First Fish of the Year Title is Mine This Year

The family tradition of first fish of the year went to me this year.  It was a late start to to the fishing season this year.  We made the decision to move to Northwest Kansas at the end of 2015 and I stayed on with my employer to train my replacement through the third week in January. 

We had some strange weather this winter.  The ice never got thick enough to go out on but it kept enough ice on the lakes to keep people from fishing. 

Finally a few weeks ago I started fishing.  The first two trips were flops, but I started hearing that there were some fish being caught at a lake near my parents. 

On one of the nicest days we had in February I drove over to check out the lake.  I called my mother on the way.  She decided to meet me on the dam and fish with me.

It wasn't long before the hearsay became reality.  I had caught my first fish of 2016.  It was 14 1/2 inch saugeye.  My 3 year old daughter was fishing right beside me.  I continued to catch 2 more saugeye  before Mom showed up. 

We spent the day basking in the sun, casting, and catching.  My daughter got to reel in several fish. 

Then it came.  I made a long cast, waited for the jig to hit the bottom and as soon as I lifted the rod, BAM!  This was a harder hit than the short fish we had been pulling in.  The fish came straight to the surface like a bass.  I held my rod tip low, just like I would if a bass was trying to jump.  Instinct I guess.  We saw the fish a good ways out swirl at the surface.  It was a good size saugeye.  Keeper for sure.  My heart was racing as I kept the fight going. 

Mom thought I lost the fish when it swirled.  Fortunately, I had not lost it.  I scanned the rocks I was standing on for the best place to land a big fish.  Something flat with shallow water.  I have lost a lot of walleye at the end of a fight when I have went to grab them in the rocks.  You are in and awkward position.

I found my spot and brought the fish in.  I bent down and grabbed my line to get the fishes head up.  My line snapped.  Like a cat I lept for the fish.  One foot went into the cold water and my hand grabbed right between the dorsal fin and the gill.  I gripped and pulled the Saugeye out of the water. 

He went a good 5 inches beyond my 18 inch measuring board.  Fish was on the menu.

We caught a crappie, bass and tons of other short saugeye throughout the rest of the afternoon. 

It is great to have fishing season back in gear for 2016.

Lots of Fishing Little Catching

Last weekend I went to the FLW BFL tournament at the Arkansas River out of Muskogee.  I went down early to pre-fish Friday before the tournament.  It was cold that morning and I could not warm up even though I had layers of cloths on. 

 

I didn't catch anything pre-fishing, but the guy I was with caught 2 barely keepers.  Everybody we talked to said they did not catch them.  It was looking like it was going to be a rough tournament.

 

That evening at the pretournament meeting I was talking with a guy, we introduced ourselves, talked a little more, then I went on about my business.  Crazy thing is I drew him as my boater. 

 

On tournament day we went to an area that looked completely awesome.  The whole river looked awesome, but this place really stuck out as a bass hole.  We didn't catch any fish, but saw a couple caught out of there.  We made a move to another area and started to fish it.  It looked great too, a lot like a spot I used to fish back home in similar weather conditions. 

 

My boater caught his first fish and I missed one.  I got my worm back to the boat and the tail had been curled around and re-hooked on the point of the hook.  Nothing I could have done about that missed fish other than possibly to set the hook harder.

 

We fished that area some more and my boater picked up one more fish.  Then we made a move a little further.  This would be our final move as my boater got on a pattern here.  I tried to mimic what he was doing, and even tied on the exact same lure.  I tried everything else I could think of.  He was getting his bites on the first pass over small grassy patches in shallow water.  After he tried them they didn't want my stuff.

 

I did have 2 bites in a laydown where my boater pulled 2 good fish out of.  I missed the hook set on both of them.  They weren't hanging on to the bait at all.

 

On the way back to weigh in my boater spoted a boat in need of help and turned around to see what he could do to help.  They were in the same flight as us and had boat problems and needed to get back to weigh in.  The co-angler had a good bag and a shot at a decent check.  My boater told them to hurry and we would take them to the weigh in. 

 

We checked in with only a few minutes left.  The co-angler that we picked up won the tournament and had big bass.  My boater continued to help out the other boater well after the weigh in. 

