Not a good day

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]This was one of those days that started out bad, got worse and then went downhill from there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I wanted to close up the soft water season on Scofield. Hit every red light out of town leaving Salt Lake and every red light going through Spanish Fork. Then, just as we were turning onto the road to Scofield, off Hwy 6, we got stopped by a 107 car train...plus engines.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Weather forecast said 30 degrees for an 8 AM launch time. It was 10 degrees colder. Big sheets of ice floating in the dam channel and out between the hwy and the island. It's on the way.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No fish showing on the surface anywhere. Tried soaking a minnow and throwing bubble and fly from shore while we waited for the sun to hit the water. Nary a tweak.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Finally launched our tubes about 8:30. Beautiful and calm...too calm. No fish on sonar in the 37 degree water. Kicked out to 19 feet...about the deepest water we could find. Saw suspended fish here and there, but nothing near the top or bottom. Threw all kinds of flies and lures...and soaked minnows and worms...high and low. Nada, zip, zilch. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Talked to TubeBabe on the walkie talkie. We decided to give it another half hour and then get out and go to Huntington. That did it. She popped a 13 inch cutt and I brung in a couple of "teen incher" bows...one 14 and one 15 inches. Big whoop. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Nothing for the next half hour so we started in to the car. I had one mega-whack on a fly I was dragging...but missed it. I also had a major pull down on my little roadrunner...the one I had caught both of the rainbows on. Inexperienced fish. Blew it.r[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Once we got back into water less than 15 feet deep we saw no more fish on sonar. There were several vehicles of bank tanglers along shore. We stopped and talked to some of them. Nobody had even one bite all morning.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Cruised by E-Lake. No frozen zebra mussels in view. Water still surprisingly high and ice in the calm shallow areas.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Can't remember the name of the little lake right beside the road between E-Lake and Huntington, but it had quite a bit of ice already. A few hard cold nights and it will be thick enough for Fuzzy...at least 1". Pic attached if someone wants to identify it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Got to Huntington just about noon, and planned to pull down to our launch spot and munch lunch. Pulled off the road at the little area near the upper end of the lake. Bad move. As soon as I was past the no return point, my car skidded and slid down to the bottom and ended up against a log. Good they put it there after putting in that ATV trail or we would have gone clear into the lake. The melting snow had turned the short access road to 60 weight oil. Been there several times before, but not under those conditions. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No problem. I put the tranny into compound low 4X4 and started to ease...sideways. What the hey? Got out to see what was happening. Nothing was happening. My 4 wheel drive was not locking in. Tried several times to get it to work. Spin city with the back tires...nothing with the front. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We were trying to get some brush and branches up under the tires when first a DWR truck stopped to offer help...but did not have a tow rope. Then a nice young lady in a white DNR truck stopped behind him and she DID have a tow rope. Both had good working 4X4 and high traction tires. Between them they got us back up on the road...with some damage to my rear bumper and a trashed and bent tailpipe assembly. Had to put a strap on the pipe and strain to bend it up out of the way so it did not rub the tire or drag on the road.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Kinda killed the time schedule and the fishing urge. Headed for home. At least...thanks to our helpful outdoors agencies...we didn't have to spend the night in the mud at Huntington. And, our mechanic has been missing us anyway. We oughtta help his Christmas be merrier, even if he ruins ours. [/#0000ff]
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42278"][#63626b]CHILLY LAUNCH.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (184 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42279"][#63626b]TUBEBABE ON GLASS.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (223 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42280"][#63626b]DINK BOW.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (171 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42281"][#63626b]QUITTING SCOFIELD.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (241 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42282"][#63626b]ICE FORMING.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (246 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42283"][#63626b]NO ICE HUNTINGTON.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (246 KB)
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[bigpikeguy]

Wow talk about tuff luck! That sux. I Have luck like that sometimes, but not when i go fishing. It seems to only happen to me when i go hunting. One time on the way to camp in the middle of the night during a ice storm we were going down the road in the truck and out of the corner of my eye i seen a tree falling. Well it seemed to have perfect timing. Fell right on the hood of the truck and we could not stop due to the poor road conditions so we slid right through the darn thing smashing the window and tearing off the sun visor. Never the less we kept on drivin because there was a tree across the road behind us lol. When we finally got to camp and got to our spots we realized there was more orange around us than trees so we went home. what a crappy day lol, o well you'll have the sometimes.
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[idahopanfish]

Sorry TD,

That truely was a bad day, thankful that the log was there and glad someone showed up!

Time to be sure the overnight stuff is in the car to be ready if another bad day comes into play, ya just never know when things can happen.

Have a better day.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]We had to laugh at ourselves. We have been offroading and 4 wheeling for years. We always have a "survival bag" in the car...with jumper cables, tools, shovel, etc. But, for some wierd reason we have never carried a tow rope.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Before this weekend is over we will correct that. We also could have used one last week at Yuba Reservoir to help a fellow angler out of a deep rut he had gotten stuck in. No need for years and then two needs within a week. Somebody is trying to tell us something. We will listen.[/#0000ff]
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[smallmouth89]

Man, Pat you are a bear for punishment. At least you have your wife with you when these things happen. (Thank God the log was there by the way)

My wife doesn't fish so I would experience this stuff alone and then hear about how addicted and foolish I am to put myself in a situation like that. She actually reminds me of one of my misfortunes every few weeks.

At this point it is getting pretty cold up here in Ontario and my tubes are already hanging from the rafters in the basement. I was hoping to get out once more in my pontoon but I think I'll go the garage and disassemble it and hang it in the basement also. Kayaks get to stay in the garage. I don't trust the inflatables there because of possible mouse attacks.

Guess it's time for 5 months worth of tackle tinkering and jig and flytying
God Bless,
Don
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Having the wife along is no insulation against getting "chastized" for bonehead decisions. Just the opposite. No way you can "rationalize" the situation to make it appear any better than it is.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But, after experiencing a few "adventures" together, we have a very philosophical approach. Rather than beating ourselves up for screwing up, we try to look at whatever bright side there might be. Our usual comment...after the worst is over...is "Well, no matter how bad that was, it could have been worse." And, in many cases, we really did get off luckier than we might have. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We are rapidly approaching the time here too, when tubes will not do well under prevailing conditions...like ICE. I believe that some of the best fishing of the season is right before iceup and right after iceout, so I am prone to dunk my craft in water that less dedicated (wacko) tubers might avoid. But, I also get in on some fishing that others miss out on completely simply because they do their fishing in front of the TV in a warm room.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not passing judgment on anyone. There are times when it is best to recognize your limitations and just make the best of a bad (icy) situation. I also do a lot of my best tackle tinkering during the non-fishing periods of the year. Creativity is often enhanced by frustrated anticipation.[/#0000ff]
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[smallmouth89]

Hey Pat,

[#0000ff]Creativity is often enhanced by frustrated anticipation.

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[#0000ff]The above statement is like something Confuscious or Socrates might have said.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I thought you would like that. I demaze myself sometimes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Confuscius probably say: "Who say I say what they say I say?"[/#0000ff]
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