Facing terminal diagnosis, Colorado fisherman Chad LaChance leaves legacy of outdoor education

Forget the cartoons All little John Succarde requested to do on Saturday mornings was watch Chad LaChance LaChance s TV show Fishful Thinker became a staple for Colorado outdoor enthusiasts after it debuted in The educational fishing show endeared the Evergreen High School and CSU alum to anglers of all ages including Succarde who looked forward to watching it every weekend growing up The amount of information he was able to put out throughout an episode was unmatched disclosed Succarde now a -year-old Pueblo resident and avid outdoorsman He was able to explain techniques show you different avenues to rig things different methods But largest part importantly I enjoyed watching him because he was local It was cool to see him fish the same lakes that I fished but have different ideas on the same body of water And the biggest thing he portrayed on TV was to be appreciative It doesn t matter how big the fish are or how numerous you catch It s about being in the great outdoors enjoying nature and making the best out of the time you ve got Now LaChance is intent on making the best out of his time left with his family and friends The -year-old is battling Stage pancreatic cancer which has metastasized throughout his abdomen He broadcasted his determination last month and has been in hospice care at his home off Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins In LaChance s final radio interview on Terry Wickstrom Outdoors on June on The Fan LaChance noted he believes he accomplished the goal he set out to achieve over nearly episodes of Fishful Thinker My goal was to motivate and inspire other people to go and catch fish LaChance mentioned I put specific TV shows on that are borderline embarrassing in terms of the fish that I caught But the reality is that s what everybody deals with Sometimes you go fishing and you don t catch them very well And if you hide all that from your viewers they lose touch That never happened to LaChance who became renowned for his prowess with jerkbait lures as he also ran a guide company in northern Colorado In addition to focusing on local waters he traveled across the country from Alaska to the Florida Keys to fish and record shows The TV series Spanish Fly hosted by famous saltwater fisherman Jose Wejebe inspired LaChance to pursue a career in fishing He quit a job in the mortgage industry to pursue his Fishful Thinker venture full-time first as a guide amenity and then as a show LaChance s move into media started with humble beginnings as a call-in guest on Wickstrom s radio show He eventually filled in for Wickstrom twice and of those appearances became the pilot for the Fishful Thinker series according to Wickstrom In the decades since LaChance became a Colorado fishing icon for his on-screen expertise and relatability Several fans such as Succarde never met him in person but felt like they did There were times we d be in line at the launch ramp and guys would get out of their trucks and yell at Chad like they were his cousin or his brother noted Tim Farnsworth LaChance s friend and longtime cameraman One time at Spinney Mountain Reservoir at like in the morning when it was still pitch black a guy pulls up behind us and yells Chadddd People were proud to have him there at their local water A native of Jupiter Fla LaChance moved to Evergreen as a child That s when he met his friend Eric Guthrie The two budding anglers cut their teeth fishing Little Cub Creek and Upper Bear Creek Guthrie stated LaChance demonstrated elite casting accuracy from a young age long before Fishful Thinker We went to Bonny Reservoir once in our early s and I was in one boat with a buddy and he was in another boat Guthrie recalled We were casting at each other seeing how close we could get I communicated my buddy Look I wouldn t do that if I were you Chad casted his perfect and caught my buddy in the top of the thigh from a long long means away He s won a lot of casting and accuracy competitions LaChance s love of fishing was part of an intimate connection to nature one amplified by the wildlife right outside his Fort Collins home He would walk up to giant bucks in his yard and scratch their heads or does would come up to him in the yard and rest their head on his shoulder longtime friend and Fishful Thinker guide Dan Swanson explained with a laugh His connection to wildlife whether it s deer or fish and his understanding of the nature of animals is incredible An avid hunter and cook LaChance came up with recipes for fish and event that he often shared on his show He served on the Larimer County Parks Advisory Board working to protect the lakes he fished He s also been a mentor to young fishers throughout the state In what LaChance called his highest accomplishment in angling he coached the duo of Ryan Wood and Turner Mason to a pair of state championships through Denver Junior Bass Masters as well as the Costa Bassmaster High School National Championship in Tennessee Wood and Mason finished last at the national championship in before re-qualifying and getting redemption the next year when the Legacy High School duo topped a field of anglers LaChance s contest plan to use jerkbait lures in proved to be key in the win Mason disclosed he will never forget Chad for giving me that passion to fish Wood whom LaChance mentored since he was years old revealed LaChance s influence on him went far beyond the water Looking back on it now I realize how much more he taught us than just fishing Wood disclosed He taught us how to manage through life And when we went to college he sought out other kids to mentor as well All of those achievements are why LaChance narrated Wickstrom he is at peace with his fate I m okay with my assessment I m confident and the reason I m confident is I ve been honest with myself my whole life LaChance explained last month I ve followed my heart all the time and that s my advice Follow your folly follow your passion because if you do that the rest will work itself out And if you don t and then you get the kind of news like I got I think it s gonna be rough And one thing I have at this point is the perfect clarity that comes with hindsight Everyone advised me the fishing show wouldn t work It worked fine I went and did all of the other crazy things that I required to do had all the crazy adventures I just want to say thank you to everybody for following along Chad LaChance's -pound smallmouth in is a good but not great catch for Horsetooth Reservoir west of Fort Collins Denver Post File