Surf Kickin

I did promise to take Tracy to Matagorda to look for some shells after lunch so after getting the fish and boat put up we headed out.

The afternoon was a little stormy and the surf was rough.

Shell picking was fair...

But fishing was a bust! The water was like chocolate milk.

At least the sunset over the marsh on the way out was a keeper.

Silver And Gold

Today is Fair Day.

The Fort Bend County fair is a big deal and lots of folks are involved - good that means less people will be fishing!

Tracy and I made a plan that I would get up early and go kayak fishing in the marsh and after lunch we would go to Matagorda for some shell-picking and surf fishing.

The weather was supposed to be good and I had been itching to get the boat in McNab Lake all summer. I got up at 5AM and since everything had been loaded the evening before I was on the road in short order.

I was paddling into the marsh just after 7AM and the crabbers and folks looking for bait were already showing up at the launch.

Early Morning in the Marsh

Someday I will listen to the voices in my head that tell me to paddle non-stop until I reach the lake but not this day.

I have a hard time passing up bait jumping and big swirls.

I finally reached the cove where I had previously caught reds and switched from the topwater I had been throwning to a 3" New Penny Gulp Shrimp. I tagged a rat red and got these nice pictures:

Rat Red


Gold Digger

The sky over me was still clear but dark clouds were gathering in the west and a breeze was kicking up making it difficult to stay in one position.

I kept hearing a fish busting bait nearby in the marsh and decided to cast a few times as close as I could get without moving gthe boat. I was pretty firmly wedged in some marsh grass and had a fairly good orientation to the spot. On the third cast I got a hit and as I tightened up I knew I was in the "gold".

Supper!

This 21" bulldog gave me a great fight. He swallowed the hook so I tied on a #2 kahle hook and rigged up another Gulp.

I was juiced after stringing him up and promptly missed another on my next cast. These reds would mouth the bait and sit still while doing so. If you thought a fish was taking the shrimp, you had to wait until it started moving before setting the hook. I pulled the shrimp right out of the fish's mouth!

The weather was going from bad to worse and I headed for the launch.

On the way in I came upon a spot where a slough emptied into the main channel. The bait was nervous and jumpy and I decided to try a cast or two. It was a good thing I did as Mr. Big was just laying there waiting for me!

Two Reds

I was a happy camper when I got him on the stringer and kept moving towards the road when I saw a blow-up along the side ahead of me. I eased out my trusty rod and dropped Mr. Gulp about 10 yards ahead of the comotion and began working it back.

I was pleasantly surprised when I hooked a keeper speck on the retrieve.

Silver & Gold

I had two more opportunities but let's just say that they will be there for another trip. I had some unique experiences this morning fishing in the marsh, like this crab posed for a shot and then proceeding to literally rip the shrimp to shreds before I could get him to turn loose.

Turn Me Loose

Don't fall out of the boat!

Seattle Steelhead

I made a trip to Seattle WA on Monday to attend a meeting on Tuesday. It is a long trip on Southwest as there are stops in Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

I was supposed to arrive before 3PM local time so I decided to look for a fishing possibility. I found just the right place about 1 hour south of Seattle called Nisqually Valley Fly Fishing.

This C&R facility sounded like my kind of place so I made a reservation. There were delays at the baggage claim and car rental, and the traffic getting out of SeaTac airport was brutal. I-5 was bumper-to-bumper all the way from Seattle to Tacoma.

I finally got to my exit about 5PM and strung up the 7wt fly rod. This place is a small farm just off the interstate but it is quiet and peaceful nonetheless.

I tried an egg-sucking leech pattern as this was stillwater fishing and picked up the first of several 1-lb'ers.

Black Leech & a Pink Egg

I brought my special Washington-made net (thanks Grant) and it worked great on these feisty fish.

Action!

I caught several 1-2 pounders and was eager to find the bigger fish.

Resting after a Good Fight

I switched to an olive wooly bugger and picked up this nice fish.

Mr. Flashy

There was a quiet corner of the creek that was secluded and covered with duckweed.

I dropped a purple & black leech pattern in and found the biggest fish of the afternoon. This fish was nearly 3lb and put up a good fight.

