Steamboat Lake Marina

Posts Tagged ‘steamboat springs fishing’

The tanker used to transport the fish

This morning was an active day for the Division of Wildlife at Steamboat Lake. A total of 58,512 hatchling Rainbow Trout were stocked into the lake this morning. That’s good news for avid fisherman that enjoy nothing more than the tug of a “live one” on the end of their rod.

Now before you start dreaming of that trophy trout… one of the 58,000… know that these fish are extremely small. Stocking the lake is something the DOW does several times a summer based on the surveys they take from the lake. The periodic stocking of the lake is meant to seed future generations of the species and a well-rounded habitat.

"Look at all them fish!"

But avid anglers should be excited none the less.  This many fish will create a nice influx of both future large trout as well as bait fish for the current stock of mature trout.

Steamboat Flyfisher, Steamboat’s year-round flyfishing-only store, located in downtown Steamboat by the river at Fifth and Yampa streets, has recently opened a second location. The newest flyfishing experience can now be accessed at the new store located in our very own North Routt County area.  Within Steamboat Lake Outfitters, the new Steamboat Flyfisher is just minutes to Steamboat Lake, Pearl Lake, Hahn’s Peak Lake and the upper Elk River (all excellent fishing spots).

Owner Tim Kirkpatrick announced that the new location is open 7 days a week and stocks gear specifically chosen for North Routt County fishing conditions and wildlife.  Having such a longstanding outfit now located in the Steamboat Lake area can only benefit anglers of all types, and we at the Marina are happy to call them neighbors.

You can contact the store and manager Keith Hale at 970-819-1385. The store is scheduled to be open through September.  The store’s downtown Steamboat Springs location can be contacted at 970-879-6552 or SteamboatFlyfisher.com.

A big congratulations goes out to the Reverend Gina Jackson of Oklahoma for landing this lunker of a Rainbow!  Having fished for several hours, Gina caught a couple of “keepers” but this one in particular made the rest look small.

21-inch Rainbow

This fish measured a whopping 21-inches which made it a great fight as she was trying to get it into the boat.  In fact, Gina reported that her reel actually broke when landing the fish and she had to reel it in using the old “hand over hand” method of pulling the line.  What a great story! 

This beauty was caught just off Placer Cove using an articulating rainbow pattern Rapala lure.  Not a bad choice of bait considering the results.  Since Gina is an ordained minister, her husband Chuck Jackson wanted it in the records that “It wasn’t caught on a Sunday.”   Hey Chuck, I think the congregation would understand in this case!  Besides, some holy being must have been on your side that day since these larger fish can be hard to come by.

And lastly, a special note from Gina to Ron… “Wish you were here!”  (sounds like Ron couldn’t make the trip this year)

Walking into work yesterday, I suddenly felt the need to wear a hard hat.  Watch as one of the area’s dead trees gets a helping hand from the Rocky Mountain Youth Corp.  On a positive note… our lake view just got a whole lot better!

To all the father’s out there, it’s YOUR day today.  Your love and guidance put you in a club whereby the only membership fee is your devotion to family.  With that said, let today be a day to reflect on the many memories you’ve collected over the years and to create a few new ones as well. 

And kids… I know that it can often be a challenge to find that special way to tell dad just how important he is to you.  Personally, I always found it impossible to sum up my appreciation for my father with a simple card or gift.  I often struggled to come up with different ways to take a break with dad and just have fun.  So in an effort to make today’s planning a bit easier on you, here’s a quick list of some ways you can spend time with your ’old man’ here at the lake:

• Go fishing!
• Rent a pontoon boat and grill up some lunch
• Better yet, rent a canoe and promise to do all the paddling!
• Take a nature hike on the many surrounding trails
• Have a picnic at the swim beach
• Treat dad to some delicious homemade fudge!!!

As I look out at the melting ice on Steamboat Lake and notice the ice fisherman have all tucked tail for the summer, I can’t help but think back to colder days.

In that respect, I hope you appreciate how crazy this Canadian ice fisherman really are. Enjoy!