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.