Steel-Heads

My old camera gave up the ghost and I was left with only the camera phone.

I won't spend too much time discussing the "one that got away" but suffice it to say I learned a good lesson. Let's say you are using a barbless hook and a fish of say five pounds or so takes the fly and runs off with it.

"DON'T HORSE HIM!"

I got freaked out when I couldn't turn the "big one" and put too much pressure on him. When he decided to turn his head back towards me - you guessed it - I had to duck to avoid wearing some purple leech jewelry!

I fished until dark and had a great time chasing the steelies. I would recommend this spot to anyone who wants to learn about stillwater fishing or just wants to spend an enjoyable evening.

Friday Fishing

The weather is starting to turn.

Even though it reached into the low 90's today you can gtell that the air is less humid and it quickly cools down as the sun drops towards the horizon.

I worked from home today trying to get some relief from the traffic. After quitting time we packed up the Tracker for a quick trip to the beach to get in some R&R.

This time of year Friday means football for most folks and dove season is opening this weekend so I expected the crowd in Matagorda to be light.

We didn't go too far down the beach - only a mile or so and I pulled up near the surf to get busy. Tracy grabbed her shell bucket and the camera and headed down the beach as I began searching the first gut for hungry fish.

I caught several "sea cats" and some whiting at first. Then a wave of small black drum came through which provided some additional action. Just as the sun was disappearing a school of rat reds joined the party and proved to be the most fun of all.

Here are the pictures!

Surf-Fisherman's View


Hardhead!
(Photos by Tracy)


Whiting


The Photographer


Puppy Drum


Little Red


Spot & Sea Lice


Day's End


Sundown



The Gloaming

The Subway sandwich seemed like a gourmet meal after an evening in the surf!

Summer's End

We made it back from Utah and I returned to work today.

Meetings, conference calls, and e-mail, and even a birthday lunch (Happy BD Linda!) made for a full day. I headed home in time to retrieve the dogs and mow the lawn. Tracy had a great spaghetti dinner ready as the Braves were getting underway and I finished in time to head over to Evans Lake for a few casts before dark.

It is becoming obvious that the long days of summer are coming to a close and my chances to fish after work will soon be over as well. But not tonight!

I pulled out the fly rod and tried to entice one of the fat summer bass with a red & white Seaducer.

I cast along the edge from the cove to cypress flats and aside from getting spooked by a couple of huge bullfrogs, things were quiet. I finally got a take near the submerged brush pile and snapped the light tippet with an aggressive hookset.

Bass-1
JB-0

Lost the fish and my fly - ouch!

I stayed and worked a purple, conehead, marabou worm-fly, all around the brush pile with no takers and switched to a green chenille weedless worm and picked up a small sunfish.

I moved around to the back side of the Lake and arched a long soft cast to a favored spot up tight to the shoreline. A nice 2-lb bass came up from below the worm and attacked it with a vengeance.

There was no "tap-tap and pause" to this one. I raised up the rod tip and the bass took off like a bullet for the closest weedbed. I had several loops of line off the reel as I had been making some longer casts and each run the bass made took more and more of the slack until I finally had him on the reel.

I had a great time fighting this bad boy and finally skidded him up through the slick weeds along the shore and got his picture.

I continued to fish for a while and got to enjoy this tropical sunset.

Summer's almost over.......

Mirror Lake

We stayed over an extra day since Saturday was the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair.

After the fair we headed up the hill one more time to drive the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway. This is one of the prettiest drives in the area and follows the Upper Provo River to it's source in the High Uinta mountains.

Casting in the Upper Provo


Upper Provo Brookie

I caught a few more small fish and we headed on to Mirror Lake.

Mirror Lake


Mirror Lake Brookie

These fish were bigger and more colorful than those in the Provo.



Mirror Lake Rainbow

Tracy hiked around the perimeter of the lake while I chased the elusive trout of the high mountain lakes.

We drove on through to Evanston WY looking for wildlife. This was supposed to be the area that had the highest concentration of moose but we didn't see any. We did see some sheep herders with a major league flock.

Roadblock



This working dog got tangled up with a porcupine - OUCH!



