A sweet largemouth bass at Riverbend Ponds

July 17, 2012 will go down as one of the best times I've ever had while fishing.

I took off for Riverbend Ponds in eastern Fort Collins at around 1 p.m., when Weather.com said would be the best weather patterns for fishing all day.

It turns out, they were right.

Right when I found a suitable spot on the biggest of all the ponds, free of downed trees where I could see the bottom well, there was a massive bass swimming just feet from the shore.

It got my blood pumpin', that's for sure.

Some 20 minutes later I felt an enormous tug on the line--one of those big largemouth bass hit my yellow Rooster Tail!

He swam hard, then after fighting the fish, it went airborne in an attempt to throw the hook!

What excitement.

I finally pulled it into shore and it turns out it was the biggest bass of my life.

At just over 14", it must have weighed in at over five pounds, though I don't have a scale.

(Note to self next time I'm shopping for fishing gear, buy a scale.)

The fish was big and beautiful, and even as I had it laying in some very shallow water, it fought and got back into the pond, trying its hardest to pull away. Luckily it didn't pull my rod and reel into the pond and I got it back onto shore for a few pictures.

Just holding that massive bass by its mouth was amazing and my adrenaline surged for minutes beyond the catch.

Around a half an hour later, it was a very nice sized bluegill--a much different color scheme than the ones from North Shields Ponds too I might add.

After a few hours passed, I moved over to the smaller pond near Prospect, but caught up in someone else's old line for 10 minutes before rescuing my favorite yellow Rooster Tail, and took off to look at the other ponds.

But when I saw an inlet area, I discovered some 20-30 very big largemouth bass lounging around.

I had to get to that area, but couldn't fish it from the side I was on due to very steep walls and lots of overgrown trees.

So I went all the way around the pond's edge--it could be some 20 feet higher at maximum, though I doubt it ever gets that high--and had to hike for 20 minutes to get to my spot.

It was a sweet adventure though, and well worth the effort in the end.

I fought through thick cattails just by the shore, and cleared a spot to fish from.

The sun beat down in my face and was still blazing, even at 5 p.m.

Seeing the silhouettes of the big bass in the water made me forget--at least for a second--how hot and humid it was and on the fish.

Of course, for whatever reason, I couldn't get another great big one to bit my lures.

The big floating Rapalas I have scared the bass away, and they didn't care about the spinners.

But two smaller bass did, one around 8", the other only a mere 3", bringing my total up to four fish caught on the day.

What an amazing day of fishing it was.

One I'll certainly never forget.

The Good, Bad and Ugly at North Shields Ponds

July 10 and 12, 2012

North Shields Ponds is a great destination for people that want a chance to fish multiple bodies of water in one afternoon/evening.

Just north of Vine on Shields Street, the Ponds' parking lot is on the west side of the road.

Right off the parking lot sits the first pond, though it was no more than 8" deep, so I didn't even throw a line in.

If you follow the trail back a few hundred yards, you'll walk along the Cache La Poudre River and end up at the two other ponds.

One is quite small, the other, much bigger.

I've had luck fishing out of each.

My favorite spot on these days was a small trail between the two ponds, where I could fish each one by simply turning around.

On this evening--I arrived around 4 p.m.--the fishing was fast and furious.

One bluegill jumped on my yellow Rooster Tail within five casts, and came in at around 6".

Many more followed, biting on anything and everything--as bluegills are known to do, especially shiny objects--and I caught six on the day.

Two liked the little baby rainbow trout spinners, another few bit on Kastmasters.

Interestingly, I caught every one of the six fish out of the small pond, and zero out of the larger pond.

The first time I went with Anderson, we caught a combined three bluegills out of the larger pond.

When I went on July 10, I saw a ton of wildlife.

Birds of many variety are there roosting, singing away and lots of fish. But this day there was also a little turtle, that surfaced for some food right by shore, a deer and lots of muskrats in the water. Watch out for them and if you see something visibly swimming along the surface, it's one of them, so don't accidentally hook a muskrat.

There are many rumors floating around that big largemouth and smallmouth bass live in the North Shields Ponds as well, and when I went back two days later, that's what I was fishing for.

This time, I showed up around 6 p.m. and with my brother Alex.

I went to the same spot as before, though I had much less luck overall.

Alex, on the other hand, caught three small bluegills, the first ones he had ever reeled in.

I came up empty handed, and when he left around 8 p.m., I stopped at the Cache La Poudre River and threw a couple casts in. The water was a dark, oily black, and while many fish were surfacing, I again caught nothing.

So, it was one great day--if you enjoy catching bluegills--and one very bad day--including getting my backup reel completely tangled in the near-dark and North Shields Ponds.

Have fun and good luck everyone!

A week of bad luck

Sometimes you got it, sometimes you don't.

On the week of Independence Day, July 4-9, I didn't have it.

The Fourth of July, what better way to celebrate Independence Day than to get outside and enjoy nature?

