07-19-2004, 01:43 AM
It wasn’t an auspicious start. Alarm went off at 2:00 A.M. and I slept through it. Jolted awake at 2:30, I washed, dressed, pounded some strong coffee, ate peanut butter and jam on a slice of bread, loaded the cooler and I’m out the door. Fortunately the Skeeter is already hooked and ready to go.
3:45 A.M. I’m at Lake Mead Blvd. and Las Vegas Ave. getting gas at the Arco station and thinking this is not a real safe place this time of the morning. I overfill the boat tank.
Now I’ve got a problem; how to get 12 oz. of oil in a full tank. Hmmm…..
4:30 A.M. I pull over on the Lake Mead road where the shoulder slopes in a way the fuel is all on the downhill side. I carefully squeeze in 12 oz. of oil by headlamp; right to the edge of the fill tube. OK. Good to go.
5:15 A.M: I am launching at Callville because I want to run up lake after the morning striper bite. The ramp is funky! Water has dropped at least 16” since I used it maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago. The dock is broken over a mud/rock hump which is also a hazard when tying to the dock. The Park Service e has dredged a little and added some gravel. Still holes where people have power loaded and dug the ramp out.
Nice calm morning. Once I’m out of the tires it’s up on plane and down towards Black Island.
5:45 A.M. Pull-in between Sand Island and old Vegas Wash launch ramp and sit and look. Rods come out; seat goes in - all the stuff. Ever know you should have done something but you procrastinated? Well that was my situation with the spinning outfit. The AA swim baits are great, but if you rip them too fast they roll, twisting the line. I knew the line was bad, but figured the bite would be spotty – like it has been last couple times and I’d have a chance to change out in the boat.
6:00 A.M. The grebes are working the shad and I’m seeing some slurps and every cast is coming up short as I foul on my line splice knot. About cast 10 the line comes off in a complete tangle. I’m hosed. I grab my son’s spinning outfit out of the rod box and change out the reels: his for mine, The line looks loosely wound but I figure I can get it out and then back away the boat to pretension it when I wind it back on. Cast 2, the line comes off in a big tangle and I end up pulling the swimbait in by hand. Now I’m sitting in about an acre of biting stripers and both spinning outfits are out of commission. I pick up a bait caster and start throwing a jumping shad. They’re slashing at it but it is too big.
6:45 A.M. The shad school disperses and is lost by the grebes. I’m still seeing arches on the depth finder, but scattered. Quickly strip off the old line and wind one new line. The spinning outfit is ready to go. There is a new custom painted 4x4 buried up to the chassis on the beach. Who knows what happened there. Little local color I guess.
7:00 A.M. Back inside the cove which formed Vegas Wash launch area. The grebes are working again, the stripers are slashing and more boats have arrived. Some I recognize. We exchange hellos, but not much is said and suddenly almost everyone has a striper on.
I look down at the Pinpoint on the bow; it is complete fish arches. Another striper gets in the well. The fish push the shad towards a shallow point and the surface action gets even hotter. Then it dies. I’m still seeing arches so I throw the swimbait and count it down. A nice 16” comes in the boat. The drag gets to work. This is fun. I tell the people in the boat next to me. Several larger stripers come aboard. Every boat in the area is hooked up. They are right on the bottom in 25 ft. Suddenly a woman on a PWC blows right through the area at high speed where I and 5 boats are fishing. She circles out on the main lake and comes back and does it again. What I’m thinking can’t be on the forum. I consider getting out the whistle I keep for emergencies. The school sounds.
7:30 we are chatting and looking. One guide mentions there were big schools in Kingman Wash couple days ago. They are fishing with small castmasters and light green swimbaits. The AA’s match the hatch closer since the shad were small (to about 2”). The grebes re-form inside the next cove of Las Vegas Launch area. Everyone begins to edge over following the school. More action; more fish and suddenly it is 8:45. Suddenly like a switch the bite turns off. I’ve got 11 in the live well; five small ones and 6 at 14” up to 18”. I’ve shaken off several real small ones.
I start motoring around the wash thinking the action might start again. Looks like you could launch a small boat right at the water pipe line in Las Vegas wash. The PWC’s are launching there. 4x4 would be good insurance since the shore drops off quickly except in one area. Ground is firm.
