FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors

  Inc.

Beaver Lake.

Headed up to Beaver Lake Saturday to see what was up with ice fishing.  There were a few folks but for such a big lake full of trout it was not crowded by any means.  And the ice is clearly thick enough as a snowm0biler or two were running the lake.  Ice fishing will be on the list next year which as usual requires more new fishing stuff.  It never ends.  But one thing I will give the weather here is this above freezing almost every afternoon works for me.  The parking lot where I park when bank fishing was full of trucks and trailers out snowmobiling.  It did not look like the road was plowed on up but the area above the lake opens into a cool valley which I am sure looks awesome right now.  And I did get fortunate to see a guy pile it up, but no harm no foul.  It always seems when we do things like that lots of folks are watching.

One thing that surprised me was there was a few little open water stretches on the creek below the dam which runs along the road.  It is one of the places I will be fishing, especially if it opens early.  It is a small stream with not the best of access, brushy and rocky but I talked with a dude fishing it last year and it has fish.  But since they have plowed up to the lake you would have to jump a 5 foot snow bank roadside to get to it.  Can’t wait.

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The antlers on the bucks are looking a little worse for the wear.  They will soon be dropping like flies.

The toms behavior has changed a lot this week.  Starting to strut their stuff.

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And this on public access from SA Joe.

Yeah is BS they wanting to close the beaches. Same with access to the guadalupe river south of canyon dam. Have to pay to play or access. Further up private strip of land to access water is someones. Not big enough for a car to park but there are fences preventing people access. Its never gonna change. Further up north, other rivers are blocked also..

The problem with access is being fought all over the country, from landowners owning to the middle of the river like in Colorado, to really rich landowners out west who block access to our public lands so they can treat it like they own it.  To give you an interesting access issue lets go to Montana.  The landowners there are actually wanting the Game and Fish departments to solve their elk “problem”.  These same landowners want the problem solved with our tax dollars yet they do not allow hunting.  What cracks me up is much of this is brought by rich folks who have their own definition of what the outdoors “should” be by their definition.  All I have to say is I am glad I won’t be around to see the end results of many of these disputes.

When it comes down to it money and political connections will move the needle, but in the wrong direction.  Until State Game and Fish departments quit putting rich political donors on the commissions and start putting “real folks’ it will not get any better.  (Trust me they have no problem with a place to hunt or fish.)  Just a glance at the qualifications of TPWD commissioners to get an idea of who might be best served.  (I am sure they are fine folks but that is not the point.  They have their own interests just like I do.)  Thanks for the comment.

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.

For all your wading needs.

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Makes my morning cereal much better.

And speaking of access I have spent this cold morning in Colorado with a brochure I picked up in Lake City on places to fish.  So out came the Colorado topo map and man oh man there is a world of lakes and rivers within 50 miles of the house.  Whether streams or small lakes there is tons of access for everyone.  Thank God for public lands.  It took me 3 hours to cross reference and mark just a few of the public fishing access in just this area.  Probably take the rest of my life to fish and travel to all of it.  And I intend to die trying!

I guess the thing that chaps my ass the most is the days of kids riding bikes or having mom take them to the creek or a pond is coming to an end.  How we have evolved with someone “owning” the river astounds me.  In Colorado you cannot anchor or wade on most streams and fish.  Why I am doing my research now before ice out.  So much for a kid on his bike headed to his local creek like I did growing up.

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There is not to many Mule deer in our neighborhood.

And one last word on TPWD stance on invasive species as it pertains to those of us who boat.  A great rule but totally hypocritical.  They have allowed landowners and hunting interests to import all kinds of non-native species, hell even saw a zebra in a high fence area.  Texas now has animals running wild from warthogs (Are you kidding me!) to Nigal and Audad, yet TPWD allows this to continue.  The park service even shoots audads from a helicopter to let the native sheep retake their home range.  Apparently if you have money ot are a corporate hunting interest TPWD lets them import “invasive species” and sell hunts.  Does that somehow make sense?  Just wondering.

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One beautiful animal.

Excuse me if I rant to occasionally on public lands but our travels and explorations the last few years really opened my eyes.  Visiting numerous parks, mountains and in my case different lakes and coasts, one thing has become clear, we are crowded.  The pandemic did not help matters, though in my opinion it did help by folks getting outside.  Getting outside is a good thing on many levels.  And the new bunch of “kids” are hitting the woods and waters harder than the proceeding generation.  But with that came traffic.

My main point, and I know at times you might be wondering what it might be, is that we need to protect access to public lands for everyone, and when possible add any that we can lay our hands on.  The Powderhorn Ranch is a perfect example.  It was so hard to believe when the last administration wanted to sell some.  Folks, they are not making any more land, no more waterfront, no more woods, what we have left is it.  It is incumbent on us, and those who follow to preserve and protect every inch of it.  We must remain vigilant whenever government wants to change, restrict or reduce access.  There will be a reason and they are not always in our best interest.  As usual follow the money.

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The garage project will be getting a real start this week and while I am not looking forward to the potential hassle it is great to be first in line.  They are building up a storm here and it will be good to get it finished before summer.  The Boss will be flying in a couple of weeks from now to spend a week, then we will head back to Texas and I will thrash the water for a few weeks.  Then I will head back here to start the fishing and then the Boss will actually be able to come out for 2 weeks.  So life is good.  And I really like the gas stove on those cool mornings.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines