Fishing North Shields Ponds on a hot day

June 21, 2012

After another long day of work, Anderson and I decided to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather with some fishing.

Beautiful it was, and hot.

Temperatures soared into the high 90s and I rode my bike the five miles to North Shields Ponds.

It was worth it, because it's not only a scenic spot within city limits, we caught a few fish!

We fished from the eastern bank, not the best choice when the sun is beating down on you from above. But we did have a great view of the High Park Fire, that was still burning strong to the west of Fort Collins.

We were fishing for big bass, which it's rumored there are some monsters in the ponds, and used 1/4 oz. Kastmasters to start.

Anderson landed the first fish of the day, a good sized blue gill, that easy released itself.

Then it was my turn, catching a tiny blue gill, only about two inches long, then a nicer sized one, around six inches. Both bit the rainbow trout colored Kastmaster, the bigger 1/4 oz. sized one, even though they were small fish.

After a little over an hour at the pond, we took a little hike through the Poudre River and found a spot to fish.

Just on the east side of Shields street, we found a nice spot on the bank and casted our lines in.

After doing so well only a few days earlier at Pinewood Reservoir using balls o' fire, I tried my luck again and with the first cast, caught a 9" rainbow trout.

Unfortunately the small guy swallowed my hook and I had to take him home and grill him over the fire, which was a tasty dinner indeed and good protein after biking 10 miles in all.

Ando caught a trout too, possibly bigger than mine, but it quick released itself again.

Luckily for him, we're going out on Tuesday the 3rd, and I have a good feeling we'll catch something. I really want to catch a nice sized trout, or have him catch it, because he said he's never eaten trout before.

It's so delectable, soft and buttery.

Trout is a must-try for all fish-lovers.

Good luck and have fun out there everyone!

Pinewood Reservoir Day 3

June 18, 2012



After getting to bet at a reasonable hour, I woke up at 6:30 and watched the sun come over a foothill just east of the reservoir.

I had always wanted to make myself get up early to go fishing, and it just so happened I was already up so I got everything ready and set off for the lake.

But just as I looked down the steep hill to our lucky fishing spot from the day before, I though I saw a person already there.

I looked again and it was a deer, contently feeding on the tall grass in the early morning. I watched him for a few minutes until he scampered away and I was off to the lake.

Using weights and balls o' fire to fish the bottom--the same way we had all the luck the day before--I caught a smallish 7" rainbow trout right away. It was much slower than I thought it would be though, and moved down the bank towards the dam a bit where I had a little more luck.


My brother Alex joined me around 9 a.m. and he must have been my good luck charm because I landed a 10" cutthroat trout right after he arrived. Soon thereafter, he caught his first fish of the trip, an 11" rainbow.




At 10:30, we went back up to camp to pack everything up, and as soon as we did, we got back down to the lake.

This time, we went over to the inlet, where we immediately saw many giant Tiger Muskies swimming and floating alongside one another.

It was quite a sight as all the muskies we saw were at least 24" long, though the size limit to keep one is 36". I can see now how the state record--43"--tiger muskie was caught out of Pinewood and I'd love to catch a keeper one day.

We fished for three hours in the inlet, with no luck. It's why they call the tiger muskie the "fish of 1000 casts."

But, Alex very nearly landed one as he dangled his rainbow colored Kastmaster in front of a patrolling muskie, who went for it, but decided not to take the lure.

Tip: If you're fishing for muskie, make sure to use a steel leader so they don't snap your line with their thousands of razor-sharp teeth.

After roasting in the sun for three hours at the inlet, we headed home, happy at the new fish we saw for the first time ever and excited to get back to Pinewood for another chance at landing one.

Read about our camping/fishing trip at Pinewood Reservoir on Day 1 and Day 2 as well!

Pinewood Reservoir Day 2

June 17, 2012


After a little fishing fun in Day one, and much more late night fun by the fire, Koby and I were determined to make an impact and take a whole bunch of trout out of Pinewood Reservoir.

I must say, I absolutely love Pinewood.

I've been going to the lake for at least 15 years, visiting it almost annually as my Dad used to take my brother and I up north from Denver in our childhood to camp, fish and enjoy the majestic Rocky Mountains.

Why I love Pinewood is easy to explain.

Firstly, it's a great lake to fish. Even when I was young and fishing with my Dad, who had limited fishing experience, we would always pull some trout out and eat well.

Next, there are a good amount of camping sites, and if you're lucky, you get one in the Windy Pines area, where you have a bit of space between you and your closest neighbor.

Another cool aspect is the fact that there are tiger muskie, and lots of them, in the lake.