Counting Sheep

We grabbed a bite in Evanston and headed back to SLC.

Tomorrow we head for home and it's back to work on Monday.

Daniels Canyon

Friday afternoon after work found us heading up Parleys Canyon...S L O W L Y.

We finally saw the cause of the delay - a brush fire that could have been much worse but was extinguished by the time we got above the Lambs Canyon exit. Several fire crews were on hand and there was an incident command center set up. These folks have been trained and it sure paid off.

We finally got to the beaver ponds and bushwhacked through the willows and brush to Daniels Creek. Tracy didn't have any hip boots so she had to hang out while I got up near the pool. She was able to get some nice pictures though.

Working the WRT on the approach to the Beaver Pond


Fish On!


What time is it? It's CutBow time!


One more falls to the BWG

We headed down the canyon as the clouds began to form.

I tried Snake Creek just at dark but someone had beat me to the spot. Tomorrow after the Fiber Festival we are heading to the High Uintas.

Provo Canyon

We took a ride through Provo Canyon this evening after work. This is a beautiful spot even though there is way too much traffic!

Evening sunshine provides some interesting shadows.


The Provo River

I fished the white RT and some small Panther martins and caught a couple small browns but left my camera in the car! Tracy reminded me later that I had my phone camera...oh well!

We spotted this covey of California Quail in Orem on the way back to I-15.

More tomorrow!

White Grub on Snake Creek

Most of the readers of this blog know that I have recently acquired a new appreciation for the BWG (big white grub).

I have been using it to catch a variety of bass, panfish and even some saltwater species.

Since I was heading out to Salt Lake city this week I thought I might get to try it on some Snake Creek browns or rainbows.

Tracy and I arrived on Tuesday with enough daylight to take a ride up and over the mountains. Big Cottonwood canyon is home to several ski resorts and a family spot called Silver Lake, one of our favorite places to stretch our legs and enjoy some scenery.

(Photos by Tracy)


Hopeful


Red Squirrel


Meadow Casting


A Silver Lake Brookie

I wish I could say that I caught the brook trout but we found it struggling near the shoreline and I tried (unsuccessfully) to revive it.

After Silver Lake we proceeded up Guardsman Pass which takes you over the nearly 10,000 ft Wasatch Mountains and drops you down into the Heber Valley. This was our first trip over the pass and it was a great time of year to enjoy the wildlife and the first colors of autumn.

Big Bull Moose from about 1/2 mile above.


Muley


Wasatch Mountain State Park


Rock Squirrel

We next headed to Snake Creek and I was eager to get a line in the water.

The creek was pretty well clogged with vegetation and I started fishing with the old standby - the white RT.

I had a couple of big swirls on the RT but there was so little open water the spinner barely had a chance to work before getting fouled on the weeds.

I decided to change tactics and try the BWG. I used a 1/32 oz j1ghead on a small grub and struck pay dirt on the second cast.

This nice brown grabbed the grub and wouldn't let go. I had him well hooked and had to slide him over the weeds to bring him to hand. I was a little worried about my 4lb test mono but it held up.

I fished the grub some more and later decided to go back to the RT

This turned out to be a good decision and I caught this small fella in the big pool.

This must have been my day for animal rescue. After being unable to revive the brookie at Silver Lake, I was given another opportunity at Snake Creek. This time it was a magpie that had the misfortune of finding a fishing line and a baited hook that someone had broken off in a tree. Mr. Magpie hooked himself and when we arrived was hanging by the beak and was about done in from struggling to get free.

I was able to reach him with a homemade walking stick that some fisherman had left near the turnstile and got him unhooked. He seemed tired but was able to fly and I think he will probably make it. He may think twice before hitting that suspended Power bait again!

We saw plenty of wildlife at the creek but weren't able to get pictures of most.

We saw mule deer (buck, does, and fawns), a red fox, some sandhill cranes, ducks, and a big hawk. Not bad for 1/2 mile of creek near a busy two-lane.

Tracy did catch this doe and fawn in flight.

It was a memorable evening and I had fish slime on my hands so I was a happy man.

Who knows what the BWG will catch next?