 

This was the first tournament where my boater did really good and I skunked.  It was pretty disappointing.  I would still go out to fish with my boater any day of the week.  He was a super guy.  He tried to get me some fish, he was just too thorough at picking apart pockets.  It was kind of awesome to see somebody fish the way he did and grind out a limit when lots of others struggled to even catch one bass.

 

I probably learned more this tournament, than I have in any one tournament the last 3 years.

 

When I got home I got all of my tackle out and started reorganizing for the new boat.  I will be going from one little tournament bag to a whole boat full of tackle.  Most of the time I will use the same things I always use, but I will have more choices of colors or variations.  It will be nice to have a few more options if I need them.

 

I was looking for tournaments to do with a buddy of mine from Oklahoma City.  As I was looking I found a series that I can fish with my 9 year old son.  This weekend will be our first tournament.  All of the tournaments are on Eufaula lake.  I looked at the weights from last year and there are some major sticks fishing this trail.  We will need around 19 to 20 pounds or more to win one of these.  My biggest sack ever is not even close to that.  Oh well, we are going to get out there and try anyway.

 

I tried hitting the walleye spawn a couple of times the week before.  I went to Canton lake and the walleye spawn was almost over.  Then that weekend we were 4 hours north at my wife's Mom's and the walleye were just getting started.  I saw them swimming around the rocks at both locations but did not come across an aggressive one that would bite my lure.

 

I have been fishing a lot the last month, but I have been doing very little catching.  I'm coming off a cold streak and now I've got to run the boat and try to find the bass.  I'm looking forward to the challenge.

The New Boat

 

I have been thinking about it and commenting for quite a while that I wanted to buy a different boat.  A bass boat to be precise.  In my last post, last fall, I mentioned what I was looking for in a boat.  I have been looking since then and came across this one finally.  I had to make some sacrifices to keep the cost down. 

 

I was getting ready for my first tournament of the year at Grand lake and saw this boat a few days before I was leaving to fish as a co-angler.  I decided to go out of my way on the day of the tournament registration to check it out and possibly trade in my Nitro Fish and Ski. 

 

I got to the boat dealer and saw the boat parked out front.  It looked nice from a distance, but as I got closer I saw some imperfections.  The carpet was tore in a couple of spots.  There were some stress cracks, and there was a spot on the back corner of the boat where the previous owner had apparently hit a dock and starred the fiberglass. 

 

This about deterred me from purchasing the boat.  Reselling it could be tough in a couple of years.  It was also only 1 year newer than my current boat.  I was wanting something a little newer than a '99. 

 

After hem hawing around most of the morning, the salesman said that we should take it out for a test drive.  The motor fired right over.  The boat ran good and glided through the 2 foot waves without banging.  It felt solid.  Then we stopped and put down the trolling motor.  I ran along a bank for a while adjusting the speed and staying in a perfect line with the bank even thought the wind was blowing hard and waves were crashing into us.  I was sold.

 

This boat may be a little beat up, but it will fish great, I won't have to worry about banging it up, and the price was right for a bigger boat.

 

They didn't offer half of what my Nitro booked at low value from what I had checked the night before, so I decided to keep it for a family boat.  This way we can still ski and fish and all be in the boat together. 

 

I don't have the boat yet.  The dealership is doing a couple of small things to get it ready for me first.  I have another tournament in the meantime, that I will fish as a co-angler.  After that, I may continue as a co-angler in the BFL's this year, and fish some other tournaments out of my new boat. 

 

Last tournament I didn't catch a bass.  There were 220 boats and out of those only 75 co-anglers caught a bass.  It was tough fishing.  Some people found them though, just like always.  The winning weight on the boater side was 29 pounds.  That's a giant sack for Grand Lake.  I didn't even catch a short.  I did catch a big crappie.  It was disappointing when I got it to the boat and realized it wasn't a bass. 

 

Tonight I am going down to Canton lake in Oklahoma for the Walleye spawn.  It's fishing season once again.  This year I am going to fish any chance I get. 

Time for a Change - Looking Into Buying a Bass Boat

This year was my 3rd year fishing as a non boater in the FLW BFL's.  The amount of bass fishing knowledge and confidence I have gained from that experience is unbelievable.  I have fished area's of lakes that I would have never tried on my own.  Some of them were successful and some were not.  I have used baits that I would not have tried had I not been shown how to use them.

It is always exciting getting to know a new person you have never fished with before.  It is fun to see their style of fishing. 

