FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
VOTE
Go vote, it is your civic duty. When voting the people speak. Our elected officials from county commissioner to president need hearing aids at times as they forget to listen to we the people. But unless your voice is heard by voting they will continue to do as they please, often not in our best interest. Plus, you can’t whine if you do not vote, you relinquished that right. And once it is over it is over, we all need to accept the results and move on. God bless America the greatest country in the history of civilization.
Weather
72/85. Partly sunny and warmer; breezy in the afternoon with a 25% chance of rain. Wind SSE 12 – 30mph.
Lake Level
Yesterday 95.98 msl. Today 95.99. (Will just see if it is a slow rise.)
Bite Times
Major 9:28 am to 11:28 am. (I can live with that, hope the fish read the book!.)
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.
For all your wading needs.
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No pictures, unless you want to look at a bunch of smalls. But this is what happens in the fall, tough conditions and scattered fish. And scattered they are, catching can simply be a matter of zigging when you should have zagged. The only change in conditions was the water warmed a couple of degrees (So wrong in the fall when we want the drop to get us to winter fishing.) nor did it help matters that the sun was out most of the day after the fog cleared.
I fished close to the ramp area as it was really foggy, it was 9:30 before it started to clear. The Whopper Plopper was a good choice and while I caught 3 none even came close to making the grade. As it cleared, I made my way up lake fishing points, some deep and some shallow but it was just plain slow. The only good fish actually came on a swim jig and managed to make an escape when I tried to boat flip. The most bites came on the chartreuse square bill, but they were all smalls. At best I boated 10 this morning, it was tough with absolutely no pattern or bait preference to home in on.
The wind was forecast to blow up to and past 20mph, and until almost noon it did not blow at all. I kept hoping that once it started there might be a spinnerbait bite. So once the wind came up, I switched and 2 jumped the spinnerbait in miles of bank, from flat shallow to deeper channels it took a big stump to scare one up. At this point I was not feeling it and although I caught one on my last cast, I decided to call it a day. I was a little frustrated and feeling clueless but there was a reason I quit at that minute.
As I got close to the ramp there was a boat out in the middle of the lake and it looked like they are having motor trouble, so I motored over. They were paddling their rear end off but getting further away from the ramp as the wind picked up. There is no way they would have made it. They had been paddling a while and were losing ground fast, the wind was picking up and they were just about to give out.
So, I grabbed a rope and towed them to the ramp. They were both 80 years old and with only one other truck at the ramp, who I never saw anywhere, they would have probably been stranded. Once I loaded my boat on the trailer, I noticed they were still sitting in the boat, and I asked if they had help coming. He said he was just resting and was just too tired to do anything. He finally headed for his truck, so I parked and went down and helped them get it on the trailer. Though the fishing sucked there was a reason I was out there, it could not have worked out any better.
Over the years I have been fortunate enough to only be towed in once but have towed a bunch of folks. It always disturbs (Pisses me off!) when I see folks drive right by someone in obvious distress. I will always repeat the POC story as the worst example of really mean behavior. Watching all the high dollar boats full of sanctimonious rear ends drive right by a boat obviously have trouble really irritated me, when I stopped to check on them they had paddled all the way from the island. It was fairly busy that day and they said lots of folks just went right on by. Do not do that please. It could happen to any of us but in the end stopping and checking on our fellow fishermen is simply the right thing to do.
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Some absolute slime ball shot a Desert Bighorn in western Colorado and left it laying there. They did not even take the horns; it was a 3/4 curl. And they did not take any of the meat. People spend years and tens of thousands of dollars just to get a chance of taking a Bighorn. Only 4 permits are drawn in the 2 units in the area where the sheep was poached. Because some of the act is a felony serious jail time is possible. Fine/restitution can top $25,000 along with a lifetime hunting ban. If/when they catch this fool the book should be thrown at him. I have no problem with sheep hunting, it is a bucket list hunt of a lifetime for anyone. Though I have no chance of drawing a sheep tag, I will apply for it all. What a waste of a magnificent animal.
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I am going to do something I rarely do any more, fish the lake on Saturday. Saturday happens to be the opening of deer and turkey season and while there will be folks fishing it will not be as busy. And if you are hunting, please be careful as you enjoy the weekend. Plus, I get to the ramp early and generally beat the crowd, but I am not sure being on the water exactly at daylight has been helping but I keep hoping. Now if the clouds will hang around and the wind will blow it should be a better day. So, keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
