Lake Mead 7 7 2010

[treadhead1952]

Hi All,

My old buddy, the one who owns the canoe that I used to get out on the Lake in, came back for his sisters' wedding this coming weekend. We got out evening before last and last evening after he snagged a temporary license, hit the bait shop and then proceeded out to the Government Wash area. Of course, I did offer to tow him out on an inner tube using my Kayak, but after checking out the photos of where I had been going with it, he decided that a little shore line work would suit him.

We chummed up the area using some cut up 'Chovies first, then switched to Sardines for bait (Thanks for the tip, ya'll). In the couple of years since he had been out in California he had forgotten how to fish at Lake Mead. That is to say, you have to tighten up on your line as soon as it hits the water. None of this waiting for it to get down to the bottom, then tighten it up. If you do that, you wind up with a bare hook sitting down there. After watching me catch a couple of fair Stripers, I reminded him and he started to catch a few. We stayed out until around 11 PM.









This was my biggest fish of the evening and sort of illustrates why I got a Kayak. It was mostly to get out to larger fish as well as different species. Once I get my Humminbird Piranhamax 170 installed it will be a whole lot easier.



All of the ones we caught were "Catch and Release", hopefully they will get bigger as time goes by. The night before we managed to snag a few as well off the 33 Hole.



The Box score for evening one was Visitors - 2; Home Team -5 for evening two, it was Visitors - 5; Home Team -8. I attribute this to the fact that my buddy was busy relating all his various salt water fishing adventures instead of watching his rod a little more closely. [cool]

Jay
treadhead1952
Las Vegas, NV
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[TheWhizzle]

Great report man! Way to get an out-of-towner on some fish.

The Whizzle
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[Sil240sxrwd]

Awesome job out there!! Those are some healthy looking stripers!
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[treadhead1952]

Thanks Guys,

Actually, my buddy has fished out on Lake Mead nearly as much as I have except for the last two years. He got spoiled by all that salt water action he has access to there.[laugh]

Chumming up the Stripers like that is something I picked up on here and it does work like ringing a dinner bell for them. We went out around 7:30 PM and the Lunar Tables said that from around 7:45 PM to 11:45 PM was the best time to be wettin' a line yesterday. I have to hit the salt mines again tomorrow, my Monday, so it will have to do for this weekend. Next weekend I plan on getting the Kayak out and heading down south from Boulder Harbor to check out what I can see down that a way.

Jay
treadhead1952
Las Vegas, NV
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[Erawk]

Thanks for the report and pics

[quote treadhead1952]
That is to say, you have to tighten up on your line as soon as it hits the water. None of this waiting for it to get down to the bottom, then tighten it up. If you do that, you wind up with a bare hook sitting down there.[/quote]

I'm figuring that you mean the bait will get stripped on the way down and if you're don't have a tight line, you'll miss the bite?
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[treadhead1952]

Hi Erawk,

Exactly, that is why a lot of inexperienced fishermen out there wind up just chumming the waters for the next guy without realizing it. Admittedly, it is a balancing act between enough weight, the right sized chunk of bait and the right size and style of hook for what you want to do. I like to put the weight on the end of the line so that I can actually feel when the fish takes the bait and the hook.

Fishing from a Kayak, you need to use a long enough leader so that you aren't "Scare Crowing" or spreading your arms out trying to be longer than your rod and length of leader anyway. That can lead to going from being a "Kayaker" to being a "Swimmer" real quick like. Since I like rods in the 6' to 7' range, that means a leader nearly as long as the rod so I can just reel it up to the swivel and swing the weight and terminal tackle into my hand holding the rod upright. This works out to a long leader that distributes the hook and weight far enough apart that the fish just doesn't notice it. This has carried over to my shore fishing habit as well.

Jay
treadhead1952
Las Vegas, NV
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[lvrider]

Isn't funny how some people will not take advice until they see you reelin em in.
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[Erawk]

I gotcha, thank you. So you tie you weight to the very end of the line with the hook up above it like a drop shot? I often use a droppper loop instead of carolina rig.
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[treadhead1952]

Hi Guys,

Yeah, sometimes it takes a few fish reeled in before some folks catch the idea.

Erawk, I like to think of it sort of like a guitar string, when the fish starts gnawing at the bait, with the weight on the very end of the line, you can feel the vibration on your end of the line a whole lot easier than if the fish has to actually move off with it in his mouth. That is what happens when the weight is in between you and the hook. Also, when fishing from the Kayak, I would much rather be reaching for a nice unsharp weight when I lift the line out of the water to rebait the hook or change things around.

Jay
treadhead1952
Las Vegas, NV
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