Ranger Lake annual cookout is Wednesday, Aug. 29

The club's annual outing to Ranger Lakes, a giddy coed adventure in the high country west of Fort Collins, will be held next week in the Colorado State Forest campground.

If you can't make the trip but would like to run up for the steak cookout on Wednesday, it's a 75-mile run past Fort Collins on Colorado 14.  The cookout will begin around 4 p.m. at Pat and Dee's campsite.  Bring your own choice of meat and a side dish to share.

Chilson Harvest Bazaar will need volunteers Saturday, Sept. 15

As in years past, Chilson depends on volunteers like us to put on a successful fall festival.  Our help will be needed in the kitchen and helping serve and cleanup the dining room.  If interested, signup at an upcoming club breakfast or contact Chilson directly.

Lonetree update from Parks and Wildlife

Following is the latest information on attempts to keep Lonetree available to the public for fishing, a letter to Club President Dave Johnson from Kristin Cannon, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Area Wildlife Manager.

Re. Fisheries support at Lonetree and other non-public bodies of water

Dave,

Thank you for your letter on behalf of the Loveland Fishing Club expressing concern over fish and other resources being provided at Lonetree and other bodies of water that do not provide adequate public access. The Loveland Fishing Club is an important partner to CPW and we value input and support from its members.

As you are likely already aware, Lonetree State Wildlife Area operated mainly through a long-term lease between CPW and the Consolidated Home Supply Ditch and Reservoir Company who owns the reservoir itself and manages the water. CPW leadership made a significant effort to renew this lease so we could keep access to Lonetree free and manage it for fishing and hunting. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to renew the lease and instead it was awarded to the Berthoud Heritage Metro District. The term for that lease began on July 1st. The metro district has told us that they would like to keep the reservoir open to the public and that they would like us to continue to manage the fishery. They also asked us to continue to allow public access through the state wildlife area as status quo through the end of the year. The hope is that we can work out an agreement in that timeframe that guarantees reasonable public access so that as the metro district takes over management of the reservoir we can resume stocking fish and anglers can continue to enjoy the well-loved fishery.

As part of this discussion, it is not our expectation that access to the reservoir will continue to be free and anticipate there will be some charge to anglers and boaters. We recognize that this will be a burden for our constituents, and we will do what we can to keep any fees reasonable. Should we not be able to secure a guarantee of reasonable access we will no longer manage the fishery in the reservoir. At what amount of money a fee becomes unreasonable is not yet determined and we will seek public input, including from your group, as that is negotiated.

CPW has not stocked Lonetree since May of 2017 and removed and relocated many fish this last spring. If we are unable to secure reasonable public access, we will resume removal. There are many challenges and changes facing anglers in the Loveland area. I would be happy to speak to your group and I will certainly keep you informed of the process as it progresses.

Thanks again for your time and input,

Kristin Cannon, Area Wildlife Manager

What do spouses and fish have in common?

Sheila Miller and Linda Prater seem to have the same attitude toward men as Tom and I have toward fishing:  if something works, even if it’s getting worn down and outdated, stick with it. Thus, Sheila and Tom will be marking their 60^th wedding anniversary in a few weeks; Linda and I are about to celebrate the big 5-0.

Having said that, and at the risk of giving Sheila and Linda some dangerous ideas about husbandry, even I concede there are times when you just have to change things up a bit.  And there’s no truer time for that on the Front Range of Colorado than the Dog Days of August.  Truth be told, fishing around here lately has kind of sucked:

• ·         Boyd’s not good for much right now except jet skiing;
•        A few of us motored up to Dowdy last week and, like just about everyone else on the pond, came pretty close to a skunk (can’t wait for the club’s annual outing to the really high country water around Ranger Lakes)
• ·         Everything in River’s Edge is hunkered down deep in the weeds, waiting for fall
•    Even on old reliable Horsetooth, the angling’s getting pretty darned challenging in this August heat.

     I ventured there yesterday, armed with my usually reliable Ned rig - a Green Pumpkin TRD and 1/32-ounce mushroom jig - and started beating the water around shallow rocks up and down the east and west shorelines. Like gullible juveniles of all species, a few solid 5- or 6-inchers took the bait.  But it wasn’t until I reluctantly switched tactics and moved into deeper water – 14 or 15 feet – that anything interesting happened.  No flurry of fish, or anything gargantuan, but half a dozen decent smallies, mostly coughing up minnows.

