Arrived Friday, launched about 9:30 and it was already starting to resemble amateur hour at the ramp. The biggest issue is the drivers who are afraid to back down a long distance; instead they are trying to go to the bottom of the ramp before making the turn. The ramp is far to narrow at bottom for making the turn, even small SUV’s with jet skis were having problems. The tow vehicle and/ or trailer drop of the side of the ramp. Plan to be patient and possibly lend some help if you’re planning to launch or retrieve.
Had time after unloading the speedboat for a little exploring. Headed to GHB hoping to see the fire planes. GHB was deserted, one houseboat and its ski boat were parked up near what used to be the entrance to Ticaboo and is now just a sandy beach. They were the only boats we saw north of Knowles. Fishing was slow, but we managed to catch a few in the hour and a half we were there; including a Walleye - first fish of the trip.
Saturday we headed south for the SJ. Boated through a couple of small boils in the main channel between the Rincon and the mouth of the SJ.
We sure miss the big open bays of the SJ. Cha and Piute bays continue to narrow, they will feel more like wide canyons if we continue to lose water. We’re seeing a number of hazards that are appearing 300 yards or more from shore around both bays, areas that seem like they should be safe and all of the sudden there is a whale in the middle of open water. Lake Stats app helped us find a few before our props did. Water turns green from silt about Desha canyon as you head upriver, and we are seeing a lot of algae from Cha to Desha. That’s the bad news, the good news is that we are seeing boils from Cha to Piute, (really the only area we’ve been in) but they go down quickly and move fast.
Fishing has been pretty steady all week, we’ve been pleasantly surprised considering how hot it’s been. Fishing has been a mix of mostly SMB, a few LMB, with some strippers and cats thrown in. Catching quite a few sunfish and bluegills as well. We’re still catching a crappie or two each day. That still amazes me as we rarely caught one in the past. The fish all generally appeared fat and healthy, whether they were a small 3” SMB or 22” striper. We’ve caught some really nice SMB and a number of LMB in the 12” +/- range. We’re still looking for the BIG LMB, I think 19.5” is our biggest this week so far.
Tuesday in the late afternoon we ran up toward Piute. Made a stop at Deep canyon and found a school of strippers, then continued up river. Just as we turned the last corner to enter Piute we literally boated into a boil. It’s the first time I’ve ever caught a boil that I could stay on for more than 5 minutes. We chased the boil down the wall toward Piute Canyon for a long time. Then we decided to stay in the shade and fish along the wall in the direction of home. It was getting to dinner time, so we saved further exploration of Piute Bay and the Great Bend for another day.
Wednesday still have a couple of days, the hunt for a record LMB continues!
Had time after unloading the speedboat for a little exploring. Headed to GHB hoping to see the fire planes. GHB was deserted, one houseboat and its ski boat were parked up near what used to be the entrance to Ticaboo and is now just a sandy beach. They were the only boats we saw north of Knowles. Fishing was slow, but we managed to catch a few in the hour and a half we were there; including a Walleye - first fish of the trip.
Saturday we headed south for the SJ. Boated through a couple of small boils in the main channel between the Rincon and the mouth of the SJ.
We sure miss the big open bays of the SJ. Cha and Piute bays continue to narrow, they will feel more like wide canyons if we continue to lose water. We’re seeing a number of hazards that are appearing 300 yards or more from shore around both bays, areas that seem like they should be safe and all of the sudden there is a whale in the middle of open water. Lake Stats app helped us find a few before our props did. Water turns green from silt about Desha canyon as you head upriver, and we are seeing a lot of algae from Cha to Desha. That’s the bad news, the good news is that we are seeing boils from Cha to Piute, (really the only area we’ve been in) but they go down quickly and move fast.
Fishing has been pretty steady all week, we’ve been pleasantly surprised considering how hot it’s been. Fishing has been a mix of mostly SMB, a few LMB, with some strippers and cats thrown in. Catching quite a few sunfish and bluegills as well. We’re still catching a crappie or two each day. That still amazes me as we rarely caught one in the past. The fish all generally appeared fat and healthy, whether they were a small 3” SMB or 22” striper. We’ve caught some really nice SMB and a number of LMB in the 12” +/- range. We’re still looking for the BIG LMB, I think 19.5” is our biggest this week so far.
Tuesday in the late afternoon we ran up toward Piute. Made a stop at Deep canyon and found a school of strippers, then continued up river. Just as we turned the last corner to enter Piute we literally boated into a boil. It’s the first time I’ve ever caught a boil that I could stay on for more than 5 minutes. We chased the boil down the wall toward Piute Canyon for a long time. Then we decided to stay in the shade and fish along the wall in the direction of home. It was getting to dinner time, so we saved further exploration of Piute Bay and the Great Bend for another day.
Wednesday still have a couple of days, the hunt for a record LMB continues!
