FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors
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It Does Not Get Any Better Than This
It was a beautiful day here in South Fork, one of the reasons we moved here. We finally got a few inches of snow and more on the mountain as the ski slope opens tomorrow. The Boss wanted 2 things, to hike the lake and a fish fry. It worked for me as I wondered how this particular lake was doing as far as ice goes, and it was about 1/3 frozen and it was game on.
Beautiful day in the Rockies. Ice is on the way so getting it while I can.
I had a Rapala tied on and caught one on my first cast. Instead of staying with that it was time to toss the 3″ Knockin Tail. As it cools off they want a little slower presentation and the 3″ on a 1/16 ig head fit the bill. Casting it out and letting it hit the bottom then slowly working it back in with subtle jerks made them eat it.
Talk about fresh firm and delicious!
Feeding them the 3″ Knockin Tail.
It is so fun to catch them on light rods and 4lb line. They put up a good tussle in this cold water, and they taste even better. Nothing like into fresh snow to cool them down immediately making them firm and tasty. And what could be better than having a lake full of fish to myself. Just might head to my regular lake and put a few on the smoker. There is no better time here is South Fork, and I never take it for granted how lucky I am.
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The Rut
Things have been quiet around here as far as the mule deer rut, but that seems to have just changed. As we were down the street from the house doing about 10mph on our crap road a doe in full flight with a buck on her rear end ran right in front of the truck. It was a close one but that is the first activity we have seen.
A couple of stickers on this guy.
The does returned in mass a month ago, but this year it seems the only bucks around are little guys. But again, our weather has been so nice and when combined with the last of the hunting season it is no surprise the big boys are not exactly showing themselves. As soon as “real” winter gets here it will be on. We love to watch them fight.
The turkeys under their favorite tree right out the kitchen window.
All the turkeys are here now, and they spend the day running all over the place. Of course, a little feeding by some of the neighbors doesn’t hurt anything. And thanks to this snow the sheep will finally come down, and the rut will begin. Animals are us and we will be chasing as snow and leaves gone makes them so much easier to spot. So let the winter begin.
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Snow Finally Comes to South Fork
About 5″ last night.
We finally got some real snow. It had snowed on the mountain the last couple of days, and we joined the party, though it is over 18″ up the hill. Not sure how long this will last as it is projected to be 50 degrees Wednesday. But every inch counts for the winter business and then spring runoff.
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Broncos
We have enjoyed watching the Denver Broncos play football this year. They are on here every week, so we have watched. In 2 weeks, we head to Las Vegas to watch them play the Raiders. The new stadium in Las Vegas looks cool, and plus seeing those crazy members of Raider Nation, we excited to make a long weekend of it. One thing we love about living in Colorado is it is a day’s drive to lots of great places.
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Not Quite Yet
With the new snow we headed to the Big Horn sheep area to see if it had moved them down from the high country, but it was just not enough snow. We saw a couple of ewes but that was the size of it.
Need about another foot of snow. Lunch is way too easy to get to right now.
Watching us as they head back up the mountain.
Our weather continues to be unseasonably warm, maybe hitting 50 degrees the next couple of days. But looks like there is a chance for some serious snow this weekend and with it the sheep and elk will come down. Hunting season is still on so when it ends and the real snow comes our animal chasing will seriously ramp up. But if you want to score you have to keep after it, and when it happens it makes all the dry drives worth it.
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Our daughter and grandkids will be here tomorrow for the weekend. We have plenty to do, cooking, eating, attending local stuff, and actually heading to the woods to cut our own Christmas tree. The Boss and I over the last 4 decades have rarely had Thanksgiving or Christmas as she often worked to let folks with kids have the holidays off. So we are looking forward to what most folks would call a normal holiday.
Whatever you do have a safe weekend. And try to control your Black Friday spending. Somehow, we have morphed into measuring our Christmas by the size and quality of the presents. Think outside the box, there are plenty of ways to spend Christmas without breaking the bank. So have a great weekend and keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
