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Hot weather...cold fishing
#1
[cool]According to my fishing log, which don't lie, TubeBabe and I last hit the water together on the morning of July 4th. My notes say that on that trip we caught some yellow bass, but the temperatures of both air and water were higher than ideal...from 80 to 105 air temps and from 81 to 84 water temps, during the hours we fished. We figured the fishing would not get any better until things cooled down.

Not believing our own predictions, we went fishing Saturday morning. It was time to get out of the house and on the water again. The last two months have been busy and stressful. We needed a fishin' fix. And, our motto is "FISHIN' IS ALWAYS GOOD...EVEN IF THE CATCHIN' AIN'T" But, on this trip, if we went to catch fish, we shoulda stood in bed.

Went through the open gate at Saguaro Lake just after 6 AM. The sky was clear and there was not even the customary morning breeze. Flat calm. Air temp 80 and water temp at launching 84.4 degrees. Way too warm. As soon as the sun came up over the hills to the east, the radiant heat began to raise the air temps quickly and by 9 AM there were beads of perspiration on my heavily sun screened arms.

We couldn't have asked for a prettier day though. And, being a big weekend for out of town camping, there were fewer boats on the lake than usual. As always, the scenery made the slow fishing more endurable.

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Although we saw lots of fish marks on our sonar screens, the fish were in an inactive mode. Despite marking several good sized groups of shad, there was no visible feeding activity by the predators. A few carp made noisy tail slaps on the water to announce their presence, but that was it.

We should have known that fishing would be "DEAD". The buzzards started circling over our fishing cove soon after daybreak.

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We went through our whole arsenal of baits and lures, but other than a few small bluegills, and some occasional more substantial "one-time" bumps, we were fishless. I even tried the "miracle" squid strips sent to me by JapanRon. NADA.

Finally, while pitching a little rainbow Roadrunner in to the bank, trying to find a foraging cat or larger sunfish, I had a major munch and the battle was on. The fish bored out into deeper water and took some line off the drag on my ultralight baitcaster. I picked up the walkie talkie and told TubeBabe that I had just hooked a catfish. As soon as I released the talk button, the "catfish" shot to the surface and showed that I was mistaken. It was a chunky little largemouth. Only 16" and 2.2 pounds, but it definitely stretched my string and bent my stick. Turned out to be the only fish over six inches I hooked all day.

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TubeBabe was practicing ecology and conservation. She was feeding worms to the swarm of 4" bluegill that were hanging in the shallows near the bank. Every time she tipped the baitbug with a new piece of worm, those little bait stealers would strip it off shortly after the cast hit the water.

She did manage to catch a "trophy" green sunfish, however. Those little tykes are beautifully colored, and have mouths and attitudes far larger than their small size. If we had been fishing in the late afternoon, and had brought heavy tackle too, we would have saved some sunfish for catfish bait. It is legal to use live bait in Arizona, and a favored food for large channel cats and big fletheads is a frisky sunfish.

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By ten o'clock, we were resigned to the fact that the fish did not want to come out and play. However, the boaters who stayed in town over the holiday were starting to hit the lake in greater force. As usual, in spite of the fact that we were the only people on the lake, out past the buoy line, every boat and PWC on the lake had to cut back into the cove and go right over top of where we were fishing. That usually ends the fishing, even when we are catching something.

Oh yeah, our old friends with the Hawaiian racing canoes showed up too. Although they had a tougher time getting out through the heavy weed growth near shore, they thrashed their way through and let us see how great they were...up close and personal.

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Actually, the above pic is one from my files. I get too disgusted to even burn a pic anymore. Nor did I actually shoot a pic, when I pointed my camera at a boat that motored close enough that I could have touched it with my rod...as he pretended I was not even there. However I did point the camera at him and asked "DO YOU MIND IF I TAKE YOUR PICTURE. I AM PUTTING TOGETHER AN ALBUM OF A$$#*&E PHOTOS."

We were off the water by 10:30. Water temp was up to 86.5 degrees and the air temp was just climbing past 100. It was time to leave the pond to the water toys and the poor traumatized fishies.

In the immortal words of the future governor of California..."WE'LL BE BACH'.
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#2
Well at least you got out my friend...I was already to leave the house on sunday for a little excursion out to the big salty. Noticed one of my pontoon was feelin' limp... thought I had let out too much air out of the bladder from the previous trip. Pumped it up and continued to load up the truck. Came back to the tube noticed it had gone limp again....not as much ....but limpy none the less. unpacked some of my gear and proceeded to the 72nd jetty for invigorating day of short white sea bass and turbots... Lots of bait boiling everywhere. At one point, I stopped fishing and decided to see how big of a bait ball I can keep in front of me. I began feedin' the little ones with my sandwich. you know... a bite for me .... a bite for them...fair division!!!! I think the I had the bait school was around 6 feet aaccross... at that point it was two or three bites for them and one for me....not fair. Heh heh... I took my buddy's lunch and started dividin' that up too. Didn't want to loose my bait ball...That was actually good because I started to get alot more bites from the WSB...took nothin home cause nothin was biggg enough. I think soon I will be fishing from a kayak...

