05-11-2003, 08:24 PM
[cool]Hope everybody had a good weekend. Tube Babe and I hit Saguaro Lake for some badly needed R & R. The access gate to our regular launch site...Butcher Jones Beach...is supposed to open at daybreak. It has been open by 5:30 the previous two trips, but we had to wait until almost 6AM for a slow-moving US Govt. employee to show up to open the gate. Then, he left his truck parked in front of the open gate for several minutes while he picked up cans and bottles.
On the water by 6:30. Air temp 50, water temp 67. Lots of threadfin shad showing on the surface, but no predators chasing them. We surmised that the bass were probably full after feeding all night on the easy pickins. Didn't catch a bass, nor see one caught all morning.
Water and air calm. Got buzzed by an ultralight aircraft as we paddled out to begin fishing. Watched the buzzards spreading their wings on the rock cliffs to catch the sun's first rays. Checked pulse to verify still living.
I found a small school of yellow bass almost as soon as I hit my first spot. Saw quite a few fish on the sonar and dropped a small bait bug vertically in 11 to 12 feet of water. Caught 15 to 20 in quick succession. Picked up the walkie talkie and told Tube Babe to hurry over and get in on the action. She cruised up just as the bite stopped.
A bass boat kept moving back and forth over the top of our spot...while we were still in it. Just as they left a series of loud power boats blasted by the front of the cove...accompanied by a steady procession of cavorting PWC. Then, the two Hawaiian racing canoes that show up every Saturday showed up. For the next two hours they raced back and forth over us...in spite of having the rest of the lake available with no obstacles.
I moved around, looking for other fish. Caught a few misguided sunfish, but no bass, no more yellow bass and no catfish. Tube Babe had only scored one yellow bass, at the tail end of the early flurry. She was not a happy camper, but agreed that if we had not gotten anything else started by 10 AM, that we would head home early and take care of some "deferred details".
Over the course of the morning, we had tried all of the usual lures and presentations that typically put fish in our baskets. We were under pressure to bring home some fish to my son and his family, as well as having a hankering for some of those tasty fillets ourselves. The few yellow bass I had kept from the early action were not even enough for us.
At about 9:50...10 minutes before we were going to kick back to shore, I tied on one of two experimental jigs I had tossed into my lure box. I had been fishing with larger stuff and getting nothing. I surmised that maybe the fish were touchy and that small might be better. The little "rainbow flathead" was less than a 1/16 oz. head, on a small size 6 hook. Just about right for bluegill.
Within seconds of my first cast reaching bottom, and starting to hop it along, my rod bent over and the drag on my ultralight Shimano spinning reel screamed, as it gave up several yards of 4# line. This was one of our "snags that move"...a channel cat. Turned out to be a 24 incher that weighed 6.5 pounds. We had dinner for my son's family.
I retied the slimed and nicked line, cutting back a couple of feet before putting my new experimental jig back on. All the time I am trying to get back in action, I have to keep answering Tube Babe's questions about which jig I got it on...and trying to describe it. Of course she didn't have one, so I tried to suggest that my catch was just a fluke, and that what I was using really didn't make that much difference.
That was before I scored two nice yellow bass on back to back casts. When I verified that they too were caught on the new jig, I had to try to find the other one in my lure box or face the reality of community property laws in Arizona. I grudgingly chose the former, and we had a pretty good finish to what looked like it was going to be a bleak morning.
We began to hang big fat yellow bass with regularity. We got hits on almost every cast, even if we did not connect. The fish were being tentative, and I believe that the small jig was the finesse move necessary to get them to open their mouths. We had seen a lot of fish on our sonar screens, but they just weren't hitting.
About 10:45, I had a tentative tick and set the hook into what I thought was another yellow bass. However, the ensuing run of line off my reel, and my straining ultralight rod clued me that it was another catfish. After about fifteen minutes of being towed and spun around in my craft, I slid my net under a slightly larger kitty...27 inches and 7.2 pounds.
That just about did it. Other than one or two small yellow bass, the flurry was over, and we had a fish feed for the Dude family...both sides. I think we kept about forty yellow bass between us...from about twice that many caught. Oh yeah, I probably better add that Tube Babe also added a nice little 2# channel cat on the test jigs. We hardly ever catch cats less than 5 pounds in Saguaro, but on her buggy whip tackle it was plenty of fun.
In addition to a large batch of fish for #1 Son and family, TB and I had enough yellow bass fillets for a couple of meals, and kept two of the large fillets of catfish too. We enjoyed scampi style yellow bass last night, and cooked up my mother's favorite "kitty krispies" for lunch today. Yum.
![[Image: SCOU1712CustomImage1866840.jpg]](http://web.ecomplanet.com/SCOU1712/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/SCOU1712CustomImage1866840.jpg)
FIRST (SMALLER) OF TWO CATS FOR TUBE DUDE...6.5#
![[Image: SCOU1712CustomImage1877011.jpg]](http://web.ecomplanet.com/SCOU1712/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/SCOU1712CustomImage1877011.jpg)
TUBE DUDE'S FAT CAT AND TWO FAT CATS...AND SOME YELLOW BASS TOO.
