Loveland Fishing Club Blog

Colorado State Wildlife Areas: New rules and what they mean for all Coloradans DENVER – The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission recently adopted a rule change, requiring all visitors 18 or older to possess a valid hunting or fishing license to access any State Wildlife Area or State Trust Land leased by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. This new rule will be in effect beginning July 1, 2020. “Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages over 350 State Wildlife Areas and holds leases on nearly...

By Bill Prater Even before bulldozers, settlers along the rivers and streams of the Colorado quarried rocks and sand for construction of roads and buildings, a process that continues today. Surprisingly, many resulting holes in the ground hold decent populations of fish, and some are open to the public. If you’re looking for a place closer to home to fish, how do you tell the good from the mediocre? You can go from one to another with a pole, of course, but you can improve your odds with advance sleuthing. As we've talked about elsewhere, Google Earth can help you learn a lot about a body of water without wetting a line, and Fish Explorer and the Colorado Fishing Atlas can provide other insights. But there’s a lot you can do for yourself.  (See links below) Once you’ve identified public waters (and accessible private ponds, if you’re fortunate), scout before you fish. With water as it is in the West, we don’t have many farm ponds like the ones in the Midwest and south, dug w...

By Bill Prater Note: As a way to help beginning anglers get through this annoying period in history, FishExplorer.com has  launched a series of short articles on the basics. This piece of mine on how to assess the quality of local ponds is one of them. Bill  We have two basic types of manmade ponds in the flatlands of the Rocky Mountain West - one-time gravel pits and ones created by bulldozer as part of a municipal park or subdivision, mostly to look scenic and provide irrigation. Not sure what to call them: how about "landscaped pond?" As we scour the countryside for a good place to fish, let's start by focusing on that second type. I frequent a 2-acre pond near my home, east of busy soccer fields in a city park. By quirk, it’s hard to spot until you get right on it, which may explain why I am usually the only person there looking for a fish. It’s not a great fishery, but it has a few gullible largemouth, and bluegill best described as “small but sporting....

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -  The U.S. Senate has passed the historic Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422), which represents the single greatest commitment to increasing public access and advancing conservation in a lifetime, on a strong bipartisan vote of 73-25. The Great American Outdoors Act will provide $9.5 billion over 5 years to address the crumbling infrastructure on America's public lands and waters. While the National Park Service will receive $6.5 billion in funding, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) led a successful effort to secure the inclusion of $3 billion to repair and maintain public land infrastructure overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and U.S. Forest Service (USFS), which provides critically important recreational opportunities for America's sportsmen and women. "The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation applauds Senate passage of the Great American Outdoors Act. Today's vo...

Pelican Ponds at St. Vrain State Park Photo: Christina Weiss

Full and permanent funding of the LWCF supports Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s mission to conserve wildlife and enhance outdoor recreational opportunities. DENVER -- On June 12, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved a resolution voicing support for the secure, long-term and dedicated funding for land and water conservation, wildlife management, parks and outdoor recreation. Full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was subsequently granted on June 17 when the U.S. Senate passed the Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422). The resolution, presented to the CPW Commission by Outgoing Chairwoman Michelle Zimmerman, supported full funding of the LWCF, federal funding to reduce the maintenance backlog on publ...

With the reopening of Perkins it may be possible to resume Friday morning breakfast. Social distancing rules will be in force and with the reduced capacity Perkins may not be able to accommodate all. Proceed with caution folks. From Perkins Website:   https://www.perkinsrestaurants.com/important-message-regarding-covid-19/ To Our Valued Guests: At Perkins, we take great pride in serving kindness … in good times and challenging times. In recent weeks, we have ramped up our off-premise dining options with expanded online ordering for delivery or pickup, and new options such as Family Meals and Perkins Market. As our dining rooms re-open, we are ready to welcome you back and once again host you in our restaurants.  In accordance with CDC and state guidelines, we have enhanced our cleaning and sanitation procedures and implemented limited seating capacity so you can dine in a safe and comfortable environment.  Specific practices may vary by store based ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Randy Hampton Northwest Region Public Information Officer 970-640-1647 / randy.hampton@state.co.us COLORADO WOLF UPDATE CPW Image - A wolf eats on an elk carcass in northwest Colorado DENVER, Colo. - With warmer weather and decre...