Walden – Judging by the bend in the rod and Jim Cordova’s little yelps of excitement, the trout that pulled his line out into the dark depths of South Delaney Butte Lake clearly qualified as something out of the ordinary.
It remained for his friend Phil Small, wading out knee deep with a net, to make a confirmation.
“Snake River cutthroat, at least 5 pounds,” declared Small, who over the years has caught enough large fish to know.
Then the hook pulled free, leaving Cordova with his eyes tilted skyward in one of those bittersweet moments of elation and regret. A regular at these trout-rich lakes of North Park, the Fort Collins resident typically releases the fish he catches. Thing was, he probably couldn’t have kept this one even if he wanted to. Regulations instituted last season at the three Delaney lakes require the release of all cutts and rainbows between 18 and 22 inches; all browns between 14 and 20.
At South Lake, a 5-pound cutt rather amazingly remains inside that protective slot.
“When cutts hit that 20-inch size, they seem to slow down in length and balloon in girth,” said Ken Kehmeier, a Colorado Division of Wildlife biologist who cultivates the waters of the park. “When you catch a 22-inch cutt, it’ll be heavier than a rainbow the same length.”
Such is the state of affairs in fertile lakes that, as a group, rank as the most productive stillwater trout fishery in the state. Toss in Lake John and Cowdrey Lake, completing the half-moon circle around the town of Walden, and you have a lineup that offers something for everyone: flies and lures with limited kill at the Delaneys, anything goes at the rest.
“I talked to a couple Fort Collins anglers who caught 40 trout between 14 and 20 inches at Lake John,” Kehmeier related. “They said they were more pleased than any time in the past 10 or 15 years.”
An ample water supply, no winter mortality and the same plenitude of trout food foretell a banner year for the North Park lakes.
“After a year with the special regulations in effect, I think we’ll see a larger fish on average,” Kehmeier predicted. “I expect North and South Delaney to push some fish past 22 inches. We’ll see some trophies coming out in the next three or four months.”
Kehmeier said he expects fewer bragging-size fish from East Delaney, but a greater accumulation of fine specimens in the protected slot.
Big fish are nothing new at the Buttes. Small landed a 10-pound cuttbow at North last week and the usual ice-out shoreline activity has yielded a number of prizes. The major difference this year has been the timing. Ice began retreating in late March, fully two weeks earlier than usual, offering a longer window for both fishing activity and trout growth.
With his father Kenny, Jim Cordova had joined Small and Joel King in a quartet of Fort Collins anglers who make regular pilgrimages to a place that affords a succession of opportunities as the season progresses.
They’ll anticipate an increase in midge activity through late April and May, followed closely by the emergence of damselflies, then callibaetis and a succession of caddis.
Throughout all this, savvy fly-fisherman also will come armed with olive Woolly Buggers, crayfish imitations and scuds in various hues. The usual assortment of night crawlers, salmon eggs and scented imitations attract fish on those lakes where regulations allow.
Last week, when a peek-a-boo sun failed to warm the air to the freezing point, visitors used sink-tip lines to strip olive Buggers from shore, a quest that will lead them deeper into the lake as the season progresses.
Jim Cordova will spend the next few days contemplating that big cutthroat that got away, then he’ll come back to the Buttes and likely catch another one.
Charlie Meyers can be reached at 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
