Colo Youth Outdoors needs help with annual Maverick Shoot

Help our CYO friends with their annual sporting clay fund-raiser at Sylvan Dale Ranch on Friday, May 2^nd.

Club members have volunteered at this event for years, operating shooting stations at CYO’s sporting clays course.  Former athletes, local business leaders and shooting sports professionals take part in this fund-raiser to support Swift Ponds and the CYO mission to build health relationships between youth and their parents through outdoor activities.  

Four people are needed for each station – and CYO can use as many volunteers as they get.  Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Volunteers get a hat, t-shirt and lunch from Nordy’s BBQ, and a fun day at a unique Larimer County ranch.  Sylvan Dale is located at the mouth of the Big Thompson Canyon on the north side of the highway.  Follow the signs.

To volunteer, respond to this posting with an e-mail to me, billjohnp@gmail.com or contact CYO Operations Manager Brad Wright, bwright@coloradoyo.org, 970-663-0800, with any questions. 

First ever LFC Boat Day is Thursday, April 17

Boat Day is a day set aside where Club members who have boats take Club members who don't and would like to get out on the water for a day on the water.  A sign up sheet was passed around at the February meeting, and the following is a listing of those who've signed up so far. 

If you'd like to join us, contact Dave Boyle at 223-7351 or e-mail davnanboy@aol.com.  We'll settle on times and locations shortly.  

People with Boats who'll be participating:

Name Number of people can take

Dave Boyle 2-3
Larry Seib  2-3
Dotty Bethel  2-3
Larry Carlson  3-4
Bob Scott  1-2
Tom Garland  1-2
Merle Boden  1-2
Bill Prater  1-2

Tom Miller   1

Passengers: 

Jim Roode
Ron Aron
Denny Breen
Wesley West

Harry Case
Charlie Higgs
Jim Giles
Dave Harem
Rosanne Carrol
Barbara Ding
Rick Haskell
Ray Park

Carter, Horsetooth open for boating Tuesday, March 25!

Get your jet skis out, boys and girls.  Boat ramps at both Larimer County reservoirs will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through March 31, with additional hours to be announced soon.

For now, only a single ramp will be open at each lake - the South Bay Ramp at Horsetooth, and the North Ramp at Carter.  

Here are the previously announced hours at Boyd Lake:

• March/April: Mon-Thurs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fri-Sun 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• May/September: Daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• October/ November: Daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

If you want to launch outside of the inspection hours at Boyd (not an option at Horsetooth or Carter), your boat must be pre-inspected for ANS prior to launching.

No inspections are required for Lonetree, Lon Hagler or Boedecker State Wildlife Areas; just be sure to clean and drain you boat to prevent spread of invasive species.

Exception proposed to club tournament rules!

April-May Fishing Calendar as of March 18

ü Tue, April 1-3  Grey Reef, Contact Jim Roode

ü Mon, April 7, Board meeting Chilson

ü Tue, April 15, general meeting Chilson

ü Thur, April 17, Boat Day, Dave Boyle

ü Wed, April 23, Chilson Children’s Day, Karol Stroschein

ü Sat, May 3, Chilson Pancake breakfast

ü Mon, May 5, Board meeting, Chilson

ü Tue, May 13-16, Jumbo Reservoir, Norm Englebrecht

ü Mon, May 19-23, Blue Mesa, Ray Park

ü Tue, May 20, general meeting, Chilson

*All dates subject to change due to whim or weather

*Local trips to be scheduled following March 18 breakout sessions

Agenda for Tuesday, March 18 club meeting, 2 p.m. at Chilson

Here's what we'll be talking about.  Remember to bring your GPS if you've got one.  Anything to add to the agenda, please let me or Lou know.  Bill 

AGENDA, March 18, 2014 

Where to fish in early spring ...

Ben Swigle, club friend and regional biologist for Colorado Parks & Wildlife, swears the likeliest hotspot for walleye this spring will be Jumbo Reservoir northeast of Sterling.  Walleye numbers in Parks & Wildlife nets last fall were "the highest since we started doing surveys," Ben reported at Sunday's Larimer County Fishing Expo.  (Here's a related article by Ben published in the Windsor Beacon last June).

Ben also says Boyd should have excellent white bass numbers this year, after heavy stocking.  He reaffirmed earlier statements about the Big Thompson, that anglers should find good fishing above Drake, but from Drake south the river has been heavily channelized.  That section of the river will be restored, but the work is expected to take three-four years.

