LFC Master Angler awards over the past decade...

 

This is 10th year for the contest to catch the largest fish of any species. The following summarizes that decade of competition, what kind of fish, and where they came from: 

2023: Danny Barker tallied a 21-inch largemouth bass from Boyd Lake, measuring 1.167 percent of Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife’s criteria for Master Angler (MA). In second place, Bob Dierkes, with a hefty 19.5-inch largemouth from Bass Pond. Third place in 2023 was our only tie to date, 19-inch largemouths, Darrell Knight’s from Sandpiper, Bill’s from Berthoud Town Pond.

2022: Norm Engelbrecht won with a 28-inch walleye from Boyd Lake, measured at 1.0769 percent of MA criteria. Bill Prater’s 24.25-inch rainbow from South Delaney Buttes was second. 

2021: Danny Barker yanked a huge 18.5 inch yellow perch from Boyd Lake, 1.5 percent of MA, biggest fish we’ve recorded; Bill Prater’s 21-inch largemouth from Bass Pond was second followed by the late Charlie Higgs’ 34-inch catfish from Sandpiper. 

2020: Bill Prater pulled a handsome 26-inch rainbow out of Dragon Fly, 1.0833 of MA criteria, apparently a brood fish unexpectedly stocked by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. In that wretched first year of Covid, we had no other entries.

2019: Danny Barker again turned to Boyd Lake for a winning 19.75-inch white bass, 1.1618 percent of MA. Dennis Kelsey’s 20.5-inch largemouth from Dragonfly was second and Bill Prater’s 34-inch channel catfish from Pella Crossing was third. 

2018: Bill Prater’s 24-inch cuttbow trout from South Delaney, 1.0909 percent of MA, took first place. Danny Barker’s 27.5-inch Boyd walleye was second and Wayne Baranczyk’s 12-inch grayling out of Joe Wright Reservoir was third. 

In 2017, Danny Barker’s 20.75-inch Boyd Lake largemouth was first, 1.1528 percent of MA. 2016: Dave Boyle yanked a 17.5-inch smallmouth bass from Horsetooth Reservoir for second. 

2016: Dave Boyle’s 23.5-inch brown trout out of Boyd Lake was 1.0682 percent of MA, good for first place. Second was Norm Engelbrecht’s 27-inch Jumbo Reservoir walleye, followed by Bill Prater’s 14-inch Sandpiper crappie.  

2015: Kathleen Barker blew the covers off the 2015 contest with an enormous 18.75-inch crappie from Ish Lake. It measured out at 1.3393 of Master Angler criteria. Footnote: The state record for a white crappie in Colorado stands at 18.25 inches!) 

2014: The late Tom Garland won the inaugural contest with a 19.5 inch largemouth bass from Bass Pond in Rivers Edge, 1.0833 of MA criteria. Second was Mike Schaber with an 18.5-inch largemouth, Dave Boyle was third with a 17.25-inch smallmouth from Horsetooth. 

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