[signature]
On the water by 6:30. Air temp 50, water temp 67. Lots of threadfin shad showing on the surface, but no predators chasing them. We surmised that the bass were probably full after feeding all night on the easy pickins. Didn't catch a bass, nor see one caught all morning.
Water and air calm. Got buzzed by an ultralight aircraft as we paddled out to begin fishing. Watched the buzzards spreading their wings on the rock cliffs to catch the sun's first rays. Checked pulse to verify still living.
I found a small school of yellow bass almost as soon as I hit my first spot. Saw quite a few fish on the sonar and dropped a small bait bug vertically in 11 to 12 feet of water. Caught 15 to 20 in quick succession. Picked up the walkie talkie and told Tube Babe to hurry over and get in on the action. She cruised up just as the bite stopped.
A bass boat kept moving back and forth over the top of our spot...while we were still in it. Just as they left a series of loud power boats blasted by the front of the cove...accompanied by a steady procession of cavorting PWC. Then, the two Hawaiian racing canoes that show up every Saturday showed up. For the next two hours they raced back and forth over us...in spite of having the rest of the lake available with no obstacles.
I moved around, looking for other fish. Caught a few misguided sunfish, but no bass, no more yellow bass and no catfish. Tube Babe had only scored one yellow bass, at the tail end of the early flurry. She was not a happy camper, but agreed that if we had not gotten anything else started by 10 AM, that we would head home early and take care of some "deferred details".
Over the course of the morning, we had tried all of the usual lures and presentations that typically put fish in our baskets. We were under pressure to bring home some fish to my son and his family, as well as having a hankering for some of those tasty fillets ourselves. The few yellow bass I had kept from the early action were not even enough for us.
At about 9:50...10 minutes before we were going to kick back to shore, I tied on one of two experimental jigs I had tossed into my lure box. I had been fishing with larger stuff and getting nothing. I surmised that maybe the fish were touchy and that small might be better. The little "rainbow flathead" was less than a 1/16 oz. head, on a small size 6 hook. Just about right for bluegill.
Within seconds of my first cast reaching bottom, and starting to hop it along, my rod bent over and the drag on my ultralight Shimano spinning reel screamed, as it gave up several yards of 4# line. This was one of our "snags that move"...a channel cat. Turned out to be a 24 incher that weighed 6.5 pounds. We had dinner for my son's family.
I retied the slimed and nicked line, cutting back a couple of feet before putting my new experimental jig back on. All the time I am trying to get back in action, I have to keep answering Tube Babe's questions about which jig I got it on...and trying to describe it. Of course she didn't have one, so I tried to suggest that my catch was just a fluke, and that what I was using really didn't make that much difference.
That was before I scored two nice yellow bass on back to back casts. When I verified that they too were caught on the new jig, I had to try to find the other one in my lure box or face the reality of community property laws in Arizona. I grudgingly chose the former, and we had a pretty good finish to what looked like it was going to be a bleak morning.
We began to hang big fat yellow bass with regularity. We got hits on almost every cast, even if we did not connect. The fish were being tentative, and I believe that the small jig was the finesse move necessary to get them to open their mouths. We had seen a lot of fish on our sonar screens, but they just weren't hitting.
About 10:45, I had a tentative tick and set the hook into what I thought was another yellow bass. However, the ensuing run of line off my reel, and my straining ultralight rod clued me that it was another catfish. After about fifteen minutes of being towed and spun around in my craft, I slid my net under a slightly larger kitty...27 inches and 7.2 pounds.
That just about did it. Other than one or two small yellow bass, the flurry was over, and we had a fish feed for the Dude family...both sides. I think we kept about forty yellow bass between us...from about twice that many caught. Oh yeah, I probably better add that Tube Babe also added a nice little 2# channel cat on the test jigs. We hardly ever catch cats less than 5 pounds in Saguaro, but on her buggy whip tackle it was plenty of fun.
In addition to a large batch of fish for #1 Son and family, TB and I had enough yellow bass fillets for a couple of meals, and kept two of the large fillets of catfish too. We enjoyed scampi style yellow bass last night, and cooked up my mother's favorite "kitty krispies" for lunch today. Yum.
FIRST (SMALLER) OF TWO CATS FOR TUBE DUDE...6.5#
TUBE DUDE'S FAT CAT AND TWO FAT CATS...AND SOME YELLOW BASS TOO.
[signature]
![[Image: SCOU1712CustomImage0918392.jpg]](http://web.ecomplanet.com/SCOU1712/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/SCOU1712CustomImage0918392.jpg)
]As soon as I caught (no pun intended) on to what he was doing, I paddled over and relieved him of the second "experimental" jig he had in his tackle box. I'm gonna' have to keep tabs when he starts tying those "experimentals" and be sure that I have one of everything ... that way I don't lose time paddling to where he is to get one when they turn out to be the hot jig of the day! In any event, we had a great day ... and a few great meals. In fact, we're already planning our next trip out.
, my basket has a chartreuse noodle and TubeBabe has pink. What else? The large 19" by 36" baskets are about $13 or $14. The noodles are about $2. If you put them together right, the metal carrying handles tuck down into the inside edge of the noodle, to hold the lip of the basket several inches above the water line.![[Image: 473-928-00.jpg]](http://image.basspro-shops.com/images/images2/400-000/473-928-00.jpg)