Another quality place for spring fishing?  Boedecker was stocked with crappie several years ago and fising should be good.

Finding your way around a handheld GPS

Our featured speaker at the Tuesday, March 18 general meeting will be Jim Roode, on how to use a handheld GPS device for fishing. 

With the advent of affordable handheld GPS systems, navigation has taken a giant leap forward. The days of navigating to your wilderness destination using a map and compass are now greatly supplemented by GPS systems -- and you can use the same setup to find your way back to a favorite fishing hole.

 

Jim, the club's government relations liaison and die-hard outdoorsman, will show us how to use a hand-held GPS device to find our way around in the woods and on the water.  His talk is only about using a handheld device, generally one of the several types made by Garmin or Magellan, not the type you plug into your car.

If you have a handheld device, bring it to the meeting.  You want to ensure you get it back, so HAVE YOUR NAME ON IT. If you're already familiar with how it works, help your fellow club members during this interactive workshop. 
 
Developed by the Department of Defense, GPS devices used to be accurate within 30 feet or so, limiting their usefulness for fishing.  That's ancient history:  now a good handheld device will take you within a few feet or your destination, day or night, land or water.

Boyd Lake opens for boating

As temperatures soared to near 70 degrees Monday, Boyd Lake State Park was opened for boating at noon March 10, signaling the start of the early spring fishing season.  Remember, boat inspections for aquatic nuisance species are mandatory at Boyd and many other waters in the state. Hand-launched, non-motorized, boats such as canoes or kayaks are allowed on the water and are not subject to inspection. The aquatic nuisance species (ANS) vessel inspection station hours at Boyd will be:

March/April: Mon-Thurs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fri-Sun 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
May/September: Daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
October/ November: Daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

If you want to launch outside of the inspection hours, your boat must be pre-inspected for ANS prior to launching.

The dock at Boyd will not be installed until Wednesday, March 12.  That's okay:  it's supposed to be cold and windy on Tuesday, with the possibility of snow.  And it'll get warm again soon.

Ray Park nominated for RSVP "Volunteer of the Year"

Ray Park, past club president and creator of the Loveland Fishing Club Senior Derby, has been nominated for the Larimer County Retired Senior Volunteer Program's "Volunteer of the Year."

Nominees will be recognized on Wednesday, March 12, at a reception at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins.  

In his nomination petition, Club President Bill Prater noted Ray "has taken a great idea, to create a fishing opportunity for the elderly, and turned it into an eagerly awaited Loveland Fishing Club event open to every assisted living center resident in Loveland." Ray conceived of the derby while club president in 2011.  He organized a strong team of volunteers who contacted assisted living centers and engaged the support of the city and special use of Flatiron Reservoir.  He also secured the help of the Parks and Wildlife Bellevue Watson fish hatchery at LaPorte, which provides trout for each of the derbies. 

"Fishing Club volunteers greet busloads of guests and give them personalized help, including warm welcomes for residents who simply ccome to watch," Prater noted. "The goal is a memorable day outdoors for people who may not have had an opportunity to fish for many years.  Under Ray’s guidance, club members volunteer en mass, and relish the event so much because the elderly anglers are overjoyed at their day by the lake."

                      # # # 

How to win the Club Tournament: Catch the biggest fish*

Get your worms out, bring along a tape measure, and prepare to catch the Loveland Fishing Club’s largest fish of 2014.

Our new tournament rules, approved by voice vote at the February meeting and confirmed by the Board on March 4, provides first, second and third-place pins or patches to the club’s best anglers of the year.  The winner’s name goes on a permanent plaque. Here are the rules:

Fish Explorer adds Wyoming and Rocky Mountain Natl Park lakes and streams

The Fish Explorer database for fishermen has added lake and stream information and member forums for the waters of Rocky Mountain National Park, along with the state of Wyoming.

The national park information is based on information from Steve Schweitzer, author of A Fly Fishing Guide To Rocky Mountain National Park. If you have any interest in fishing the Park, get this book.  Fish Explorer now covers fishing topics in Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Florida and California.

Agenda for Monday, March 3 Board meeting at Chilson

All members welcome; we meet at 9 a.m.

Okay. Not too bad.

Club member Elizabeth Harris poses with her steelhead taken near Challas, Idaho, in January.  Ah, but let's see her haul one that size from Boyd Lake!