I went out east, to Prospect Ponds. Originally, the destination was Riverbend Ponds, but I stopped a little short and tried the ones off of Prospect and Sharps Point.

It was my first time there, and the water was incredibly murky, green and seemingly lifeless.

Of course, it was midday--and a hot high-90s day at that--which could have all the fish hiding and resting.

After an hour of throwing my entire tackle box at them, and roasting in the sun, I moved a few hundred feet away to the Cache La Poudre River. At the first spot, there was no luck, though I saw a small bass go for the yellow Rooster Tail on the first cast.

Off to just north of Prospect I went, and found a sandy beach area across from a downed tree. This, I thought, would be where I would catch some fish.

Luckily, I did catch one, a small bass, which salvaged the long day.

A few days later, I went out on Sunday night, after work and before softball, to the McMurry Ponds, on the north end of Fort Collins.

It was my first time at the ponds, and they were small and a quite cloudy on this evening.

I started with spinners, as per usual, switched to Kastmasters, and even tried balls o' fire on the bottom.

No luck, in only an hour and a half.

The next night, it was off to a private lake for a little over an hour, with no fish caught once again.

I guess that's why they call it fishing, and not catching.

Trout Fishing Tips and Tricks

Trout, a fun and fiesty fish that's delectable to eat.

It's soft, buttery and great prepared in a variety of ways.

For all my life, I've fished for trout.

All over Colorado I've searched and fished for rainbow, brown, lake and--the Colorado state fish--cutthroat trout, and caught a great many over the years.

There is no real "right" or "wrong" way to fish for trout, and these are simply some tips and tricks that should help you land a big, beautiful and tasty fish the next time you go out.

1. Styles of fishing

There are an almost unlimited number of ways you can fish for trout; from bobber fishing to fishing the bottom, to lures and fly fishing.

Of course, it all depends on where you are and what the fish are biting on that particular day.

I've never been fly fishing--though I plan on learning and buying the gear soon--and many anglers say this is by far the best way to fish for trout. Dropping the fly on the top of the water and quickly pulling it away time and time again will result in multiple strikes, and I've seen it work on both lakes and rivers alike.

But this blog pertains to reel fishing, at least for the time being.

When at the Poudre River or other rivers, I like to use lures that are light, ones that will stay off the bottom and not get hung up.

Spinners work wonders, especially vibric rooster tails, as they create a clicking sound in the water that is irresistible to all types of fish, trout included.

A variety of colors is key, from yellow to blue and silver and even rainbow colored--it's good to have a variety to test and see if the fish are biting on one color rather than the other at that particular time and place.

When using spinners on the river, cast a little down stream and make sure to reel very slowly as the current will help the lure spin and maximize the time in the water.

When fishing from the shore of a lake, the options open up.

You can bobber fish near the surface, using a weight above the bobber and a hook with either live or powerbait 12-18" below the bobber.

Nightcrawlers work well in some places, and balls o' fire seem to work nearly everywhere.

If you want, you can fish the bottom, using a few small barrel weights 12-18" above the hook with 2-4 balls o' fire. Simply cast out, let the weights take the bait to the bottom and reel your line tight. Trout like to fish the bottom of shallow places and hits can be near immediate.

When you feel those first few little nibbles, wait a second, then pull on the rod quickly and forcefully to set the hook. Then reel in and enjoy a great dinner!

My friend Koby and I caught our limit of eight trout in 45 minutes using this method on Pinewood Reservoir, just west of Loveland.

If lures are more your speed, try 1/8 and 1/4 oz. Kastmasters, especially blue and silver, brown/rainbow trout and gold colored ones. Reel them in at about a medium speed and feel the play on your rod as you reel, which will let you know you've got the right speed that makes the lure look like a baby fish swimming along.

2. Trout have a strong sense of smell

Trout can smell very well, even in the water, which is why the balls o' fire work so well. That salmon smell is irresistible to those little fish and they go for it every time.

But when hooking your bait, make sure to not touch the salmon eggs--or any other powerbait or live bait your're using--because your human smell can scare away the fish. So can the smell of cigarettes if you're a smoker, so make sure not to touch the bait while smoking or soon after.

A trick I've learned is to pour three or four salmon eggs into the top of the container and grab the eye of the hook and turn it sideways to then hook the bait without using your fingers to grab the eggs. Use the rim of the lid to help push them on the hook and boom, they're on!

3. Trout can hear you as well

Trout can also hear quite well, so you want to make sure to keep quiet.

This is especially important when on a boat or canoe, as dragging things on the bottom of the boat will scare away potentially caught fish.

It's also important while on the shore, so keep communication with your fishing partner to a minimum as to not scare away the fish.

4. Wet your hands before grabbing the fish

After landing your fish, make sure to get your hands wet in the river or lake you're fishing from before picking up the fish.

Dry hands will hurt the fish's scales and we don't want to do that now.