I cruise down to Hole 33 area and there are lots of shad on the graph, the grebes and brown pelicans are working, but the stripers are dispersed and below the shad schools. I try spooning for a bit. It is still and getting hot. 10:00 AM
Time to spend some of that gas I loaded this morning. I’m heading up past Callville Bay to Boulder Wash at the head of the Virgin Basin. Never been much past Flamingo Reef and so I stop in the Narrows to take a couple pictures. It is a “No Wake” zone. I’m idling and a 25’cigarette boat blows past me a 30+ miles per hour. OK, this isn’t going to work. I wrestle the Skeeter back under control and get up on plane and get out of there. Pull into the Boulder Wash and drop the TM. Looking for largemouth. Well, didn’t find any and the terrain wasn’t any better looking than some other walls closer to Callville. Over towards Stewarts Cliff and Teakettle bay look good however.
For the last 30 minutes while I’m checking out the Wash I’ve kept the livewell pump on. Some of the stripers are still alive and I want to keep them so. I step off the casting deck and notice water coming up through the drain grate to the bilge. Not Good. I fire the bilge pump and a couple gallons comes out. They say a stubborn man needs a strong sign. I think I just had mine. Several miles from the dock and I’m not positive I know what’s wrong. Back through the Narrows and down to Auxiliary Point. Check some of the offshore structure – throwing a white swimming jig and the trusty AA - nothing. By now I’ve figured out it is the livewell overflow hose or connection.
12:00 Noon; time to head in. As I go past Beacon Island I remember seeing a couple bass boats on the channel edge earlier, so I decided to go graph that area. No shad there and the fish are scattered and everywhere in the water column down to 300 ft. I’m wondering where the thermocline is. Seems to be at 30 feet up in Vegas Wash area. Anyone got the scoop on this? There is an inboard/ outboard rig sitting off Beacon Island with cowling up. I offer to tow and they accept, so slowly back to Callville.
1:00 PM I get the dead boat moored and pull off the launch area to stow everything away. The launch area is controlled pandemonium – barely. Rigs are side ways on the ramp, people are having problems taking out, boats and PWC’s are tied to the dock as people wait for friends. Too many people there and since I am by myself, I am paranoid to leave gear on the deck. Finally get to the dock, tie up and go to get the truck. As I’m lining up to sink the trailer, the guys I rescued come over and tell me some has crashed into and broken the top of the Motorguide TM housing. Lucky they were there as the guilty party evidently was just going to leave without mentioning it. Got a phone number and driver license number, wonder if they will pay to replace the housing?? Got the TM taped together – think it still works. Yeah Duct Tape! I can get parts next week.
Yeah, summer Sunday at Lake Mead. I’ll go try and fix that livewell fitting now..
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3:45 A.M. I’m at Lake Mead Blvd. and Las Vegas Ave. getting gas at the Arco station and thinking this is not a real safe place this time of the morning. I overfill the boat tank.
Now I’ve got a problem; how to get 12 oz. of oil in a full tank. Hmmm…..
4:30 A.M. I pull over on the Lake Mead road where the shoulder slopes in a way the fuel is all on the downhill side. I carefully squeeze in 12 oz. of oil by headlamp; right to the edge of the fill tube. OK. Good to go.
5:15 A.M: I am launching at Callville because I want to run up lake after the morning striper bite. The ramp is funky! Water has dropped at least 16” since I used it maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago. The dock is broken over a mud/rock hump which is also a hazard when tying to the dock. The Park Service e has dredged a little and added some gravel. Still holes where people have power loaded and dug the ramp out.
Nice calm morning. Once I’m out of the tires it’s up on plane and down towards Black Island.
5:45 A.M. Pull-in between Sand Island and old Vegas Wash launch ramp and sit and look. Rods come out; seat goes in - all the stuff. Ever know you should have done something but you procrastinated? Well that was my situation with the spinning outfit. The AA swim baits are great, but if you rip them too fast they roll, twisting the line. I knew the line was bad, but figured the bite would be spotty – like it has been last couple times and I’d have a chance to change out in the boat.
6:00 A.M. The grebes are working the shad and I’m seeing some slurps and every cast is coming up short as I foul on my line splice knot. About cast 10 the line comes off in a complete tangle. I’m hosed. I grab my son’s spinning outfit out of the rod box and change out the reels: his for mine, The line looks loosely wound but I figure I can get it out and then back away the boat to pretension it when I wind it back on. Cast 2, the line comes off in a big tangle and I end up pulling the swimbait in by hand. Now I’m sitting in about an acre of biting stripers and both spinning outfits are out of commission. I pick up a bait caster and start throwing a jumping shad. They’re slashing at it but it is too big.