The more I have learned, the harder it has become to not be in control.  While I am in a tournament I see a spot that has just the right structure and depth and know that I could catch a fish there.  My boater looks right past it.  They have their game plan in place.  I am fishing out of their boat, their way.  For the first couple of years it didn't bother me at all.  I was learning.  Now I want to put all of what I have learned together in order to catch fish and do well in tournaments.

It is time for me to take the next step and become a boater. 

There is one problem.  I don't have a bass boat, and bass boats are relatively expensive.  After looking for the last several months, I have determined that there are several things I want in my boat.  Every extra item costs more, but I think each would help me to catch more fish and be able to fish more effectively.

In no certain order, I would like to have the following.  Recessed trolling motor.  GPS with contour lines.  Power pole.  Dual axle's.  21' boat.  200 hp + motor.  2002 or newer.  Under $20,000.00.  Deck and Console fish finders with 7" or larger screens.

I have came across several boats that have came close to having all of these specs.  Recently I found a boat that had all of my requirements.  I have a loan approved for up to $25,000.00.  The boat I found was right at $20,000.00.  It is hard for me to pull the trigger for that much money.  I haven't ever paid that much for a vehicle that I drive every day.  The interest rate I am looking at is really good at 4.6%.

I passed up on a really good deal earlier in the year when I first started looking.  Now that I have been looking for a while I realize that I messed up.  The boat had most of the requirements I am looking for at 1/3 of the cost. 

To be truthful, that is what I am waiting for again. If I can find a boat that has most of what I want at a great price, I would like to use it for a couple of years, then sell it and upgrade.  I would store the boat 4 hours from home, near the tournament waters I fish so that I save fuel on the drive.  I don't want to store a great boat that far from home.  I would want to go look at it all the time. 

If I don't find my boat by next spring or decide to buy a house by then, I will happily be a non boater again so that I can still get out and fish. 

Still Have My Boat

A couple years ago I considered selling my boat.  That thought has been with me since then.  As I get more into fishing the BFL's I have considered buying a bass boat and storing it down around the water's that I fish the tournaments.

With my boys getting older and more into sports, we find there is less and less time to be on the water. 

The boat has been a great escape for quite a few years now.  It feels good pulling it down the road.  It's sharp looking still, and runs great.  As an added bonus, the taxes on it are relatively inexpensive.  And it's paid off. 

At some point I may sell it, but for now, my plans are to keep it for another year or 2.  We may not make it to the lake much now, but that could change, and if we do go to the lake it's nice to have a versatile boat that we can all get in and fish or tube or just scoot across the lake quickly.  A family boat.

Canton lake in Oklahoma is where I go the most to fish.  It is a fun body of water that I can almost always catch a meal's worth of fish.  It is still down pretty low and the last time I used the boat ramp I hit a rock with the motor.  It did not do any damage thankfully.  As long as it doesn't get any lower I will start going there more often.

Cheney lake in Kansas is another lake about the same distance away.  I have been hearing that the lake conditions have improved there and the fishing is good.  It is close to Wichita so I will probably only go there in the spring and fall when all of the fun in the sunner's are back in the city.

This summer I bought a Nissan Titan with the plans on buying a bass boat to match.  Since then we are in the process of buying a house.  I'm working hard to figure out how to get my bass boat by next spring.  I have been selling a lot of stuff around the house on ebay trying to come up with the money.  So far a month into it, I have sold about 1000.00 worth of stuff.  At that pace I will not have enough money in time.

It looks like if I want to be a boater next year in the BFL's I am going to have to figure something else out.

Lake Eufaula BFL Okie Division

The weather was cold yet again at our BFL Okie Eufaula tournament on May 17th.  It seems we have been hitting the lakes at the wrong times this year. 

I was looking for a good showing since I had dropped to 52nd place in the standings after the last tournament.  I got the monkey off my back right away in this tournament.  I caught about a 2.5 pounder in the second spot we tried, casting a Biffle Bug at a stick in shallow water.  There was a fish near the stick and he ate the Bug. 

We fished for quite a while longer catching short fish until my boater got his first and only keeper of the day.  We fished that spot for quite a while, but could not get another fish to move up.  It was the type of water where the fish should have been moving up on all day.  It wasn't going to be this day.

