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.