We went out this late morning in search of trout though, and we weren't disappointed.

After a long wait for breakfast, we broke camp at around 11 a.m. and went down to the cove pictured above.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, around us was catching fish and I wanted in on the fun.

I started with some lures; a rooster tail, a Kastmaster and others, to no avail.

Still, even the three year old kids just 20 yards to our right were catching fish, so something had to change.

I overheard them talking about using worms, so I switched up to worms with a bobber--nothing.

Another group said they were using balls o' fire, so I tried that, but this time without a bobber.

It turns out, everyone else was fishing the bottom, and as soon as we did too, we caught fish.

It was so easy; a couple of small weights, a small to medium snell hook and even as little as one fire ball worked, and almost immediately.

Within 45 minutes Koby and I caught our limit, and as my brother came in the middle of the action, we took in nine trout in all since we could use his license as well and the limit is four trout per person. (I'll upload a pick of all the fish as soon as I get one from Koby.) They were all 8-11" and either of the rainbow or brown trout varieties.

We went back up to camp and grilled the biggest three fish for lunch and they went quickly.

After Koby left due to a softball game that night, Alex and I went back out for more fish and fun. I didn't have more luck at the same spot and decided we should hit the inlet for a little more fishing before sunset.

I tried lures, nothing. Then balls o' fire again and caught a 10" carp. Since it was hooked well in its lip, I left it on the line and re-casted in hopes of catching a muskie.

On the third cast, the carp either got caught under a huge rock or was swallowed by a muskie as I reeled and reeled but came up with nothing but a whistling drag. After a few minutes, the line mysteriously snapped.

We hiked back to camp as the sun set and called it a night.

What a great day of fishing, with a ton of sun and wind, but fun nonetheless.

Read about our somewhat bad luck in day one at Pinewood here.

Pinewood Reservoir Day 1

June 16, 2012


Camping in June, what could be better?

My roommate Koby and I left Fort Collins for Pinewood Reservoir, which is located just west of Loveland, and a quick car ride from Fort Fun.

Of course, we couldn't go through Loveland without a stop at Sportsman's Warehouse, where we found everything and more we could ever need to fish, camp, hunt and more.

I had both of my reels re-lined, which was free, and picked up some new Kastmaster lures, some swivels, a flashlight, a cheap propane camp stove and some steel leaders for catching the elusive Tiger Muskie.

We finally arrived at our campsite at 6:30 p.m. and got the camp together as quickly as possible as to get down to the lake and get some fish caught.

I really wanted to get at least one trout for dinner that night, and luckily, Koby came through.

We used a litany of lures, to almost no avail, until Koby's black fury spinner landed a 12" rainbow. We fished until past 10 p.m. and there was surprisingly still a little bit of daylight to see, just barely.

We headed back up the steep 300 foot climb back to camp and got a fire going to cook that rainbow with red onion, some spices and a piece of bacon.

It was a delectable dinner and a wonderful way to start our camping trip out.

Just wait until you read how well we did in day two!

An Evening on Douglas Reservoir

June 15, 2012


After a long day of work, my good friend Anderson and I decided to go out for some evening fishing.

We took off at 7 p.m. and arrived at Douglas Reservoir at around 7:30 p.m. and got his canoe wet.

Usually, I always fish from the shore. I don't own a boat, raft or canoe--though I'll be buying an inflatable two-man raft at some point this summer--meaning this was a special venture for me.

It was only my second time fishing out on a canoe all year, and it was incredibly relaxing and fun.

When we arrived, it was perfect outside; around 80 degrees with the sun beginning to rest behind the mountains and only a light breeze coming from the south.

We went straight out into the middle of the lake and got our lines wet as soon as possible.

I started with a countdown Rapala that's blue and silver, which got me a few bites and I hooked a medium sized bass only feet from the canoe. He got off the line before I could net him, but an angler friend of mine said it counts as catching the fish and an "easy release" because you don't even have to touch the fish. So I count it as my first catch of the day.

After that, I tried my brown trout colored Kastmaster, the clownfish Mepps and many other lures to no avail.

As the sun set behind a giant cloud, and some smoke from the High Park Fire that's still burning out of control, I used a big trout colored spoon.

While I retrieved quickly, I thought I had a bite, but it was only the action of the lure in the water--until one hit!

I hooked this one much better and let him run with my line for a bit--he even went under the canoe--the drag did its job while I reeled him him.

After Anderson netted him, I saw a beautiful little brown trout, at around 6-8" long. (No picture this time because I left the phone on shore in case we tipped the canoe, sorry.)

A little while later we paddled back into shore, content with the wonderful night out in northern Fort Collins.

