Riverbend Ponds is one of natural areas of Fort Collins created in the Cache la Poudre River corridor.
Riverbend Ponds offers a lot of diversity with a stretch of the Poudre River, several ponds and wetlands. There are seven former gravel mine ponds to choose from so it is a popular fishing site. The Colorado Division of Wildlife stocks the ponds with warm-water species (usually largemouth bass, crappie and channel catfish). Birders also enjoy Riverbend Ponds- over 200 species of birds feed, rest, nest, and migrate through including green herons, a wide variety of ducks, American white pelicans, double-crested cormorants and others. Riverbend Ponds’ flat trails with loop options and varied habitat appeal to many hikers and dog-walkers.
During last winter I visited Riverbend Ponds several time with my camera. It seems that I am photographically attracted to long boardwalks over swamps and narrow passages between ponds.
I have never paddled these ponds. Usually, I prefer a little bit more water, but I have a feeling that next time I will combine photography with paddling. I just need a little bit of a fresh green color there.
The above pictures are available for purchase and licensing as royalty free images from my stock photography portfolio.
Related posts:
October Photo Walk at Riverbend Ponds Natural Area, Fort Collins, Colorado
Colorado State University Foothills Campus in Winter Scenery
Horsetooth Reservoir in Winter Scenery
I was walking by “blue gill” pond and I saw a huge fish by the shore. It was fat it looked like a regular fish but gigantic!!! About 5 ft. Long I thought it was a crock.lol I said woah!!! And it turned and swam away so that’s how I saw how long it was and immediately after the fish took off a second fish same length or so took off the same direction. I stayed in the area for a while hoping to see the fish again and I did. It was skimming the top of the water very calmly eating the cotton from the top of the water. I tryed to use my lure to get there attention but they showed no interest. I really wanna know what kind of fish it was. I swear this fish was unreal in size. I’m still in disbelief. It wasn’t a pike. Maybe a carp cuz there are good size.carp in the ponds there but do carp get that big? Idk.
The fish you saw would most definetly be a carp! When you said it was eating cotton on the top of the water I knew right away. Sounds to me like a Grass Carp to be specific. Common carp do not normaly get that kind of length, however grass carp do. As a kid we would catch hug Grass Carp like that on corn under a clear bobber. Maybe suspend the corn on a single hook about 10 inches under the water surface. We would walk the banks real slow and quite till wwe would find one or more eatin the cotton of the top of the water and then we would cast way out(so you didn’t disturb the fish) and reel into them slowly. You gotta try and get in front of the fish in the direction it is feeding. Then with luck a lot of times as the carp fed toward the corn it just couldn’t resist and it would gobble that up to. They never went out of ther way to much to get it and that was the challenge. If it got in ther path directly they would suck it down and HOLD on tight cuz your in for the fight of your life. As kids we had a great time with these massive fish. Broke a lot of lines on em too. Every now and then we would get one on shore and people watching couldn’t believe it either. Now I have never seen a grass carp in Riverbend Ponds but I wouldn’t doubt that there could be a bunch in there. I have seen lots of common carp tho. But I would bet money what you saw was a big old Grass Carp. Look em up sometime.