Loveland Fishing Club Blog

Or at least, that's what Rick Golz is calling himself these days on his Google Photos site, after scoring this classy trout at Carter Lake Thursday.  The big mama is believed to be one of a number of big brood fish rescued by Colorado Parks and Wildlife at the fish hatchery up Poudre Canyon in advance of the Cameron Peak fire. That black stuff on her is ash from the fire still floating on the surface of the lake.

Editor's Note:  sorry if this gets to you late. I tried sending it as an e-mail but it looks like it got bounced for some mysterious Google reason. Bill  Let's meet at 9 a.m. in the vicinity of the Northeast boat ramp. I'm going to bring the float tube, but you're welcome to fish from the bank. Hopefully this cold weather has drawn the fish in shallow. Gonna be a bit chilly but winds are supposed to be 2 to 3 mph.  Questions? Anyone hit the lake lately? Give me a call at 970-988-9174  

Haven’t seen anything about other outdoor shows yet, but Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the Denver stop of the International Sportsmen’s Expo has been scrubbed for 2021. They do plan to return Jan. 6-9, 2022. 

I knew we were in trouble this morning as I drove past Westerdoll Lake and watched a dozen geese standing on the middle of the pond. Then Walt called with the news that he'd spoken with a guy at the Walden Fly Shop, who reported temperatures hit 22 below last night and the Delaneys were about one-third iced over. Wind chill there hit about minus 45, which is kind of cold, even for Norm. For those of you packing to join us for a day trip Wednesday, I guess we can watch some old Bill Dance episodes.  Meanwhile, Larimer County is closing the Carter and Horsetooth boat ramps today and Wednesday but hoping to reopen Thursday.  But after a two-month closure due to the Cameron Peak Fire,  Colorado Highway 14 has reopened between north of Fort Collins and Walden. (We had planned to take the long way to Walden, through Laramie) While fire activity in the immediate area has diminished, which allowed for the opening, CDOT crews will still need to clear some debris from the shoulders...

 From The FishingWire, https://www.thefishingwire.com/features/c0796cb0-a861-40b5-8ee1-c4889e03b9ff  Recreationists of all experience levels should take water-safety precautions   WEST YELLOWSTONE –  By the time Mark Bromley came to a stop, his strength had been almost entirely absorbed by the cold current pulling him downstream.   His waders were full of water. Fly fishing line was twisted and tangled around his body, and breathing was painful. All he could do was hold on to the root of an overhanging shrub while keeping his eyes, nose and mouth out of the water.   “I was just beat. Totally, totally beat,” Bromley recalled. “I couldn’t move.”  Such an outcome was not in the forecast for the day, which started out as an enjoyable fishing experience on the Madison River in July. Bromley, his nephew and his nephew’s wife were fishing at Raynold’s Pass Fishing Access Site, about 30 miles northwest of West Yellowston...

  https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/6964/58442/ Just saw this on inciweb. Note, though, that they’re urging everyone to not use it unless really necessary.

 Okay, so it was 27 degrees when Jim Clune, Wayne Baranczki and I hit Dragonfly Saturday morning, and 37 when we headed for hot coffee. And the water is covered in a nasty black ash.  Caught a few trout tho. Who wants to go tomorrow? I’ll sit that one out.

I know it's the weekend. But the darned kids and other homebound wretches we've shared the water with since March are probably going to be inside playing Tik Tok.  Despite an incredible amount of fishing pressure this spring, summer and fall, the fishing has generally held up pretty well at River's Edge. Even so, I haven't seen a trout there all fall. With the coming of cold, and the addition of timely stocking by our friends with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, that should change abruptly Saturday if we just get out and fish . Timing is critical,  Fellow Anglers.   The temperature is only supposed to hit 24 degrees today, 21 on Sunday. But it'll be a balmy 35 degrees by 10 a.m. Saturday, and 54 by 2 o'clock, made even more balmy with winds pushing no more than 5 or 10 mph. So unless we wake up to another ashfall, or Karol and Arnie get evacuated again, let's meet about 10 a.m. at Dragonfly, on the northeast corner by the little dock. I'll be easy to spot:...

By Bill Prater (Note:  this article is also being published in http://fishexplorer.com ) It’s far too early to begin assessing the extent of damage to the outdoors of northern Colorado, and probably unhelpful to our collective state of mind. But there is news to report on our northern fisheries, not all of it bleak.  Thanks to our friends with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, here are a few things we now know with some certainty. Riley Morris, Hatchery Chief for Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s two hatcheries on the Poudre, reports that the Poudre Rearing Unit, located in Poudre Canyon about 55 miles northwest of Fort Collins, was evacuated before the Cameron Peak fire reached it in the early days of that fire. Thanks to firefighters and CPW staff, no fish or hatchery facilities were lost in the fire.  However, the Hatchery relies on Poudre River surface water for it's raceway water supply, Riley says. “Meaningful precipitation events after the Cameron Peak Fire will inevitabl...