How are you(TD) and TB doing? Havent made contact with you fer spell now... figured I check in on ya!!!!
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#3
[cool]Hey, Halibut, that sounds like a fun trip to me. I too have had a lot of fun with the undersized members of the different fish families, without taking any home. They still provide a measure of sport, and that is what we are after. Right? By the way, what kind of sandwich works best for chumming? I hope you did not starve by having to share your lunch with the fishies.

Were you able to find and repair the leak? That was one of the things I "enjoyed" about my Kennebec. The thin vinyl air chambers weemed to be very vulnerable to every little thing that could put a hole in them. I used lots of Aquaseal on my Kennebec.

We are both doing well, and hope you are too.
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#4
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STRUCK ME THE MOST ABOUT YOUR POST WAS THE PHRASE "ACCORDING TO MY LOG " . MOST OF THE YOUNGER GUYS DON'T RELISE THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLECTING THERE DATA FOR FUTURE REFRENCE .

I HAVE A FRIEND WHO'S UNCLE KEPT SUCH A LOG OF THE SAGANAW BAY REGION HERE IN MICHIGAN . DAY AFTER DAY , WEEK AFTER WEEK MONTH AFTER ....WELL YOU GET THE IDEA .

YOU CAN GO TO THIS MAN ON ANY DAY OF THE YEAR , ANY WEATHER CONDITION , ANY PATICULAR HOURS THAT YOU PLAN ON FISHING .

SIMPLEY BY PAGING THRU HIS LOG BOOK AND MATCHING CONDITIONS HE CAN TELL YOU THE EXACT AREA TO GO DROP A LINE AND GET YOUR LIMIT !

THE LOGS VALUE IS PRICELESS TO A DEVOTED FISHERMAN . AND AS A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT AS WELL .

GOOD JOB THERE T.D. !
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#5
[cool][cool][cool][cool] yeah!!!!!!!! TubeDad gets another point. He's got another fish as well. Good Job.
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#6
[cool]I hadn't thought to make that point, but I'm glad you picked it up. There are lots of times when I try to remember (getting harder) exactly what I used on a certain water during a certain time of year under what conditions. By going back and checking details, it is easier to get the old "fishing computer" to kick in.

Not only does a log help with the technology, it makes for something to do when the weather or "honey dos" have you grounded and you want to at least read about fishing.

Since we can attach things now, I will attach the Word document of the "two up" fishing log I use. It is simple, but allows for custom input. In the final analysis, the form of your log is not nearly as important as just keeping something...anything.
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#7
Log, smog! [Wink] Only thing I need is bait, decent weather, GPS and a fish finder. If the fish are there I will catch them.

To quote the skipper of the Andrea Gail," I always find the fish!" [cool]

Hopefully I don't sink my tube though! [shocked]
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#8
[cool]Maybe we can make a new movie..."BAY OF DREAMS". "If you bait them, they will come."

I share your confidence. Over the years experienced anglers build a mental database that they can access whenever they hit the water. A log can be helpful, but there is no substitute for the accumulated experience of many years on the water. It often creates a sixth sense of just what to do and how to do it...in spite of what the more "logical" approach might suggest.

Then again, we all have days when in spite of our best efforts, the fish make fools of us. That's why they call it angling and not harvesting.
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#9
[cool] HEY THERE TUBEDAD, YOU GOT THAT ONE RIGHT. WE HAVE A FEW SPOTS ARROUND HERE WHERE THERE ARE MORE HARVESTERS THE ANGLERS.[pirate][pirate][pirate][pirate]
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#10
garmin marine gps $239.99[unsure]

accessories for gps

mounting bracket $29.95[unsure]

gps lakes cd $99.99[unsure]

gps power cable $19.95[unsure]

huminbird fish finder $499.95[pirate]

$2.50 log book , priceless ![Tongue]

oh , i couldn't help myself ! fall is coming and i'm going into rut ![cool]

i need a log book just to remenber where i put my keys ! lol !
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#11
I used to care a log book until this drought changed everything so I quit looking thru it and started working different flies and lures. This year I've left the same combo of flies on and they work every where I go. The only bad thing is I had so many other favorites that usually work better but I shouldn't be complaining because I'm catching fish.
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#12
[cool] HEY THERE LONEHUNTER, DON'T FEEL BAD. I NEED A LOG BOOK TO FIND OUT WHERE I LEFT MY GPS.
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#13
yep . i have the top six flys used in michigan streams , all at varies stages of groth , that way i can use the stage that matches . i also use a lot of wolley buggers and stone flys , assorted colors .

it works for me when fishing new streams .

good tip ya have there ! keep them coming , i like learning new things , and you got a bunch of them !
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#14
Knowing me I would use my log book as an emergency camping tool. if you think about it you will figure it out![Wink]

Good ole Sears Catalog..[shocked]
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#15
lol ! thats a good one . reminds me too , i gotta find mine soon , time to track some deer to find out there bedding grounds this year !
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#16
HMMMMM , I'M THINKING IT ISN'T A TEE-PEE , BUT IT KINDA SOUNDS LIKE IT ! [cool]
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