget Jim Clune, whose reputation for questionable good sense was cemented by his 2013 risky black powder moose hunt with ...

So it's early in the season, and so maybe this 17 1/2-inch largemouth isn't the biggest fish you'll see this year. But it's bigger than anything else turned in to Bob McHale so far in 2026. So the only way to tone down my rhetoric is to get your butts on the water and fish. The contest runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, with the winner being the largest fish of any species recognized by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, based on percent of Master Angler criteria. At  17.5 inches , this fat mama was approximately 97.22% of the way to the minimum requirement. (A less truthful angler might have rounded it off to 100 percent) To move ahead of me in the Angler of the Year contest, you just have the come up with a carp that is at least 97 and a quarter! Remember, to be eligible, your fish must be taken from Colorado waters where all club members could potentially fish. So Jim Barbarok can pound sand when he shows off that giant catfish from his China trip. Get a photograph of your ent...

Baffling Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists and fellow Loveland Fishing Club members, John Gwinnup boated an invasive Northern Snakehead fish Monday from Horsetooth Reservoir. It was the first known sighting of the slimy predator west of the Missisippi River. The ravenous fish's range has expanded alarmingly since being discovered in the Florida Everglades in the 1990s, devastating native species and startling unprepared paddleboarders. Gwinnup, a founding member of the club and our Member at Large, injured his shoulder while landing the beast in the upper reaches of Satanka Cover using a 3-inch Berkley Gulp! Emerald Shiner minnow. He also incurred cuts to his right arm and thumb (see below). Aided by fishing buddy Pat Mikulak, John had the nearly severed digit sewn back in place at a Fort Collins Urgent Care clinic. Surgery on his shoulder is set for April 16. The two anglers were able to rejoin other club float tube members later in the afternoon; however high winds forced an...

 The club's monthly outing drew about a dozen members to St. Vrain State Park Thursday to sample the park's many ponds. Most of us stuck with stocker trout, on an unseasonably warm and unreasonably pleasant day of fishing. Bob McHale snuck over the Eagle Pond and scored this handsome largemouth. Looks to me like he took it on a purple or blue and black plastic worm...

 Every spring Loveland Fishing Club volunteers help with the Chilson Centere's Pancake Breakfast; it's one of the ways we repay the center for use of its facilities. The event begins at 7 a.m. and runs through noon on April 11. If you'd like to help, contact Lauren Pavlish, 970-962-2336; or email laurenpavlish@cityofloveland.org. Three shifts need help: Kitchen, 7 to 10 a.m.; Kitchen 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Kitchen and Cleanup, 10 a.m. until noon.

  Normally we would not be discussing this for another six weeks or so. But like the mosquitoes around Boyd Lake, Ice-Out this year is ridiculously early at the Delaney Lakes and Lake John. In other words, it is time for the time-honored Loveland Fishing Club tradition that separates the women from the girls, the men from boys. Those of you previously unaware of the Delaneys are in for a treat - and possibly a touch of frostbite. Normally those clear North Park lakes are ice-capped until around the first of May; Club members debate the precise time when the ice cracks open and big, scrappy browns, rainbows and cutbows start cruising the shallows. Unfortunately it's also a time when northern Colorado can feel like southern Wyoming: with high winds and occasional plummeting temperatures competing with the prospect of a personal best fish. We generally watch the fishing reports from North Park Anglers in Walden for news about the arrival of spring in the high country. Here's what...