 

There’s a lesson here:  Like club members getting ready for the August picnic, smallmouth still want to eat this time of year; they’re just pushing further from the buffet table than normal, and wanting maybe a nice fish taco instead of crawdad.  I can’t guarantee your catch will improve, but if you’re venturing to Horsetooth you might want to move out deeper than you’re comfortable with, and try a pearl or shad-color grub or tube jig, strapped to something heavy, 1/8 or ¼ ounce.  

How about Boyd?  I dunno. Tom and I are frantically getting in shape for a second honeymoon, and hoping for cooler weather.  

Automatic delivery of LFC blog posts

I have added the e-mails of new members to the "FeedBurner" application the club uses to forward all http://lovelandfishingclub.blogspot.com postings to your e-mail address.   The only drawback is, it can take several hours to work.  You can always go directly to the blog by clicking on the URL:  http://lovelandfishingclub.blogspot.com 

On the blog, you'll also find an archive of virtually all postings made in the past several years, including things like upcoming events, club officers and such, along with a link to the club calendar and website.

Here are the names of new members just added.  
Jerry & Beth Doerschlag
Neil Lambert
Paul Mitchell
Michael Carmien
David Gorham
Barney Anderson
Dan Chrouser
Charles Piche
David Koon
Paul Miller
Philip Paarlberg
Steve Jetter

Welcome newbies.  To activate the FeedBurner app, you'll need to click on a link in an "Email Subscription Request" message that should come in your e-mail like the one below.  (Everyone else, ignore this.  You should already be on.) Bill

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Loveland Fishing Club position on public support of non-public waters

Following is a written statement by Club President Dave Johnson on the Loveland Fishing Club's position on Colorado Parks and Wildlife support of fisheries at Lonetree

Reservoir and other non-public bodies of water, and the response by Northern Colorado Area Wildlife Manager Kristin Cannon.  

  

 Subject:  Fisheries support at Lonetree and other non-public bodies of water.

The Loveland fishing Club, a nonprofit  of about 100 northern Colorado anglers, with a long history support for Colorado Parks and Wildlife and other outdoor agencies, is concerned about CPW fish and other resources being provided at Lonetree and other bodies of water which do not provide adequate public access. To us, “adequate access” means free or accessible to the public for a reasonable fee.

As fishermen we are increasingly bombarded with fees everywhere we go. There are fees at Boyd Lake, fees at Horsetooth, etc., in addition to new related expenses such as aquatic nuisance inspection fees. Such fees are a significant part of a fisherman’s budget each year, so the fewer and more affordable they are the better. We specifically suggest that a fair fee for Lonetree would be significantly less than CPw and Larimer County charges at their facilities, as those cover multiple facilities and Lonetree would be for Lonetree alone.

Also, long term agreements are important to add stability to access. We feel it is a mistake to have agreements that have to be renegotiated every five to ten years. That puts all the power in the hands of the lessor to change the agreements. It is not in the public interest to use CPW resources to enhance a fishery and then have the lessor dictate unsatisfactory terms or cancel the lease leaving CPW no way to recover its substantial investment in the property after a relatively short period of use.

Lastly we feel that if CPW resources are used to enhance a body of water, all rules, fees, etc. , must apply equally to everyone using the resource. The fishing community anxiously awaits the results of negotiations regarding Lonetree.

Thanks for your consideration,

Dave Johnson

President, Loveland Fishing Club

Response 

July 30 

Hi David,

I am leaving for a week starting tomorrow and I don't think I will get to this before then but I will provide you with a formal response when I return. In the meantime just know that we are sensitive to the very valid points you make and are trying hard to get to a productive place on Lonetree. Because of the uncertainty we have not stocked Lonetree since spring of last year and in May we actively removed as many fish as we could and put them in public waters. If we cannot be confident that Lonetree will remain public we will not stock it. There are many things to consider and we will find a way to loop you into the process.

Thanks for reaching out and I'm glad we finally made the connection.

Kristin Cannon

Area Wildlife Manager