We moved across the lake and started fishing another area.  About half way through our pass, I hooked into a good size fish on a flick shake.  The fish came out of the water and I about lost my breath.  My boater got his line reeled in and to the back of the boat to net the fish right as I got it to the boat.  The hook fell out as he was lifting it over the edge of the boat.  Talk about a close one.  The fish was around 3.5 pounds.

We finished that pass and made another pass through that area picking up quite a few more short fish before moving to our last spot.  The last spot was a major community hole that probably had many different boats on it all day.  I had a different bait than any of them would have used and picked up more short fish.  I was thinking, "I need one more fish to get in the money." 

Finally, as the time ticked down, we made our run back to the check in boat.  At the weigh in I noticed that a lot of people had a really tough day.  We weighed in 3rd flight out of 5 flights.  When I weighed in I was sitting in 15th place with 6-1, my heaviest weight in a BFL so far.  I found out they pay out 25. 

By the time the rest of the field weighed in I had dropped to 30th place.  Not good enough for a check, but good for a bump up in the standings.  I moved from 52nd to 26th place overall for the year.  I will have a good chance to make it to Regionals at Sam Rayburn, and have a shot at winning a boat. 

The next tournament will be at Grand Lake in September.  It is a Super Tournament + it is at Grand Lake, the lake I have fished the most in Oklahoma.  I really want to cash a check in Oklahoma.  I have been learning a ton the last few tournaments that will apply to Grand Lake.  This could be my tournament.

 

2014 So Far

At the beginning of the year I made a resolution to make it outdoors more often this year.  So far I have blown last year out of the water. 

I have been in 3 Okie BFL tournaments and went fishing on 3 separate occasions on top of that.  Not bad for just getting out of winter. 

The first tournament was at Grand Lake.  It was cold.  COLD!  The fish had lock jaw and I did not catch a fish along with hundreds of other anglers.  They didn't even have enough co-anglers catch fish to fill all of the prize slots.  So, you could say I finished last or 22nd.  I'll go with 22nd, my highest finish in a Okie BFL so far. 

The next tournament was on the Arkansas River.  I caught 4 bass.  Two were just barely short and I had 2 keepers for 5.7 pounds and around a 35th place finish.  We were getting the bass dialed in again for the afternoon bite but started experiencing boat problems and needed to get a ride into weigh in so we could go retrieve the boat.  I caught a 19 inch crappie that weighed more than either of my 3 pound bass. 

The last tournament was this weekend.  Mizike was texting me saying he caught a bass, then another, then another.  I asked him where he was fishing and he said one of his farm ponds.  I called him and told him I was coming through that area and asked if he had time to goof around for a while.  He said he did so I stopped by on the way to the pairing meeting to fish for a couple of hours.

We had a lot of fun catching a bass on nearly every cast.  I caught the bass slightly smaller than the bass pictured above, then we went to another pond where I immediately picked up this lunker. 

In the tournament I did not fare so well.  We were at Fort Gibson Lake.  For the size of the lake it seemed to fish really small.  Every good bass spot had 3 or more boats on it all day playing merry go round with the rest of the spots.  I managed to pick up 1 keeper in a pretty common community hole that seemed like it would continue to reload all day.  My boater picked up 2 keepers there.  We moved thinking that an afternoon bite would pick up in another area. 

Unfortunately for us, the afternoon bite didn't happen.  We ran to quite a few different areas but only picked up some short fish and a catfish that I thought was my getting into the money bass.

I caught 5 bass on 5 different lures.  I couldn't figure out any specific pattern other than they were biting extremely light on everything I caught them on besides the first fish I had caught on a swimbait. 

I weighed in 1 bass for 3-2 pounds which put me in 74th place out of 143 boats.  I am currently in 52nd in points for the year.  I will need to do well in the next 2 tournaments in order to make it to regionals.  The competition is fierce.

My first fish of 2014

The last 4 weekends I have had basketball games.  I have been coaching 1st and 2nd grade basketball.  This was my first free weekend and I wanted to take advantage of the cold snap we had the previous 2 weeks.

Friday night my son was in homecoming as a ball carrier, so I we went to the game that night.  I made plans to leave on Saturday to drive 4 1/2 hours to my parents so that Dad and I could sneak out to do some ice fishing on Sunday morning.

The previous 2 days had been warm and windy.  Not a good combination for the ice.  I made the trip anyway knowing that we could always fish off the fishing dock if we needed to.