In all, it was a blast!

I love the experience of fishing on a boat/canoe as you can use much bigger and heavier lures without too much risk of them running bottom and catching something other than fish.

Douglas isn't the deepest lake I've been on, but it's certainly at least 10 feet deep in the middle, and I suggest using big spoons out there if you ever get on the reservoir.

Happy fishing!

Rich Kurtzman is a freelance journalist. Follow him on facebook and/or twitter.

Spring Creek bass?

June 13, 2012

After an unsuccessful outing at Simpson Ponds with James, my fishing thirst wasn't quenched.

I got home at around 6 p.m. and decided I'd go back out, this time to a new fishing location in Spring Creek.

It seems crazy to think, but there are actually fish in the small creek that winds its way through Fort Collins.

It's a virtual oasis in the middle of a metropolis and one can often lose the sense of feeling like they're in the center of Colorado's fourth largest city when walking, running, biking or even fishing along the creek.

The Mallard's Nest Natural area is only a very small part of Spring Creek, so don't just go out and throw a line in anywhere. You can find Mallard's Nest just east of Spring Park and it runs almost all the way to Lemay.

I pulled the bike over just after the natural area begins, just before the Stuart Street overpass and, to my pleasant surprise, enjoyed a great amount of luck there.

I found a spot just after some rapids where there were a few pools and decided to use a small weight and some Balls O' Fire to lure in whatever happened to be floating in the creek.

After a few unsuccessful attempts along the bank nearest me, I noticed a deeper part of the creek behind a wall of reeds and next to the other bank, around 10 feet away.

A few casts later, I was hitting exactly where I wanted to, and the fish were hitting too.

I felt the most slight of hits vibrating the rod and pulled quickly to land my first--and the biggest of the day--bass.
He was a strong little bass, and so were his little brothers, which I caught too.


In all, I snagged four small large mouth bass from that pool in Spring Creek, many more than I expected when first showing up and seeing the 8-12" depth.



Plus, I caught a craw daddy's claw, after wrongly thinking I was hung up on a rock, and tried to use it as bait but the bass weren't biting on his pincher.


The best part of it all may have been the sunset that was special due to the High Park Fire burning just west of Fort Collins.

In all, the short bike ride down to Spring Creek was definitely worth it, as it salvaged my fishing day, and I'll be back again this summer.





Rich Kurtzman is a freelance journalist. Follow him on facebook and/or twitter.

Simpson Ponds take one

June 13, 2012


An off day from the day job always welcomes a fishing trip, be it long or short, with or without friends.

This day was great, as I got to go fishing with my buddy James, our first outing together.

He hails from Loveland, some 15 miles to the south of Fort Collins, and he came and picked me up to show me around his stomping grounds around 3 p.m.

We cruised down to Loveland, while the smoke from the High Park Fire billowed wildly out of control into the thin Colorado air.

Our first stop on this wild Wednesday was at Long Hagler Reservoir, my first time, and apparently his first as well. We were shocked to see how shallow the water was, only dropping around a foot some 5-7 feet off the shore, and the broken shale lining the bottom was an ominous sign we shouldn't cast there. We hiked a good quarter of a mile down the south side of the reservoir and came across a thicket of bushes, where the water was certainly deeper, but we couldn't get to it without waders or, even better, a boat.

So we turned and wandered our way along the shoreline back to the truck and James decided we should head to Simpson Ponds.


I'd heard of them and the incredibly large large mouth bass that can be caught there, but had never been.

It's a simple little natural area, with three or four smallish ponds, with enough fishing area to serve lots of anglers at the same time.

At this point, it was hot, and the sun was mirroring off the lake and hitting me straight in the face as I fished facing west from the eastern shore, staring in disbelief at the immensity of the High Park Fire burning out of control in our view.

I also had to stare at my reel, noticing after losing my silver and blue Kastmaster at the Poudre River a few days before, my line was only at some 40 feet.

We started with some Rapala's that float on the surface of the water, mine a jointed one, with no success. I switched over to my Mepps clownfish colored lure, nothing. The black fury came out, to no effect. Just then, James caught a Crappie at around 6", our only catch of the day at Simpson. He caught it using a panter martin spinner.
I later moved over to his spot and got a few bites on a rooster tail, but didn't actually hook anything.

After an hour or hour and a half James decided we should leave, and even though I wanted to stay a little longer, we did.

It was a serene and quiet time at Simpson Ponds, and knowing how many giant bass there are--along with the many other types of fish--I'll certainly be back again, and soon.


Rich Kurtzman is a freelance journalist. You can follow Rich on facebook and/or twitter.