Fish caught at Akron pond
Who would believe that a small pond in Akron Colorado can produce
one of the better trout fisheries in the state? I was recently visiting
family in Akron and decided to drive out to the local golf course south
of town. I visited with some friends I hadn’t seen in a few years and
instead of driving back to town I decided to go check out the pond
next to the golf course.
This pond fondly referred to as the “Golf Course Pond” has a sentimental
value to me. I grew up in Akron and remember as a small boy, hiking to
this lake to fish for bullheads with my buddies. We camped out overnight
while mom catered lunch, supper and breakfast to us during our fishing
expedition. The camp fire, fishing, good food and sleeping under the stars
will always be one of my fondest memories as a child.
As I grew older the golf course pond became the informal meeting place for
teenagers. We threw kegs parties, (back then legal drinking age was 18)
parked with our sweethearts and just hung out at the lake. Occasionally we
fished it but more than not we just hung out and partied.
Back to last week, as I took my sentimental ride over to the pond I noticed
that there were a lot of fish activity on the water. It appeared that the
fish were slurping down bugs that landed on the surface. It has been over
28 years since I have lived in Akron so other than the bullheads and a few
crappies, I had no idea the pond now held trout. I happened to have my
fishing pole in the trunk of my car so I decided to see what I could catch.
For tackle all I had was weights, hooks and bobbers so I snatched a
grasshopper from the nearby weeds, put him on a hook added a bobber
and casted. My bobber hadn’t even settled down from the cast when bam,
it went under and I pulled in an 11 inch rainbow. I found another grasshopper,
put it on the hook and a couple of minutes later another 11 inch trout.
I decided then and there that I needed to head back to town and get my
brother and his two boys to join me. We loaded up their poles, jumped
back in my car and in 15 minutes were on the lake catching fish with every
cast. The fishing was so good that if we didn’t get a hit within 60 seconds
of our bait being in the water, we reeled in to make sure the grasshopper
hadn’t fallen off during the cast.
We tried to release as many as we could but some of these fish were so
aggressive that they would swallow the bait so getting the hook out without
killing them was impossible. After one hour of fishing all of us had our limits
of 11 to 12 inch trout and headed back home for a delicious fish fry that
evening.
To try this little jewel out, from Denver take interstate 76 east towards
Brush Colorado. Approximately two miles east of Brush on 76 you will
see the Akron exit. This is highway 34 east and will take you right through
the heart of Akron. From Akron take Highway 63 south for approximately
3 miles. You will see the golf course on the right. Take the entrance into
the golf course going west and follow the road to the golf course pond.
The total distance from Denver to Akron is about 122 miles.
