Littlesaltwash
Well-Known Member
Several weeks ago the girls said they needed a camping fix so we planned a long weekend. Turned out @Dworwood and @4LOJO were going the same weekend. It’s always nice to meet up with friends and BS. I hadn’t been to LP since last December so seeing the lake at this elevation again was different. Because of past fishing reports we had planned on staying close and camping in Bullfrog bay, but the sheer volume of boat traffic nixed that. We headed north but there were still lots of boats, players, and waves. We got to GHB and I was really surprised to see just a few small boat camps on the east side of the bay past the restroom. We camped about mm121 where the long rocky reef lies about 75 yards off the west shore south of Ticaboo. As stated in other threads the water was about 77-78 degrees and according to the graphs the fish were holding below 40 feet. I didn’t spend as much time fishing as usual because this was the girls’ weekend. The water was dead calm and we played Saturday and Sunday afternoon. We were the only ones up there and we didn’t have to watch out for others. This getting old is not for sissies. Wrenched rib cartilage from the tube and a shoulder tweak from a 30 mph wreck off the skis makes me think I’ll just be the driver from here on. I decided to head up past the horn Sunday am to see if the water temps were cooler and the fish shallower. I left camp around 7 and headed north. Our camp (south of Ticaboo) was the boat camp furthest north that I saw. I did see 2 vehicles there in towards the back of Red but that was it. I stopped and fished a little cut/cove there at the horn where years ago I caught a pike?musky? and caught 1 striper on a top water. I trolled up the east bank towards 4 mile and caught 2 more. There were none of the birds (KY fish finders) that are usually there at the mouth of Red or anywhere else on this trip. I just saw a few heron and not as many ravens as usual. (No boils or shad on shore?) The water was slightly cooler towards 4 mile, 75, but I wasn’t marking many fish. The lake was consistently only 30-35 feet deep from the horn north. I wasn’t seeing fish or many bait balls so I turned around before I got to 2 mile. 30 feet deep shore to shore. I went into 4 mile but didn’t go past the hard right and the big rock that centers the channel. Very few fish on the graph. Evidently the silt didn’t migrate up into 4 mile as much as there was a stretch where it was 45 feet. I got back to camp about 11:30 and Wes and Carla were beached and visiting with my tribe. Thanks for the jalapeño jelly! and the heads ups to bring cream cheese and crackers to go with it. The pictures Wes posted of his Weldcraft earlier this Spring didn’t do it justice. Nice ride! Monday am at dawn I caught some smallies on top water there at camp before packing it up. So, all in all we had a good camping trip even if fishing was slow. We got in our share of playing and making waves but there wasn’t anyone up there in GHB for us to bother. Very few boats. Probably 8 to 10 that went by us heading north in two days. The volume of driftwood deposited up north from this spring is pretty amazing to see. If fishing north this fall or winter you won’t have to pack in your wood. As shallow as it is at this elevation the upper lake could be a braided channel come spring. We stopped at Stan’s on the way home and saw my neighbor. They were camped at Stanton for a long weekend. They caught some good cats at camp and did get into some stripers south of Halls on Sunday. The stripers were holding on 50 foot shelves in the main channel. They said they got about 45. They broke in their new to them Lund and were pumped. Side note: Just as we were pulling in to Stan’s, a bunch of motor cycles (50 plus) pulled in. While they were shucking leather we hurried and got our order in. They were all French speaking folks from Quebec. (My high school French from 55 years ago did me no good whatsoever) Their bikes had been all loaded and trucked down to Vegas. The group flew in, picked up their bikes, and then were making a 2 week SW loop. They had a few English speaking guides with them that coordinated everything. Mondays jaunt for them was Moab to Torrey. I think we will wait awhile and let it cool down before we head back to Powell. And then, not go on the weekend! Crazy.
