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CATCHING SOME RAYS AND A
FEW TROUT!
By: Ron Wilson
January 20, 2005.... Duck hunting lately
has been for the birds, literally! The fog has things pretty well messed
up. One day its low and the next high and you have to be at the right spot
at the right time. On top of that one of my partners came down sick with
the flu and hunting is just not the same.
The dreary fog and sickness and then with a
close friends son being murdered things really went downhill in a heap! I
can t imagine how it is to have to bury one's son!
This week I took a few days off work to
chase away the blues so one day I had to go see the sun to brighten up
things on the outside and the inside a little!
I called my cousin Blaine and asked him if
he wanted to tag along as I know his fight with ALS is a constant struggle
and he needs to be as active as he can!
We left at 7 a.m. and headed to McClure. I
know that I can always catch a spotted bass and maybe a trout or two
there. We arrived at 8 a.m. and the fog was so thick you could cut it with
a knife. I told Blaine that I had come see the sun and we were going on to
Moccasin to see how the weather was over there.
I left McClure and went to Coulterville,
where the sun was high and the mountains were green and it was just
beautiful. I tuned and headed down towards Moccasin and as we arrived the
fog was overhead but I could still see the sun. I told Blaine we would be
fine as I was headed upriver anyway to catch trout.
We arrived near the power lines and it was
no time until Blaine had our first trout on an Ex-Cel firetiger pattern at
15 feet. No monster but one for the livewell. I hand lined this one in as
Blaine let it get in the motor so I broke the line and hauled it aboard!
We soon found out that the fish were
hitting the baits at 15 to 20 feet deep about 75 feet behind the boat.
Favorite lures were Ex-Cel blue-silver and firetiger.
Blaine hooked a nice trout and then it
suddenly got real heavy, then started coming in easily again. Once I got
the fish aboard I could see where a huge black bass had came up behind and
grabbed over half of the 15 inch trout in its mouth. The dorsal fin was
frayed and the fish was scaled from its back to its tail on both sides! I
showed it to Blaine and said, "You came close to having a real big
bucketmouth on, see what he did with this trout!"
We trolled back and forth and caught a
limit in just a couple hours time and then headed for the channel to see
about hooking another big bass or maybe even a salmon.
After about an hour of trolling with no
hits we decided that we had enjoyed the sun enough for one day. We had
fish to clean and a drive down the hill so it was time to wrap it up and
call it a day.
The wind was whistling down the canyon as
we made our way back to the ramp and when we turned into the marina at
Moccasin the water was as smooth as glass, no ripples anywhere. The long 5
mile an hour put to the launch was nice facing the sun and we got to soak
up a little more before heading home.
The fog line was high and at K-Arrow Ranch
! I kept looking for ducks on the trip back down the hill in all the ponds
and creeks but I never saw one duck so I guess they must all be lost down
in the grasslands.
I can't complain if I don't shoot another
duck the next two weekends. I have had a great year of waterfowling I just
hope that my upcoming goose hunt in Texas the first of February is a good
one. Stayed tuned for this one as there will be plenty of pictures and
info on the trip. |