We arrived at my parents Saturday afternoon and hung around that afternoon and night.  Before we went to bed we made plans to leave in time to get to the lake by sun up. 

I awoke an hour before my alarm went off.  There's something about hunting and fishing that triggers my internal alarm.  We made it to the lake before sun up and saw that the cold through the night had refrozen the slush that had been created by melting ice the day before.  Dad boogied out onto the ice.  I was concerned about the thickness after 2 near 70 degree days, but followed him out anyway. 

He broke open a couple previous holes and tested the depth of the ice.  It was a good 7 inches thick.  I felt a lot better about being out over 20 feet of water at that point.

Dad went to work drilling holes while I fished in a couple we broke open.  It had been a looooong time since I had been ice fishing, so I was hoping I still had the knack.  I started out with a Swedish pimple but lost in pretty quick.  I switched to a dot tipped with a meal worm. 

It took quite a while but I finally had a hit.  I got the fish up and had my first fish of the year.  A bluegill!  The fishing was slow.  Dad's vexilar was not picking up any activity.  He was fishing a ledge that dropped from 10 foot down to 20 foot.  I stayed shallower in 8 to 10 foot of water around wood cover and moss.

It was getting later in that morning and we still weren't having great luck when Dad stuck his vexilar in my hole.  In a short time I saw a red line under my lure.  I would lift my lure and the line would follow.  Then I lowered my lure to the red line and jiggled just a little.  When I lifted my rod, I had a fish attached. 

As soon as I got the fish off the line I saw several others on the vexilar.  It was pretty exciting.  I had one following my line, but he wouldn't take the bait.  Dad dropped his Swedish pimple down the same hole and he took it right away. 

I caught one more bluegill out of the hole right after that.  Then as quick as they had shown up they were gone.    I worked that hole for a while longer before moving to the other hole I had caught the 1st bluegill.  I dropped my dot to the bottom and went to lift the tip of my pole when I felt some weight at the end of the line.  I pulled up and had a good fighter on my hands.  It definitely wasn't a bluegill.  As the fish got to the surface I saw it was a bass.  It made an evasive maneuver at the bottom of the hole using its head and tail to push off both sides of the hole.  It pulled free.

I pulled a smaller largemouth out of the same hole a while later, then right before we were leaving I pulled out 1 more.  I kept hoping they would be a nice sized saugeye.

As we were getting ready to leave another fisherman came out to see how things had went.  He had been at Webster and said that the ice was getting pretty thin there.  It had started to bow underneath him and decided to check out a different lake.  I like my ice to be good and thick.  Standing on ice that bows underneath you sounds completely crazy. 

I've fallen through the ice before.  It was at a pond and it wasn't that deep, but it is scary, especially when you are by yourself.  On top of that I had a mile walk back to the house and had to strip out of my clothing as it was freezing solid on my walk back. 

We had fish for lunch at my parents then got on the road to return home.  The whole way back I was radiating from the fun I had fishing with Dad in the morning.

Dad Gets First Fish of the Year Again

The first fish of the year goes to Dad again.  He made it out yesterday and caught 3 crappie, 3 saugeye and a bluegill at Keith Sebelius Reservoir.  The Saugeye were in the middle of a cove on the bottom, the crappie were a little further up.  Dad didn't say his depth for the bluegill.

He was using his Vexilar.  He said the ice was about 6 inches deep in the middle of the cove.  He had been out on 3 inches of ice at Webster earlier in the week. 

I still haven't made it out fishing.  Still haven't gotten my fishing license.  I need to get my licenses and get signed up for the Okie BFL's as a co-angler this week. 

2014 Resolution - Get Outdoors

It's time to get serious about my 2014 fishing season.  There's several things that need to start happening.  1st - I need to get out fishing and catch the first fish of 2014.  Dad has the honors the last few years.  I need to get my fishing license now so I can sneak out on the 1st day and bag me a fish before he does.  2nd - I need to get registered for the 2014 Okie BFL as a co-angler.  3rd - I need to start getting my tackle organized and equipment ready for the new year.

I was pretty close to registering for the Everstart Central Division, but the cost of travel and lodging and entry fees is a little more than I can swing right now.  Instead I may try to get in the 1st one at Grand Lake and see what to do from there.  Maybe I'll place and pay for the other 2 events.

