11-06-2006, 10:52 PM
Sorry for the late reply but work has been ridiculously busy. Vacations in my line of work come with a high cost. It was definitely worth it though. We left for our 8 day fishing trip on the night of October 13th....Friday the 13th... The weather was...hmmm...absolutely horrific. We experienced heavy rains and winds en route to Mead from Los Angeles. We were pelted with hail about an hour from the California/Nevada border. I lost $160 playing craps at Primm. Note to self...don't play craps when you're the only one at the table.
Day 1 (Saturday): Heavy rains and hail at Temple Bar on Saturday as well. We fished at my favorite fishing spot on Heron Point. We only landed and released 25 good sized stripers. We caught and released a ton of small stripers. I was worried that the low water level would affect my fishing spot but it wasn't too bad.
Day 2 (Sunday): We boarded the houseboat shortly after noon, and we were on our way. The houseboats at Temple Bar are brand new and amazingly comfortable. Very affordable as well. We cruised all the way to Channel Island. Fishing was good. We caught and filleted about 70 stripers that night. Weather was gorgeous. The lake was glassy during the day and all throughout the night. We used two submerged green glowsticks to attract the stripers but the lights seemed to scare them more than attract them. There may be something about the "glow" that scares the stripers. We stopped used them for the entire trip.
Day 3 (Monday): We left Channel Island and cruised to Gateway Cove. Great fishing spots. High cliffs and hills to block the wind. Fishing was good. We were in only 15 feet of water from the back of the houseboat. I was a little worried that the stripers wouldn't like the "shallower" water but we ended up catching and filleting about 70 stripers again.
Day 4 (Tuesday): We left Gateway Cove and headed to Ladder Cove. Very windy that night. Caught and released over 150 small stripers. Only 10 keeper size stripers, one good size largemouth, and a small turtle.
Day 5 (Wednesday): We left Ladder Cove to return to the courtesy dock at Temple Bar. The rest of our party was coming in that night. No fishing. We ended up watching most of the "Band of Brothers" series. Excellent production. Highly recommended. My nephews also brought a Sony Play Station. Sacrilege in my eyes since fishing was the main purpose of the trip. Kids will be kids.
Day 6 (Thursday): With the remaining half of our party aboard the houseboat, we departed for Teal Cove. Fishing was okay. We landed 40 good size stripers and an equal amount of small stripers.
Day 7 (Friday): We left Teal Cove and headed to Delmar Butte. There's a really nice protected cove on the southside of the butte. This was important because the wind really started to pick up around 2:00 p.m. Fishing was excellent that night. Evening started with small stripers but by 8:00 p.m., we were landing very good size stripers. We caught and filleted over a 100 that night.
Day 8 (Saturday): We decided to stay at Delmar Butte because the winds were still strong and the fishing was excellent. Gorgeous sunset...just like every other evening at Mead. We landed another 100 stripers that night. I shed a couple tears that night realizing that the trip had come to an end.
Day 9 (Sunday): Woke up at 5:30 a.m. and headed back to Temple Bar. No fishing that morning. We were back in Los Angeles by 1:00 p.m.
All in all, excellent trip. Weather was great for the most part. Fishing was great. We caught and filleted 400 stripers, which is a little low for our usual numbers. We're thinking of heading out to Mead again in December sometime. I'm already having my Mead withdrawals. I'll make sure to post our pics soon. Hope everyone is doing well.
Best regards,
Paul
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Day 1 (Saturday): Heavy rains and hail at Temple Bar on Saturday as well. We fished at my favorite fishing spot on Heron Point. We only landed and released 25 good sized stripers. We caught and released a ton of small stripers. I was worried that the low water level would affect my fishing spot but it wasn't too bad.
Day 2 (Sunday): We boarded the houseboat shortly after noon, and we were on our way. The houseboats at Temple Bar are brand new and amazingly comfortable. Very affordable as well. We cruised all the way to Channel Island. Fishing was good. We caught and filleted about 70 stripers that night. Weather was gorgeous. The lake was glassy during the day and all throughout the night. We used two submerged green glowsticks to attract the stripers but the lights seemed to scare them more than attract them. There may be something about the "glow" that scares the stripers. We stopped used them for the entire trip.
Day 3 (Monday): We left Channel Island and cruised to Gateway Cove. Great fishing spots. High cliffs and hills to block the wind. Fishing was good. We were in only 15 feet of water from the back of the houseboat. I was a little worried that the stripers wouldn't like the "shallower" water but we ended up catching and filleting about 70 stripers again.
Day 4 (Tuesday): We left Gateway Cove and headed to Ladder Cove. Very windy that night. Caught and released over 150 small stripers. Only 10 keeper size stripers, one good size largemouth, and a small turtle.
Day 5 (Wednesday): We left Ladder Cove to return to the courtesy dock at Temple Bar. The rest of our party was coming in that night. No fishing. We ended up watching most of the "Band of Brothers" series. Excellent production. Highly recommended. My nephews also brought a Sony Play Station. Sacrilege in my eyes since fishing was the main purpose of the trip. Kids will be kids.
Day 6 (Thursday): With the remaining half of our party aboard the houseboat, we departed for Teal Cove. Fishing was okay. We landed 40 good size stripers and an equal amount of small stripers.
Day 7 (Friday): We left Teal Cove and headed to Delmar Butte. There's a really nice protected cove on the southside of the butte. This was important because the wind really started to pick up around 2:00 p.m. Fishing was excellent that night. Evening started with small stripers but by 8:00 p.m., we were landing very good size stripers. We caught and filleted over a 100 that night.
Day 8 (Saturday): We decided to stay at Delmar Butte because the winds were still strong and the fishing was excellent. Gorgeous sunset...just like every other evening at Mead. We landed another 100 stripers that night. I shed a couple tears that night realizing that the trip had come to an end.
Day 9 (Sunday): Woke up at 5:30 a.m. and headed back to Temple Bar. No fishing that morning. We were back in Los Angeles by 1:00 p.m.
All in all, excellent trip. Weather was great for the most part. Fishing was great. We caught and filleted 400 stripers, which is a little low for our usual numbers. We're thinking of heading out to Mead again in December sometime. I'm already having my Mead withdrawals. I'll make sure to post our pics soon. Hope everyone is doing well.
Best regards,
Paul
[signature]