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[center] Lake Mead
12-29-14
Happy New Year[/center]
Decided to get some time on the water after work to try some new ideas I had over the holiday. The water has still been on the rise, and it has really been increasing the difficulty of making bait. Not only that but it appears all the big boy shad must have been having babies, because there are a whole lot of tiny ones, and the big boys are few and far between. After I did what I could bait wise, I headed out with the plan to aggressively fish and slay any striper that looked my way. I live in somewhat of a suburbia, and am fortunate to have very cool friendly neighbors. So I wanted to do something for them since many of them admire the Hobie getting loaded and unloaded on a regular basis. So with a little extra attitude and some new tricks up my sleeve, I put my head down and the next thing I know there is a pile of bloody bodies filling my footwell so bad it was getting hard to peddle, lol. I am incredibly grateful to the powers that be that laid out the path for success for me that day. Every fish was a tugger, I actually woke up sore in my upper back the next day, and Ive never had time go by so fast otw. As the light faded away, I ended up with 16 keepers and 3 others that I released to fight another day. For a half day I got to completely polish my new idea and skills, and managed to put together some Happy New Year gift packs of a dozen primo fillets for the neighbors. I wish you all the happiest of New Years, be safe, and may 2015 be the best year for you all! Cheers!
[center] Hook up! Dragging Stripers off the rocky bank!
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Successfully landing my first Striper via Hand line!
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Catch for the day:
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New Year Gift Bags for the Neighbors: A Dozen Fillets
<a href="http://s547.photobucket.com/user/nake21/media/imagejpg3_zpsd8ffd801.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i547.photobucket.com/albums/hh468/nake21/imagejpg3_zpsd8ffd801.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo imagejpg3_zpsd8ffd801.jpg"/></a>[/center]
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Shogun, looks like a killer day. I hope my kayak fishing days are as productive. So where you drift fishing with shad? I hit the lake yesterday from the shore and it was a bust. No shad, it was cold as heck, and the wind was gusting at 25mph. I got one bump and that was it. I gave up after an hour. Lol. Hoping my kayak fishing days are much more productive. Looking forward to fishing with you Shogun
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Awesome trip. Glad you got into them. Planning on hitting the lake Friday myself with hopes of finding them.
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It looks like you have a Hobie. How do you like it? I have been considering getting a Pro Angler. Where do you launch from and do you find it difficult to launch from the shore at Mead?[fishon]
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Todie,
Did you see any snow on the lake on new years eve? I was considering heading out to check it out, but the wind was howling at my house. Yes I primarily use live shad, and drifing is a very effective technique. At the moment I have not been seeing shad anywhere near shore, so that explains that. So with your new yak, there is no shad that will be out of reach! Even where boaters dont dare to go, lol. That alone will increase your catch 10 fold. Also the ability to actively search them out is an adventure in itself. Yes I too look forward to fishing with you, and also reading some great fishing reports once you get to it!
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No snow on new years eve. Just howling wind and cold weather. Yeah, I'm looking for to being able to not be confined to the shore.
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Wolf,
Did you make it out today? I went out yesterday on my yak, and today on my friends boat. I kept an eye out for a Father & Daughter combo, but didn't see any today. I just wanted to say that I have recently been looking at what I missed on the BFT forums, and I appreciated reading some of your reports! Keep up the good work. I will write up a couple reports for myself in the next day or two. Hopefully that will encourage some others to share as well.
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[indent]Made it out there today and spent the entire day in the wash. Blue Tracker 175WT (full windshield/115 Mercury). The Blue Ford FX4 sitting at the Boulder ramp parking is our truck. Spent all day yesterday kicking myself in the tail for not going. Was such a nice day. But again today was a killer day too. Working on a post about today right now.
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Gvec,
Yes my rider is a Hobie Outback. For my style of fishing I couldn't be happier with it. It is an amazingly efficient fishing platform. I am an ocean fisherman at heart, and the new model Outbacks feel just as stable as the Pro Anglers, but are noticeably faster in the water. And that really has its advantages when covering long distances. The Hobies are really a leader in the industry, and the Pro Anglers are very nice. I would recommend the PA12 over the PA14, unless of course if you are just terrified of falling in the water, lol. The added weight and drag of the bigger yak is much more of an inconvenience than an advantage in my opinion. As for launching at Lake Mead, it could not get any easier in the world. I usually launch from Government Wash and there is a nice dirt road all the way down to the water that any 2WD car can safely manage. From there I back my truck near the water line, pull the back of the yak out of my truck and set it down, then grab the bow handle and swing the nose around and drop it into the glassy water. Piece of cake! Let me tell you from experience in fishing the Pacific Ocean, I have had to cross hundreds of yards of soft sand beaches, sand dunes, sharp rocks, switch back trails, even lowering and lifting the yak down and up cliff faces, and all to have to do battle with huge breaking waves, massive swells, and great white sharks! So I highly recommend jumping at the opportunity to fish one of the premier striper grounds on the west coast, they may not be huge at Mead, but they are plentiful, and strong enough to spin your yak around. And as far as when I get home, I pull the back of the yak out of the truck, and use a type of cart that plugs into the scupper holes, that way I am able to move the yak around like a little trailer. These are all designed over the counter products to make the whole process very user friendly. Let me know if you have any more questions.
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Hi. Thanks for the report. Which model finder is that you have there? How do you like it?
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Lowrance Elite-7 HDI. I have used several other high end brands of electronics and this one is hands down the best I have ever used. It definitely "Finds the Fish" if you know what I mean!
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Hey shogun, finally got my yak. However the one roof rack I ordered didn't work so I had to get a different one and had to order new clips for it. Hoping to get out tomorrow but probably won't happen with the yak. Lol. It's killing me having it and not being able to use it.
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