This blog may start getting some life back in it in 2014.

This fall and winter I have been outdoors more than I was all summer.  It may have only been a few weekends but I have made it out pheasant hunting with the boys a couple of times.  There are not a lot of birds in Northwest Kansas yet, but they are making a comeback from the last few years of drought and the floods before that.

I have bought a few guns here recently as well.  I have added a 12 gauge pump Remington, a single shot 12 gauge H&R, and a .223 bolt action rifle.  I have also picked up my .22 rifle from my parents.  I took the .223 out to sight it in.  It's a lot of fun.  The .22 is still the most accurate gun I have ever shot.  We were shooting at 200 yards and I centered a target in 3 shots.  I had to aim high due to the distance but once I got the height down it hit right in the center of the target.  I love that gun. 

I just got the 12 gauge single shot for 90.00.  It's in nice condition for that price.  I shot it twice to see how well I liked the modified choke.  I'm going to love it!  I better hit every bird I shoot at though because this thing kicks like a furious mule.  After 2 shots my shoulder is bruised.  I will be looking for a rubber stock bump. 

On New Years Day I am going to hit the lakes around OKC.  I will be down there celebrating the coming of the new year.  There's a few options in the immediate vicinity.  This is going to be my year.  It may hurt that Dad has purchased a gas powered auger and a vexilar for ice fishing.  He may get tricky and go out at sun up New Years Day.  I hope he has to work!

There's a lot to celebrate with the coming of 2014.  My resolution is to make it outdoors a lot more this year.  I took a year off to spend time at home with my baby girl.  I have done that.  Now it's time to get back to my other love.

Tournaments On the Roster Again for Next Year!

Fishing has taken a backseat this year as I have taken a year off for my daughter being born.  I have only fished a couple of times throughout the spring and summer.  My boat has only touched the water once this year.

I would like to make it out more, but family obligations, laziness, cost of gas, and lack of water have kept me at bay.  This fall I may make it out once or twice before I have to winterize the boat.

In thinking about next year, I have decided to get back into the tournament action.  I'm not sure, but I may step it up a bit and do the BFL's and try to get into the next higher series with the FLW.

It's nice for me to have the excuse that I have to go fishing.  Otherwise I may be pursuaded to do other things.

My favorite summer was a few years ago when I was fishing club tournaments and the FLW.  I had to go fishing almost every weekend. 

I won't ever have that opportunity again if I continue to live here.  As long as I can make it out of town for a series I will be happy. 

No Fresh Trout For Breakfast

Vacation is over.  I've been back to work for a couple of weeks now.

The mountains were chilly while we were out there.  It rained every day except for Saturday, the day before we left.  Wednesday it rained the entire day.

We would get up in the mornings and go hiking or fishing and be chased off by the rain by early afternoon.  We did drive around some and check out the mountains. 

One of my favorite drives was driving up one of the unmaintained passes in my explorer.  The road was rough and had lots of puddles making it fun to drive on.  The scenery was excellent.  We drove slow and had to pull over for oncoming traffic.  It was something I had never done before.  When we got to the top of the pass at 11500 feet we got out and climbed the mountain beside us so the boys could touch snow in August.  The both threw snowballs at me.

Fishing was great.  I had a Kokane Salmon on the fly at one lake.  It got off at the shoreline and I was dissapointed I didn't get it in since I have never caught one.  I also caught rainbow trout, brown trout and brook trout.  The brook trout were the biggest of all.  We found a nice beaver dam on the way up the pass and pulled over to fish it on the way down.  I had several 14 inch plus trout take the fly.  I only landed a couple little 10 inchers though. 

On the 3rd to last day we found a perfect stretch of river to fish that was public access.  As we were wading and fishing it I almost had a River Runs Through It experience.  There was a boulder sticking out of the water.  I watched the current going around the rock and saw a 20+ inch brown trout slowly rise to the surface and suck in an insect as it came floating past. 

I whipped my fly rod back and forth and laid the fly perfectly out in front of where the trout had risen.  All of a sudden my line went tight.  It was coming in awefully easy for such a huge trout.  I thought a 20+ inch trout would put up a much bigger fight.  I was right.  It didn't take long to realize a smaller trout had gotten this fly.

