Time to get out there and fish

 By Bill Prater

Regardless of what warm-natured folks are doing, now is not the time to put away the rod and reel and hope for an early spring. Okay, you may stand a fair chance of getting skunked, I guess. But late fall through winter  is also a great time for some of the year’s most memorable days on the water. Most of those annoying folks who crowded next to you in June and July are now watching football and Netflix horror shows, turning their attention to hunting, or hoping for early ice. So until the lakes and ponds at lower elevations freeze over until spring, they can be all yours and mine.

Fish do generally bunch up this time of year. Unless you scout out great locations in September or October, they can be hard to locate. For me, that means I stand a better chance in smaller lakes and ponds and smaller than the bigger ones.

I moved to Colorado in the early ‘80s after learning to fish the southern fringes of the Midwest. I’m embarrassed to say, it took me years out here to learn a few useful, basic facts about the differences between warm water fish species back there and here in Colorado. And it took me even longer to start to figure out trout.

I did learn early on that the most productive times for early warm water fishing in these parts generally begin later than they do in Southern Illinois and Missouri, and slow down earlier in the fall. What I didn’t realize, for reasons that escape me now, is that meanwhile trout of all sizes start hitting their prime when temperatures drop into the 50s, 40s and 30s. It is a terrific trout trait that extends right through ice-out, and helps explain why so many Coloradoans stand for hours on frozen lakes, hopefully dunking waxies into a hole in the ice.

I do appreciate trout metabolism

You can, of course, catch open water bass, crappie, bluegill and others this time of year; for me, at least, those species can be harder to locate and even slower to bite. Trout metabolisms and appetites, meanwhile, speed up to compensate for the sluggish ways of their warm water cousins.

As for catching any kind of fish, just get out there somewhere, and see what bites. I recommend hauling out your lightest line and gear, moving around a lot, and drastically downsizing baits. Also, some wise anglers will pontificate that you can’t reel a lure in fast enough to outrun a trout. That’s true, I guess, but during icy weather they seem grateful when lunch swims by more slowly. 

In telling you to get out in the cold, I concede I am not recommending common sense. But I will urge you to remember that misery and even hypothermia are possibilities, and you should prepare accordingly. Myself, and the yahoos who join me, try to use our float tubes all 12 months of the year. But we pretty much never go without a buddy and never without reasonable clothing and a reasonable maximum to our time on the water. (The increased urge to pee in cold water usually takes care of that.) 

Sketchy ice that is too thin to be useful is the bane of most winter-time Front Range anglers. While smaller bodies of water usually ice up, Chinook winds usually scour them open for at least brief periods even in January and February. Just be alert for warming trends, wear long johns, and scout for open stretches of water where you can cast your line with confidence.

Charlie Higgs' tale of a whale that didn't get away

 Friday seemed like a good day to be chasing stocker-size trout on Dragonfly Pond. But it proved to be an even better time for Charlie Higgs to be battling a trophy-size, 34-inch channel catfish. 

Who knew that lunker was lurking near the fishing dock, probably gobbling trout? Certainly not Charlie, who would have probably tied his nightcrawler onto something a little stouter than 6-pound line. Nor fishing buddies Christina Weiss and Rick Golz, tasked with trying without much success to capture the bruiser with a  pair of  inadequate trout nets. 

Rick reports Charlie "fought the beast for 20 minutes before he got it up from the bottom and we could see it was a cat. It took another five minutes to get it to the dock, where Christina and I tried to get both ends of the fish into two small trout nets without success before I finally picked it up by the gills and Charlie had the biggest cat he'd ever caught.

"The pinched barb on a tiny hook was barely in its mouth when I took it out." 

Charlie briefly thought about making his catch into a whole lot of sandwiches, but then freed the beast to bite another day.

By the way, the qualifying minimum length for a Colorado Master Angler channel cat is 30 inches.

Photos by Rick Golz

Good start Saturday for new northern Colorado chapter of "Fishing Future"

 An untimely cold front and high winds kinda messed up the fishing for kids at Saturday's "Fishing Future" clinic at River's Edge Natural Area, but a good time was had by all.

About a dozen Loveland Fishing Club members staffed tables introducing youngsters and their families to the sport of fishing, and later helped them in search of fish at Dragonfly and Sandpaper ponds. The event was organized by Fishing Future and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Thanks to all who helped out.

(Interesting sidenote: CPW dropped about 2,000 trout into the two ponds a couple days before the clinic, and most of them are still waiting for someone's bait).

Photos by Rick Golz

Background information for Saturday's Fishing's Future event at River's Edge

 The following is background information about the role of volunteers at Saturday's event. Plan to be there by 9:30 a.m. 

