e-mail: lovelandfishing@gmail.com

Think of Bill John as one of Fish Explorer ‘s time machines – a codger whose exploits date back 70 years, from early days fishing with a home-cut cane pole or his Dad’s trotlines, to some of Zebco’s first spincast reels and a dangerous old telescoping steel fly rod. His memories can’t always be trusted, but they generally involve good-natured pursuit of nearly every kind of freshwater fish that will chase a spinner bait or a Ned rig. He’s particularly fond of smallmouth, largemouth, bluegill, trout, crappie, green sunfish and channel catfish. But he cleans and eats one or two walleye or perch each year just to let other fish know he’s dangerous. He’s a member of the Larimer County Parks Advisory Board, with citizen oversight of county-owned trails and Horsetooth, Carter, Flatiron and Pinewood reservoirs.

As a past president and current editor of the Loveland Fishing Club, the retired IBM communications manager has helped hundreds of Colorado kids get their first taste of fishing, volunteering alongside Loveland Police, Girl Scouts, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado Youth Outdoors. He’s also helped reintroduce hundreds of grandparents to the same sport through the fishing club’s unique Senior Fishing Derby for assisted living center residents. So you may hear from him on subjects like how to maximize fishing success and minimize fish mortality when your fishing buddy is 4 years old – or pushing 90. Before retirement, he managed a volunteer mentoring program encouraging northern Colorado 4th and 5th graders’ interest in math and science.