5. Nurse your trout back to health before releasing

Don't keep your trout out of the water for too long, or it will die.

If you're going to release the trout, put it in the water, oriented top up, and let it get re-acquainted with the water for 30 seconds to 1 minute before letting it go.

Let it swim away from your hands otherwise it may just go belly-up and drift away from the shore, something that should never happen.

If you accidentally kill a trout, or any fish, take it home to eat--if eatable--do not just leave it to float along dead in the river or lake.

Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you land lots of trout!

Have a great time in Fort Collins, and all of Colorado fishing for brown, rainbow and the state fish, cutthroat trout, my friends!

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

Anderson lands his first trout from the Poudre River

It was a hot, but not scolding, day in Fort Collins, with high clouds creating a nice bit of overcast.

Anderson and I headed out to the Poudre River, Nix Natural Area to be more specific, and fished from 4-6:15 p.m.

The river was surprisingly low, the lowest I've seen all year, but the fish were still lively.

It was so low, and due to the overcast skies, it was very easy to see through the water and see the fish.

After around 45 minutes of fishing, Anderson caught the first--and only--fish of the day, a nice 9" rainbow trout.

He was using a rainbow colored spoon that seemed too big for the foot-deep river, but it worked like a charm.

I tried a variety of lures; three different rooster tails which got a few bites, and multiple different Kastmasters as well. I actually saw a few trout follow the rainbow colored lure all the way into the shore but it didn't bite.

After a few hours, we moved a little bit down river, and I ended up going swimming.
It was cool and refreshing and all, but I would have much rather stayed dry and caught a fish.

For the first time all season I went out and didn't land a fish, and it was completely fine, because I had a great time in the end with my fishing buddy.
And it was special to see him bring in his first ever trout, the first of many to be sure.

The key to this spot is to have patience and to switch lures often as to find what the fish are biting on.

Good luck anglers!

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

Bass fishing Spring Creek: Take Two

June 25, 2012

Another day off from work presented another opportunity to go fishing.

Getting out into nature is so wonderful to me, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life in the urban jungle and to where the animals roam--and swim--free.

I wrapped up a lengthy piece for Bleacher Report on the NBA Draft before taking off, and it limited my time before sunset.

So instead of hitting the Poudre River, as I did only a few days earlier with good luck, I jumped on the bike around 6:30 p.m. and decided to just stop by Spring Creek.

Mallard's Nest, the natural area along Spring Creek where it's legal to fish, again kept me entertained.

This time, I went east of the Stuart underpass and found a good spot with 1-2' deep water that was moving slowly compared to other parts of the creek. It was near some reeds, where bass love to hang out, so I dropped a line in with two bullet weights and balls o' fire.

Hits were immediate.

There was no point in even allowing the bait to sink because the hungry little bass swallowed it in mere seconds each time.

One after another the 3-6" bass took the hook and I caught four within an hour.

Unfortunately, the hooks I was using were too big for those baby bass and one of them swallowed the hook so deep it took out his eye. The little guy swam away though and will hopefully grow big and strong.

If you ever go fishing in Spring Creek, make sure you're in the Mallard's Nest Natural Area only, as you can't fish the rest of the creek.

Have fun and good luck everyone!

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

Fishing the Poudre River: Take Three

June 22, 2012

I've got fishing fever, what can I say?

After going out with Anderson to North Shields Ponds and the Poudre for a few hours the day before, I still had the urge to get out and get my line wet again.

So, I set off for the Poudre River, Riverbend Ponds to be more specific, just east of Lemay on the Poudre Trail.

I biked over there after work, and arrived at the same spot as in my first trip there only a few weeks earlier, which is right off the bike path.

The water was noticeably higher, at least another 6" in the middle, and moving at a higher rate of speed.

I figured it was a good sign there'd be more fish to catch, and it seemed that way.

I started off with the balls o' fire once again, just like I did the day before a few miles upstream with Anderson.

But there, it was quite shallow and the hook was able to sink to the bottom easily. At my favorite spot, the river was moving too fast to allow the hook and bait to sink where I wanted it to, so I gave up and switched to lures.

First I tried my new 1/8 oz. silver and blue Kastmaster, the same lure I lost the last time I was at that spot and caught three fish on. I had no luck, though a few nibbles, with it.

So I switched again to some spinners, and my little yellow and black spinner landed my first fish of the day.

It was a pretty 7" rainbow trout that grabbed on near the middle of the river and only around 20 feet from the shore.

It got my blood pumping and I kept that lure on the line.

Around 10-15 casts later, no bites, so I switched to a rooster tail that landed a greatly sparkled rainbow.

I actually thought of grabbing the tape measure, and he measured in at 11", not bad for the Poudre River.

I nursed him back to health and got him swimming again.

After around three hours, I called it a night and rode the bike back home happy.

On my way home, this striking sunset was in my view, with the smoke of the High Park Fire billowing wildly out of control.