Saturday, September 29, 2007

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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Shell picking was fair...

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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:

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Rat Red

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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".

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Turn Me Loose

Don't fall out of the boat!

Monday, September 24, 2007

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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Black Leech & a Pink Egg


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

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Action!


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

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Resting after a Good Fight


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

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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, September 21, 2007

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!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Surf-Fisherman's View

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Hardhead!
(Photos by Tracy)

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Whiting

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
The Photographer

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Puppy Drum

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Little Red

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Spot & Sea Lice

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Day's End

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Sundown


Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
The Gloaming

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

Monday, September 17, 2007

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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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

Saturday, September 15, 2007

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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Casting in the Upper Provo

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Upper Provo Brookie

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


Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Mirror Lake

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Mirror Lake Brookie

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


Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Roadblock

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
This working dog got tangled up with a porcupine - OUCH!


Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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.

Friday, September 14, 2007

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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Working the WRT on the approach to the Beaver Pond

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Fish On!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
What time is it? It's CutBow time!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

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!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Evening sunshine provides some interesting shadows.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
The Provo River

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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

More tomorrow!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

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)

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Hopeful

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Red Squirrel

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Meadow Casting

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Big Bull Moose from about 1/2 mile above.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Muley

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Wasatch Mountain State Park

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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?