The Forgetful Angler: January Newsletter

Put on your Christmas socks and head to the lake

Once again it is that awkward time of year when Loveland Fishing Club members look around at one another and ask, "What should we do until spring?"  

For some, it's too damned cold to go fishing.  For others, it's too warm.  Boyd was long frozen over by this time last year; at the moment, ducks are swimming around Marina Inlet.  So for the angler who just can't wait until spring, we have the high country, or we have friends or relatives to visit in Florida.  Or we have Friday morning sessions at the Widow McCoy's, where we can talk until we run out of coffee about places we've been intending to go. 

We also have the club Fishing Calendar, and it is past time that we all give it the attention it deserves -- and time to thank the folks who put together the club fishing dates every month.

We are lucky that the guys who create the calendar are also some of the club's more fanatic anglers:  Jim Kucera, Frank Zupanc, John Grady and Alan Anderson, who can be spotted at one darned body of water or another a lot more often than they'll be seen mowing the grass. 

They are also known to kvetch now and then, not without justification, that we dutifully publicize a fishing location, date and time - and then no one shows up to fish.  

We are never going to get some club members to venture out when the temperature is less than 60 degrees, or more than 78.  But the rest of us should print out the calendar (here's a link to the latest:  http://lovelandfishingclub.org/2.html)  think up a good excuse for the spouse why we shouldn't clean house, and go get our worms wet.

Because of the prolonged warm spell, this month's calendar is a lot like December's:  it suggests some spots, knowing that ice conditions in the lowlands are subject to change.

ONE CHANGE IN TRADITION:  We've always told club members to meet at K-Mart at 8 a.m. and carpool to the lake or river, a likely throwback to the early days when most club members lived on the west side of town.  From now on, for most trips, talked amongst yourself, and then just drive to the fishing hole and look around for the rest of us.  Want to ice fish and never been?  Chances are excellent that you can borrow some gear.  And next spring, if you go the lake and someone has a boat, and there's room, you'll be welcomed aboard.  

If there is a long drive involved, or an entrance fee like the ones at Carter or Flatirons, talk to one another about carpooling.  And if some lake gets especially hot (or, at this time of year, especially thin on top), bring it up with the rest of us at Friday breakfast, or an e-mail or phone call.

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January Fishing Outlook

The Division of Wildlife suspends its weekly reports during the winter, but if you want to see if anyone's catching anything they're willing to talk about, get acquainted with http://fishexplorer.com or the Colorado Fishing Forum.  Fish Explorer is especially good for regular updates on things like ice thickness (it was already 10" at Dowdy just before Christmas, for example), and the contributors to their Fishing Forum don't seem any more prone to exaggeration than Frank or John.

We've got some good trips already planned for 2011, beginning with the Antero trip with our Lake ICE USA friends Jan. 11-13 (see Norm Engelbrecht), and a likely guided trip to Grandy with Bernie Keefe (see Tom Miller or Bill Prater).

Until (or if) lower elevation lakes freeze solid enough for someone besides Jimmy Giles, lake fishing is going to be in the high country.  Talk it over among yourselves, and let the rest of us know where you'd like to go.  Keep warm, and have a Happy New Year.  Bill
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