The kids had fun hiking through the mountains and playing around the cabin.  My daughter loved hiking since she could sleep and be carried the whole way.  She did get a little upset when it started raining and sleeting the first day we were out there.

Even with all the rain we had a lot of fun.  The cabin was nice and we played cards to pass the time while we were there. 

Next time I go out there I want to have a cabin or a campsite on the river or on a lake.  It's difficult waiting on everybody to eat breakfast and get ready to head out for the day.  I would rather slip out for an early morning fish and come back to eat fresh trout for breakfast.

Less Than a Month Until Vacation

With less than a month until our vacation, I have done nothing to prepare.  I haven't tied any flies.  I haven't broken out the fly pole and practiced casting.  I haven't written a list of anything we will need. 

I have booked the cabin.

I am getting excited about fly fishing in the Rocky Mountains again.  Last time I went it came back to me pretty easily.  That was about 5 years ago for a short couple hour trip.  I caught a couple rainbow's in that time. 

This time we have a full week in gold medal trout waters.  It's going to be great. 

Breaking Out The Fly Rod This Summer

When I was 5, Dad got his first fly rod.  It was stiff and burly and later worked great as a bass rod.  We had went through the Colorado Rockies, Snowy Range, Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Tetons, next to the Snake River in Idaho, all on our way to the state of Washington.  If you make that trip, you'll buy a fly rod too.

I was instantly impressed with fly fishing, even though I was the only one to catch a trout on a regular zebco. 

Five years later we went through Yellowstone again.  This time I got to try fly fishing.  I got my first fly rod and it was a beast like Dad's.  I think we gave 25.00 for it with the reel and the line, and a few colorful flies.  I don't think I caught anything or really learned how to cast it on that trip.

Once I got back home in Kansas, I practiced daily to get the casting down.  Not long after that I was riding my bike to a local pond or the creek to practice my techniques on some innocent bluegill, and bass. 

Eventually I started tying my own flies and got really good at catching fish on the fly.  Somehow, I have stopped tying flies and stopped fly fishing.  Several years ago I was in the Rockies and gave it a try again.  It came back to me quickly and I pulled in a couple rainbow trout.  A guide came up to me and asked me for advice.  My head got big really quick.

Since then I haven't fly fished.  My fly rod has probably been in its case for over 10 years, my wifes has been in her case even longer.

This summer we will be breaking them out!  We are taking a weeks vacation near Lake George, Colorado.  My parents and us will be renting a cabin.  For a few days of the vacation, I hope to get the boys, Dad and myself out for a few hours of trout fishing.

No Water No Fishing No Camping

Unless I want to pull my boat and camper over 2 hours, there is no lakes around to boat at.  Canton Lake in Oklahoma is still 13 foot low, which is 7 foot lower than it was at this time last year. 

They quit saying that the boat ramps are unusable on the Oklahoma fishing report I get, but the islands all around the lake that were 3 foot below the water will be 4 foot above the water this year.  The fish should be stacked up there if you can get a boat on the lake.

Other than that the next closest lake for me to go to camp and boat is Kaw Lake over 2 hours away.  It gets filled with water funners in the sunners and becomes too dangerous for a weekend fishing trip, unless you want to dodge irresponsible boat drivers all day.

It's getting hot now.  Temps are over 100 degrees.  I will need my camper if I go to the lake to camp to stay somewhat cool during the middle of the day.  With gas prices hovering around 4.00 a gallon I don't want to  make 2 trips over 2 hours to pull both the camper and the boat to the lake.

It's been getting closer and closer each year, but it may be time to sell the boat and the camper, or move somewhere that has water.

Large Crappie at Waconda Lake

Friday Morning:  I have a little bit left to do at work, then it's off to watch my oldest son's track meet.  After that, hook up the camper and get on the road to go camping. 

Halt everything.  Nothing goes right and I'm stuck at work until 8:00 at night.  Not the early departure I was looking forward to.  By the time I got the camper hooked up, and everything else loaded, it was too late to think about driving 4 hours to the lake. 

After a going back and forth in my head on whether it was still worth making the drive, we went to bed early and got up at 5:00 the next morning to head out.

It was windy by the time we arrived at the lake and started setting up camp.  I was uncomfortable being on the downwind side of the camper for fear of it falling over on me.  Camp was set up in short order.  I love the new pop up.  I can set it up by myself in no time.