  Nebraska truly is a state where east meets west and north meets south. Our state has a great diversity of geography, climate, habitats, wildlife and fish. As a result, Nebraska anglers are blessed with opportunities to fish for a variety of warm-water, cool-water and cold-water fish including several species of trout. Although trout may not be native to Nebraska, they can be found in stocked waters across the state during the fall, winter, and spring. Furthermore, Nebraska contains cold-water habitats mostly in northern and western regions of the state that will support trout year-round. Adventurous anglers can prospect those cold-water rivers, streams, and lakes, many in the most picturesque parts of Nebraska, in pursuit of brook, brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout. To encourage exploration of Nebraska’s cold-water fisheries and recognize achievement, anglers can now pursue a Nebraska Trout Slam. How to enter Submit entry To achieve a Trout Slam, anglers must catch, photograph, ...

  LARAMIE  - The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has reopened Lake Hattie to watercraft use effective immediately. The temporary restricted watercraft access was necessary to allow specialized aircraft to collect water from the lake to help with the Mullen Fire suppression efforts.   Incident Command on the Mullen Fire indicated they are no longer using Lake Hattie for air operations, so watercraft use can resume.   The Mullen Fire is currently 176,840 acres with approximately 34 percent containment. More than 800 fire personnel are battling the blaze. More details can be found on the  Mullen Fire webpage.

  Horsetooth Reservoir is CLOSED to public access until further notice, Larimer County Department of Natural Resources announced Monday. Boating and day use areas are CLOSED. Devil's Backbone Open Space and Prairie Ridge Natural Area are also closed to public access until further notice, along with FlatIron and Pinewood Reservoir. Horsetooth Mountain Open Space and Blue Sky Trail are CLOSED. Campgrounds at Horsetooth Reservoir remain CLOSED October 16-18 in response to the weather forecast for the weekend. Full refunds will be issued for any reservations during this period. No new camping reservations will be taken through October 25 at Horsetooth Reservoir. Park management will continue to monitor the situation, and current reservation holders will be notified Monday, October 19 if the park reopens. Campgrounds at Flatiron Reservoir and Pinewood Reservoir are CLOSED until further notice. Hermit Park Open Space, Eagle's Nest Open Space, Carter Lake, and Red Mountain ...

 So Arnie and Karol were forced to evacuate Friday under attack from the historic Cameron Peak wildfire. Tom and Sheila were thinking of making a run for it, too, and packing a few things just in case. Meanwhile, the corona virus was beginning a frightening second run through the local citizenry, the drought was getting worse and, despite my earnest prayers, the election was still nearly three agonizing weeks away.  Under such bleak, Apocalyptic conditions, a guy has few alternatives. Fortunately one is to say "the hell with it," and go fishing. So this morning I simply had to scout around for one of the few bodies of local water that isn't either dried up or under mandatory evacuation orders, and get to fishing before the winds picked back up. Kinda wished I'd listen to those forecasts, though. Despite other, more questionable decisions I made this morning, after arriving at a favorite fishing hole I craftily kicked the belly boat to the upwind, west end of the pond...

  SEDGWICK AND LOGAN COUNTIES, Colo. - Colorado Parks and Wildlife is lifting the emergency public fish salvage at Jumbo (Julesburg) Reservoir immediately (Oct. 8).   The emergency public fish salvage was enacted on Aug. 24 due to high irrigation demand created by severe drought. It was expected that the reservoir would decline to a point that would likely result in a loss of the entire fishery resource. However, irrigation demands have decreased since the salvage was initiated and the reservoir has received water following recent storms. Anglers are expected to revert to fishing under the normal regulations: - Minimum size for walleye and saugeye is 15 inches (only one can exceed 21 inches) - Minimum size for wiper is 15 inches - Minimum size for crappie is 10 inches - Statewide bag and possession limits also apply ...

Starting Saturday, Oct. 3,  they’re restricting fishing on lake John to shore fishing; ie, no boats. Using lake water to fight the Mullen fire. I’m kinda dreading to see how our high country is faring these days...

  George, Left, Dave and Dan hoist a day’s limit of walleyes hauled from Wyoming’s Wheatland Reservoir 3. 

  Most of these are about 13 inches This one measured out at 22 inches