Fishing Forum

[cool][font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][#0000ff]I hate wind. Won't go tubing with wind in the forecast, but BFTer road and I had made plans for sunrise Easter services on Lake X. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It was windy when TubeBabe and I got to Hailstone at 6:45. Poor kids in the camping area were having to chase their Easter eggs uphill the wind was blowing so hard. (joke).[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We had planned to launch on the PWC ramp, but the south winds ruled that out. Drove over to the main ramp. Good news...the ramp is plowed. No snow. Ice is iffy. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Oh yeah, got to meet BFTer Lettsfish at the ramp. Hope he did better than we did.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The wind was still blowing, but not too much to launch and stay close to the south shore. Problem is, there were no fish there either. Couldn't find anything on sonar.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Road showed up as we were launching. He had stopped to help a stranded motorist on the way. Nice guy. They were out of gas. Self-inflicted stupidity. Didn't make much difference. The lost time didn't cost him any fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Road, TubeBabe and my own self worked from shallow to deep and then some. Used all kinds of jigs, spinners, spoons and bait. I had two quick whacks on a jigged spoon at mid depth in 30 feet of water. Then zip.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Road let the breeze blow him across the big bay to the north of the launch ramp. He started getting hits on the far side, along the steep bank, and lost a nice rainbow from shallow water. I used the (still) manageable breeze to power over to his shoreline. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]He got no other bites, and I had only a couple of light taps. The zephyr suddenly turned more serious. Road headed for a protected cove. I stayed in the "zone", all for naught.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Within minutes the wind really got going. My mama didn't raise no fools (well, only one) so I started kicking hard to make it back across the big bay before the wind got worse. It got worse and I was in trouble. Road had oars on his toon and was having a tough time making headway. My fins were all but throwing a rooster tail and I was barely moving either.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Forget the kick by kick report. Road and TubeBabe (who stayed behind) made it to the ramp while I was still only about half way across. The name Katrina kept popping into my head. I have powerful legs, well trained in tubology and using big fins, but that was the toughest trip I ever had to endure. After over a half hour of sustained power kicking, I still had about two hundred yards to reach the protected shoreline and about two hundred more to get to the ramp.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That's when road intercepted a boat coming to the docks and threatened great bodily harm to the occupants if they did not go back out and drag my sorry self back in to the ramp. It worked. They eased up, tossed a rope, I put it over my shoulder and they towed me the remaining distance back to the launch area. Of course I only complied because road had invested the energy into persuading them to come get me. I coulda made it myself...in about a week.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A funny? I left my sonar running while being towed back in. At one point I looked down and saw a large group of fish in 35 feet of water. I thought the boaters would think I was ungrateful if I let go of the rope or asked them to stop while I made a few casts. So, I just made a mark on the side of my tube so I can find that spot next time.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Another funny? The name of the boat that rescued me was MARIAH. Remember the song "They called the wind Mariah"? Well, I got another name for it. Several names, actually, none suitable for a family site.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Score...0-0-0. Three Easter eggs. Now I have another tune running through my head..."Three skunks (coins) in the fountain".[/#0000ff]


(This post was [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_editlog;post=255465;"][#000000]edited[/#000000][/url] by TubeDude on Apr 16, 2006, 1:09 PM)
[/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=15477;"][#333366] ROAD ON RAMP.JPG [/#333366][/url](163 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=15478;"][#333366] POPCORN.JPG [/#333366][/url](214 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=15479;"][#333366] MARIAH.jpg [/#333366][/url](209 KB) [/size][/black][/font]
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Boy I never liked winds for the canoe or the tube. I would pass up days like that. Most of the early mornings looks windless, I would be on the water as early as I can. Knowing that the winds would pick up when the sun come up I would be off when it starts to get rough. It seems like it happens most of the early summer.
BTW that [#333366][size 1]POPCORN.JPG [black][black][size 2]show the ramp pretty[/size][/black] [black][size 2]steep[/size][/black]! [/black][black][size 2]Got to have working parking brakes on those![shocked][/size][/black][/size][/#333366]
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[size 1][#0000ff]""So, I just made a mark on the side of my tube so I can find that spot next time.""[/#0000ff][/size]

Built in GPS on your fish finder?
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[cool][#0000ff]I'm sure you realize that is a joke. I do plan to pick up a handheld GPS for tubing and tooning, but don't have one yet.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is an old joke about someone saying they know exactly where to go back to the good fishing hole because they put a mark on the side of the boat. Another version is that they put a mark on the water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The ice fishermen out here refer to making a "GPS" mark on the ice, when they make yellow snow. Know what I mean?[/#0000ff]
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I thought I noticed the joke by "marking on the side of the tube...."
[size 1][#0000ff]The ice fishermen out here refer to making a "GPS" mark on the ice, when they make yellow snow. Know what I mean?[/#0000ff] [/size]

Mom used to tell me don't eat the yellow snow.....

I gotta learn the new world of jokes! I'm learning from all of you guys.
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The wind here today was unbelievable! We had intentions of going to the middle, but I swear, if the wind was at my back I could have dropped a fly on Deer Creek from midway! LOL Stayed home.
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Yikes, I'm just glad you made it back safely. Sounds like a close call. The Jordanelle wind is one reason why I love Rock Cliffs so much. It is often windy, but it usually seems to starts at 12:00 sharp, and always blows West to East, so it blows you back to the launch after a morning of angling on the tube. (if one plans it right)
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[cool][#0000ff]Yeah, I violated my own first rule of safety. That is to avoid going on the water if there is a chance of strong wind. I knew the forecast and it was already breezy when I launched. Then, I left the more protected shoreline and went clear across a large exposed bay, just because I thought I could handle it. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I could have handled it if the wind had not grown so strong so fast. And, I would have made it back to shore within another 15 minutes or so, even if the boat had not towed me back. But, I never should have put myself in that position.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have fished Deer Creek and Jordanelle enough to know their "normal" wind conditions. I also usually plan to fish the morning breeze going in one direction and then ride back on the changing breezes later. Works good when things are "normal".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As I pointed out on the Utah Board, I usually just cancel a trip where wind is a potential factor. That makes some fishing buddies unhappy. On this trip, road and I had talked about bailing out but dumb won out and we still showed up and launched.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I got a lot of needed exercise, and survived. But, I could have just as easily developed leg cramps, or become exhausted...or worse. I'm getting old enough that I should have more respect for my poor old body.[/#0000ff]
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You don't wanna stop the workout at that age, I think it helps you better than the other guys who don't do what you do...[]
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[cool][#0000ff]You are right. I have always been athletic and physically active. I keep up a program of exercise and try to eat right. I know that I am in a lot better shape than some guys half my age.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are a lot of guys that sit behind a desk and hold down their recliner chairs all year and then try to go out and overdo it on their vacations. They end up in the hospital or the morgue.[/#0000ff]
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