First Fish of 2013 Goes to Dad

It came late this year but Dad has caught the first fish of 2013 for our little family competition, as well as the first walleye of the year.  He caught several crappie and a couple saugeye at Norton lake.  I didn't get a chance to get out and try yet.  With him waiting so long I should have driven South and gave it an effort to beat him this year.;

This weekend is the Grand Lake BFL.  I will not be fishing it this year.  As bad as I want to, it's better that I stay home and save the money it would cost to drive there, enter the tournament and get a hotel room.  With my wife on maternity leave right now we are watching our spending. 

I also stayed home and did not go see the bassmaster classic.  I did watch some weigh in's on the internet.  While I was watching, I was picturing what it would be like to be at the weigh in.  It would have been fun.

This weekend is supposed to in the 60's and we are expecting rain.  It's only a matter of time until I start my fishing season.  The walleye are already spawning at Broken Bow which is about the same time they started last year, which in theory, means that they should be spawning at Canton around the same time they did last year.  I should be on the dam casting for them by the end of the month.

Canton lake is unusable for boating at this point.  They released a lot of water at the beginning of Febuary to fill Hefner Lake in Oklahoma City for drinking water.  Right now Canton is 15 foot low.  At 8 foot low I was hitting rocks with my prop trying to get in and out of the lake on the boat ramp at the dam.  I found a deeper boat ramp last year but they say it is unusable now. 

I kept my boat hoping that since we had some rain last fall that it would still be usable this spring.  Chances are, I may be going on my 3rd year of barely using my boat.  Nobody cares about any of the lakes around here.  We got rain that would have filled The Great Salt Plains Lake so it would be usable again and they opened the gates at the dam and let it flow on through.  I don't think they will let it become usable again.    All of the lakes and ponds around here are really low or dry. 

If I want to take the boat out it's going to have to be 2 hours or more away.  No quick trips to the lake to go boating.  With gas at 4.00 a gallon, I won't be making that trip every weekend.