FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors

One of the things we love about Colorado, is what at times is some really interesting weather.  We had what is probably the last snowstorm of the spring and it was a doozy.  It snowed around 24 hours and before it was all done we got around 10″ plus.  It quit on Saturday night and then that cool Colorado thing happened, it all melted on Sunday and it was 60 degrees.  So we just hung out Saturday and enjoyed the snow, and then I went and got the boat.

The weather is fabulous and consequently I got the boat out today.  The lakes are open, and the season is on.  First up will be Beaver Lake which is closest to the house.  I enjoy fishing it and it is never a question of catching; it is more what and how many will be caught.  It has the Kokanee salmon which are a little tough to catch there but this being my first full year that should change.  And there are plenty of other lakes to come so I am excited to get at it.

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Beaver Lake

It is so nice to not have to fight the crowd or deal with crowded ramps.

I headed out about 9:00 to the lake.  As usual the drive can be fun and besides seeing around 30 mule deer and then when pulling into the parking area there were 2 elk above the lake on a grassy hillside.  With the weather in full spring mode everything is feeding in the fields.  The deer just eyeball you but the minute I turned the truck into the lot the elk headed back in the timber.  But a good way to start the morning.

There was not a soul in sight, in fact other than a couple of guys later in a jon boat and then some bank fishermen I had the whole lake to myself.  The plan today was to just troll and check out the water level and how it related to the points.  The first hour or so it was just one bite, then it started picking up.  Starting with a bronze small minnow bait on one rod and a white/pink spoon on the other it seemed to be a tie as far as how many ate.

A nice limit of pink meat rainbows.

I trolled both on a flat line about 60′ back and most of them slammed it.  The best area was on the sunny side of the lake as it was only 40 degrees when starting and the water temp remained a cool 40.  Most of the fish were close to the bank, and a couple of the can’t miss banks from last year were it.  The wind was swirling some, but it warmed up nicely as the morning went on.

The other thing I wanted to do was troll the deep water and see if any Kokanee showed up on the locater, but the deep water was fairly devoid of fish.  My guess is some of the fish showing up in the 30 foot range were them, so that gives me a starting point for tomorrow.  They are caught using a completely different technique so next up will be a morning concentrating on them.  There is lots to learn but I will keep after it.

It was an easy 20 for the morning and no complaints.  In fact I never tied on a different bait all morning.  It would be hard to overstate how nice it is to not have to fight the knuckleheads at the ramp and on the water.  As many of these lakes are no wake people act like fishermen, none of that 70mph wide open nonsense.  And speaking of that I cannot fail to comment on the MLF deadly wreck below, it has been coming,

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We headed out to Creede about 21 miles away for a cold one.  Of course nothing was open, that will change starting the 1st.  It is the Colorado Rockies.  This is what they call the mud season, and most businesses are taking a break before the tourists come.  On the way there and back we saw maybe 40+ Bighorns.  One thing you learn here is if you like animals and photos never leave the house without the camera, you never know.

These guys have a ways to go but nothing like Bighorn rams no matter what size.  They were giving us the side eye.

That have really gone to year/ram/ewe bunches.  These boys were right in Creede.

The sheep and deer have really ganged up by class, age, size, whatever they are hanging with their buddies.  Herds of deer are common, and interesting enough the turkeys have hit the road.  Where they go who knows but it will be fall before they return.  And the prairie dogs are out in force, so the season has changed.  Will definitely head up north of Creede to fish a lake I have not fished yet, which happens to be where we see the moose.  Man it is fun to live here.

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MLF Boat Wreck

It was sad new that 3 people were killed and another couple hurt when apparently a tournament boat going around a point slammed into a striper guide boat.  From what I read the bass boat went over the top of the center console killing the guide and a couple of customers.  There have been a couple of different reports but it just might have been foggy.  The tournament angler survived, usually the way.  One of the commenters said it might be time to look at the speed issue.  You f’n think!

My memory might be a little fuzzy but here is some background.  Back in the 70’s as boats and motors progressed at a rapid rate BASS made a major change.  The rule then was the HP maximum was 115 on tournament boats.  It took a couple of years but they finally lifted the limit and the race was on.  I was there when a 70hp was something then along came the Black Max.  I had one on my Champion 16’8′ and trust me, running it wide open was flat stupid, just one dumb move from disaster.  We did not even have dual steering at that time.  The Boss hated that boat.

So things kept getting faster and faster.  Hull design improved and motors just kept getting larger.  Today the coast is even seeing big flats boats with dual motors.  The insanity continues.  And with it more accidents and definitely more bad behavior as the number of times tournament guys or guides are involved.  But even worse is the guy with more money than brains.  So it is time to talk about speed.  There is no reason for boats on freshwater or shallow coastal waters to run 70mp.  It was just a few months ago in a tournament I watched on TV where a bass boat hit a sunken dock and it ripped the motor off the transom.  There is no sense in that, time for a speed limit or some sensible length to HP rating.  I don’t know the answer but the lawyers are coming.  They better hope they did not send them out with fog.  That’s gonna leave a real mark.  My condolence to all involved.

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Thats it for today.  Spring is relly in bloom and besides the fishing there is still some travel in the plans.  And the Boss is going to do another a 5k in a couple of weeks.  In fact she walked a wildlife area today and found an elk mandible and a leg.  The woods here are full of the evidence of natural selection at work.  Around here if “you” don’t eat it someone else will.   So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

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