Greetings and thank you SO MUCH for being willing to volunteer with the Loveland Fishing's Future Chapter event on Saturday!  I sincerely appreciate it! 

If you could arrive at 9:30am please on Saturday that would allow enough time to get you situated.  Come in the Main Entrance off of First Street into the paved parking area.  We will be set up near that parking lot. 

 

There will be stations set up.  During the first hour of the event, I would love to have at least one volunteer at each station to give a short 10 minute demonstration/lesson about the topic for that table.  The station topics are listed below.  If you have a preference for which table you are at, we can accommodate!  Just tell me which table you want.  If you don't have a preference, I will put you where we need you.  You don't have to bring anything (except probably a hat, water bottle and wear sunscreen) but if you WANT to bring anything to add to your demonstration table you are more than welcome to!  For example, at the station where you talk about lures and bait, I have a print off of several examples of lures and types of bait, as well as a few examples.  But if you have several of your own examples that you prefer to use, please share your expertise!  

At each station, there will be a set of directions telling you what to talk about.  I originally made these directions for high school students, so they may be a bit obvious.  But again, please share your expertise and don't feel like you have to stick to the script.  For example: if you are at the casting demonstration station and you have a better casting method than what the script says, please demonstrate that instead!  You are experts and the more you feel free to share your expertise the better!  The only parameters are that you need to please cover the topics that are assigned to your station so that we ensure that all topics are covered, and each rotation is only 10 minutes. 

We will be doing the actual fishing in Dragonfly and Sandpiper Ponds during the second hour of the event.  During this time, please help by assisting participants with putting bait on their poles and removing fish.  All catches must be released unless the participant already has their fishing license.  

Station 1: An introduction to Fishing's Future and to Fishing. We ask kids questions about fishing and get them excited. We also explain that fishing is fun even if we don't catch anything. We talk about safety and rules and help the nervous students realize that the outdoors (grass and bugs) aren't scary.

 

Station 2:. Participants learn about different types of bait, how to put a Bobber, weight and hook on a line, and how to tie a knot. We also go over hook safety. 

 

Station 3: participants learn the correct and safe way to carry a fishing pole and cast. They also learn how to properly reel in without damaging the pole. 

 

Station 4: Students learn about different species of fish and what fish they might catch that day. They are told about fishing licenses and that there are different regulations and limits on fish and where to find the rules. Participants have a link to buy a fishing license.

 

Station 5: Students learn how to correctly and ethically hold and handle a fish, remove a hook, and how to gently place the fish back in the water and revive it with "fish CPR" if necessary. Students also learn how to properly measure a fish to abide by regulations. They also learn about the different invasive species and the precautions to take to not transport any to a new body of water

 

Station 6: The last station is where participants are given a fishing pole and bait. Volunteers prepare and bait each pole and then rebait and fix poles that get broken. 

Chris shows how it's done on Delaney

Chris Nelson was peacefully rowing his boat on one of the Delaney Butte lakes last month when this fat rainbow attacked. Chris won the ensuing fight, estimated the beast's size at about 5+ pounds and 22+ inches, and released it to swim another day.

Photo by Dave Johnson

 

Take the winter to practice for the next Loveland Fishing Club Derby

After polling club members with the note below sent Sept. 22, the decision's been made postpone the annual club tournament until 2022. The exact date will be announced later, according to President Doug Money. Things have been pretty goofy as the pandemic lingers; this is one of them. We traditionally have the derby at Flatiron Reservoir, with winners determined by the biggest string of four fish, the legal limit. If you'd like to try something different, let Doug know. 

Your input needed: Should we have a club fishing derby this year?

One lovely Loveland Fishing Club tradition  scrubbed in 2020 because of Covid-19 

was the annual derby at Flatiron Reservoir to determine the club's finest angler: four hours 

of frantic fishing followed by a celebratory picnic.  For more than a dozen years, the winner 

has had their name placed on a traveling trophy that is supposed to remain in the champion's 

home for a year. 

Club historians, admirers and sore losers may recall that your's truly won the most recent 

tournament in 2019, and the trophy has been proudly on display on my desk ever since!

So. Should yours truly, Bill, smugly keep that trophy to himself for an unprecedented third year in a row? 

We could just let this go for another season; perhaps kick off the season with a tournament next spring. 

Or  should we schedule a tournament before the first snowfall? Before the board decides, 

please offer your opinion or suggestion. Reply to this note or drop a line to President Doug Money, douglasmoney@gmail.com

Meanwhile, the trophy sits on my desk, while I smile contentedly to myself, and 

Rick Golz probably mutters to himself about how close he came to winning, way back in 2019.