6:45 A.M. The shad school disperses and is lost by the grebes. I’m still seeing arches on the depth finder, but scattered. Quickly strip off the old line and wind one new line. The spinning outfit is ready to go. There is a new custom painted 4x4 buried up to the chassis on the beach. Who knows what happened there. Little local color I guess.
7:00 A.M. Back inside the cove which formed Vegas Wash launch area. The grebes are working again, the stripers are slashing and more boats have arrived. Some I recognize. We exchange hellos, but not much is said and suddenly almost everyone has a striper on.
I look down at the Pinpoint on the bow; it is complete fish arches. Another striper gets in the well. The fish push the shad towards a shallow point and the surface action gets even hotter. Then it dies. I’m still seeing arches so I throw the swimbait and count it down. A nice 16” comes in the boat. The drag gets to work. This is fun. I tell the people in the boat next to me. Several larger stripers come aboard. Every boat in the area is hooked up. They are right on the bottom in 25 ft. Suddenly a woman on a PWC blows right through the area at high speed where I and 5 boats are fishing. She circles out on the main lake and comes back and does it again. What I’m thinking can’t be on the forum. I consider getting out the whistle I keep for emergencies. The school sounds.
7:30 we are chatting and looking. One guide mentions there were big schools in Kingman Wash couple days ago. They are fishing with small castmasters and light green swimbaits. The AA’s match the hatch closer since the shad were small (to about 2”). The grebes re-form inside the next cove of Las Vegas Launch area. Everyone begins to edge over following the school. More action; more fish and suddenly it is 8:45. Suddenly like a switch the bite turns off. I’ve got 11 in the live well; five small ones and 6 at 14” up to 18”. I’ve shaken off several real small ones.
I start motoring around the wash thinking the action might start again. Looks like you could launch a small boat right at the water pipe line in Las Vegas wash. The PWC’s are launching there. 4x4 would be good insurance since the shore drops off quickly except in one area. Ground is firm.
I cruise down to Hole 33 area and there are lots of shad on the graph, the grebes and brown pelicans are working, but the stripers are dispersed and below the shad schools. I try spooning for a bit. It is still and getting hot. 10:00 AM
Time to spend some of that gas I loaded this morning. I’m heading up past Callville Bay to Boulder Wash at the head of the Virgin Basin. Never been much past Flamingo Reef and so I stop in the Narrows to take a couple pictures. It is a “No Wake” zone. I’m idling and a 25’cigarette boat blows past me a 30+ miles per hour. OK, this isn’t going to work. I wrestle the Skeeter back under control and get up on plane and get out of there. Pull into the Boulder Wash and drop the TM. Looking for largemouth. Well, didn’t find any and the terrain wasn’t any better looking than some other walls closer to Callville. Over towards Stewarts Cliff and Teakettle bay look good however.
For the last 30 minutes while I’m checking out the Wash I’ve kept the livewell pump on. Some of the stripers are still alive and I want to keep them so. I step off the casting deck and notice water coming up through the drain grate to the bilge. Not Good. I fire the bilge pump and a couple gallons comes out. They say a stubborn man needs a strong sign. I think I just had mine. Several miles from the dock and I’m not positive I know what’s wrong. Back through the Narrows and down to Auxiliary Point. Check some of the offshore structure – throwing a white swimming jig and the trusty AA - nothing. By now I’ve figured out it is the livewell overflow hose or connection.
12:00 Noon; time to head in. As I go past Beacon Island I remember seeing a couple bass boats on the channel edge earlier, so I decided to go graph that area. No shad there and the fish are scattered and everywhere in the water column down to 300 ft. I’m wondering where the thermocline is. Seems to be at 30 feet up in Vegas Wash area. Anyone got the scoop on this? There is an inboard/ outboard rig sitting off Beacon Island with cowling up. I offer to tow and they accept, so slowly back to Callville.
1:00 PM I get the dead boat moored and pull off the launch area to stow everything away. The launch area is controlled pandemonium – barely. Rigs are side ways on the ramp, people are having problems taking out, boats and PWC’s are tied to the dock as people wait for friends. Too many people there and since I am by myself, I am paranoid to leave gear on the deck. Finally get to the dock, tie up and go to get the truck. As I’m lining up to sink the trailer, the guys I rescued come over and tell me some has crashed into and broken the top of the Motorguide TM housing. Lucky they were there as the guilty party evidently was just going to leave without mentioning it. Got a phone number and driver license number, wonder if they will pay to replace the housing?? Got the TM taped together – think it still works. Yeah Duct Tape! I can get parts next week.
Yeah, summer Sunday at Lake Mead. I’ll go try and fix that livewell fitting now..
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