After lunch we headed out to fish some.  I caught a walleye and Mom caught a crappie, but that's all we could catch.  We saw a lot of people cleaning a lot of fish so we new they were eating, just not sure where. 

Dad and Mom had been fishing deep for crappie and had gotten a few.  From my previous experience I thought they would be shallow if they were spawning.  On Sunday, I got the chance to test my theory as the anchor wouldn't hold us out deep fishing for walleye any longer.  Mom had caught a 22 incher.  We went into a cove that looked perfect.  Sand banks with lots of trees in the water and grass in the water at the shoreline.  If I was a fish, this is where I would be.  I got about 5 casts before Dad decided he needed to find a restroom.

Afterwards he was about to take off to somewhere else but I told him that I had saw a couple crappie caught while I was doing my 5 casts.  That boat was leaving so we pulled into that spot.  He hooked into 1 pretty quickly.  Then another.  We got a couple doubles.  Mom was getting some as well.  We ended up catching 13 crappie between 14-16 inches, before we had to leave to go back to camp.

It seemed like a really fast weekend, but my head feels refreshed after I spent some time at the lake so it was worth driving 4 hours to camp for 1 night.

Bachelor Party Weekend is Here!

Time to celebrate.  We take off in the morning for Grand Lake.  By the time I get the best man and another guest picked up it should take about 7 hours to get to the lake.  I will leave at 6:15 in the morning so that we can get there and have a chance to fish Friday afternoon.

We have scored lots of meat as the best man cleaned out his parents freezer when they were getting another beef butchered.  I scored some vegetables to take with us. 

We'll be barbecuing a lot and hopefully have a fish fry while we are there.

First Keeper Walley of the Year Goes to Me

Since Dad always locks in first fish of the year, I'm starting a new catagory this year.  First keeper Walleye of the year.  It probably wouldn't have came to be, but since I caught the first keeper walleye of 2013 it's now the prestigous championship of early fishing.

We got out a little after sun up last Saturday.  Dad had been catching quite a few saugeye and walleye the last few weeks but had not caught a keeper. 

I started fishing for crappie under the dock when he hooked into his first walleye.  It was about 20 inches and rolled off the line right before Dad could get it to the dock.

I instantly tied a jighead and grub on my microlight and cast out reeling in slow lifting the jig off the bottom every few reels.  Dad had a couple more shorts in before I finally hooked into my first fish of 2013.  It was a short.  We caught several more shorts before I hooked into something that felt a little bigger.  It was quite a fight on the microlight with 4lb mono.  She was stripping drag and ran under the dock.  I finally got her to surface to see that she was indeed a keeper. 

It was 34 degrees with 15-25 mph winds so I was hesitant take my gloves off much less to bend over and put my hands in the water.  I should have.  I tried to heave her up onto the dock with my light line.  The line snapped and the jig fell out of her mouth on the dock.  She teetered on the edge half on the dock and half off.  One shake and she was gone.  In an instant Dad was flying onto the floor of the dock to grab her.  I was already on course when he dove in front of me.  Now Dad and the fish were in front of me teetering on the edge of the dock.  Somehow, I diverted the direction I was heading and crashed on the dock right beside them.  Dad had gotten the fish in his grip.  He had almost dove right off the dock himself.  Then about got shoved off by me diving.

The fish was over 20 inches and went on the stringer. 

We caught quite a few more short fish, then I caught another keeper.

The next morning we went out again.  This time it was in freezing fog and 29 degrees with wind.  The fog was getting in my reel and freezing it so I couldn't crank the handle.  I'd have to blow on my reel to thaw it out to reel in. 

We were out in that for several hours but Dad managed to catch his first keeper of 2013.

Finalized Bachelor Party Location and Date

We have finalized our location and date for the bachelor party we have been planning.  We wanted to go with a houseboat but the cost and distance was a little much for everybody to swing, so we decided to rent a house for the weekend instead.

This house sits on 30 acres of private land at Grand Lake of the Cherokee's in Oklahoma.  It has 1/2 a mile of shoreline and a boat dock.  We will be renting it in April and it sounds like most of our closest friends will be there. 

I'm taking off work Friday and taking the boat.  We'll take the soon to be groom out to a nice dinner one night and barbecue the rest of our meals.  We will have some finer details to work out but it will be a great time.

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.