Lake Z, 7/6/05, For Tube Dude and others.

[leaky]

[size 1] Had cabin fevor and wanted to see how Sparky was. He's had me pretty worried after the "Gorge" trip with gagging and lost enery. He's doing much better now.[] Must have eaten something bad, i.e. dead animal, burried fish remaines, etc. Kept me up two nights at the Gorge. Allmost came home early to take him in to the emergency vet. My wife accuses me of careing more for the dog than her or the kids. I do care for my outdoor companion an awfull lot!!!![unsure] It's pretty important to me to have someone to share the outdoors with and see the exuberance of a young un not to mention the unconditional love. All my kids are long gone now.
Anyway, enough of that. Went to Lake Z for about 5 hrs in the pm today and caught a lot of little bass and blues but also caught several 11-12 in guys (LM bass), a few larger blues, and some perch which I kept (also good size). I've notice as I get older, and older, and older, that I'm satisfied with just being out and catching, not necessarily big uns. However, I must admitt, I miss the big uns at Jordanelle (Lake X). Caught them all on a very small green/smoke curly tail on a 1'32 oz jig. Nest time I guess I'll have to try for bigger guys with bigger weightless worms in deeper water. It was a ball for Sparky and me.
Leaky [/size]

[Fishhound]

It's great to get out with your "best friend" on occasion. I just got back myself - with my hounds. We were up at about 9000 ft elevation for a few very comfortable days - there was even a good deal of snow left - the dogs love that.

I can relate and understand your comment about the size of fish (I am "older" too) - and the 8 to 10 inch trout I often catch are just as fun as the 5 lb cats or bass(although, I do still enjoy the occasional big'un). I find that if I use super light gear(both hardware(2lb line) and flycasting(2 or 3 weight with 1lb tippet) the small fish seem like big fish. Besides, I'm out to fish - catching is just fresh food for the camp fire.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey Leaky, glad to hear you had a nice welcome from the creatures in Lake Z. How about a guided trip sometime this coming week. I have most of the week off, so almost any day would work.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I had not heard that Sparky was ailin'. Glad he seems to be gettin' better and hope he recovers fully. Dogs are better company than people sometimes, but they can't tell you what their problems are. Scares the heck out of ya when there is something wrong and you don't know what to do.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[leaky]

Hey Bud,
I don't know what I'm going to do. Sparky is not feeling good again?[unimpressed] I guess I'll just watch him and keep him home for a while. I'll keep in touch. I'd be happy to furnish a guided trip although I'm no sure who would be doing the guiding.[] Check with ya later.
Leaky

[leaky]

[size 1]Bump!
I went again today 7/8, in my tube, again, to try out a new lure (navy blue pulse worm). It got torn up and I went to put on a new one. Could'nt find em! Latter found em when I got back to the truck. Oh. well. Went back to some of my other stuff and caught a reasonable bunch of bass and blues again. Fished from about 9am to 1pm.
Best lure was a light tan pulse worm and a brown/greem small curly tail on a 1/32 oz jig.
Question - I tied into another big un and lost it again!!! [shocked] It seems like every time I tie into a big un it goes for the weeds and dislodges the hook!!? [unsure] What should I do different. I am using 6# line. How do I prevent future loses?
Leaky[/size]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I'm with you, Leaky. I prefer to use light tackle, but sometimes it ain't practical. The bassin boys string their sticks with heavy line when they fish in the weeds or stickups. Otherwise, they plan on losing lots of fish and expensive lures. Losing big fish in the weeds during a tournament can be expensive in terms of lost prize money too.[/#0000ff]
[signature]