Mead 8-24-13

[wolfs4evr]

I guess my turn to kill a Dobyns Extreme rod... At least it didn't go over the side. One has to love their no questions asked warranty! $60 bucks for another rod (Original owner with receipt) verse $320-$340 for a new one. Can't beat that. I'd sure like to say a Mead monster of all monsters did this but... The downside to not having a large front deck. Rod tips hang over the side here and there and as I was making a long forward cast with a crankbait one of the trebles grabbed my Extreme rod... At least it stayed in the boat!!! Would of sucked to lose it and a $350 buck MGX reel.



Other than that fishing was so so. We launched before sun-up and made a easy run all the way to the north end (Longest run I have ever made not using full power). Haven't been up there since May or so. WOW. I figured it was all going to be different but WOW. Not a whole lot up there usefull anymore. That water pipe that sticks up out of the water just south of the old Overton ramp is way up there on the bank high and dry. You can't go much further. The water was also extremely dirty. We hit some bays southbound and found cleaner water. Got one here and there. Nothing special at all. 20-30 of them by 11AM. Almost all LMB. One decent Smallie, a tiny Striper and a Cat.

These are always exciting when they hit just about the time you are about to lift the crank out of the water for another cast... Just about takes the rod out of your hands everytime... First one on a squarebill for me.



This poor guy... Sooooo skinny. Couldn't of been bigger than a Antelope. About a 1/4 of the size of a Ram in Montana.



He was in the little bay directly south of the dock/ramp at Echo. We hanged out there while the line to get boats out was long.

Speaking of getting boats out that was interesting! So the weatherman says single digits for wind today... NOT. 20 gusting into the 30s at 11:30 or so. A nice fun ride. Glad I wasn't all the way to the north end at the time and only had to make it from Bluepoint Bay area back to the ramp. That ramp is fairly challenging. Not protected at all. I had water dumping over the back at the dock and the same once on the trailer till I got the truck pulled forward. I am soooo glad someone was on the dock and offered some assistance. Pretty tough in those winds with just Madi.

A fun ride... Glad it wasn't cold out at all!

[url "http://youtu.be/KpJarZOGmao"]http://youtu.be/KpJarZOGmao[/url]
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[vegaskid]

It always surprises me when a cat takes a lure. I caught one on a drop shot once in 50' of water and my buddy wrangled an 8lb cat off a squarebill on 6lb test. Funny stuff. [fishin]
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[TheWhizzle]

I still haven't caught a cat on a crank. It's on my to-do list. Ive caught them on drop shots a handful of times, and I had one drill a swimbait once, but no crank love.

I even tried at Havasu. I spent one night bored throwing lipless cranks and deep divers hoping to nab a small flattie or a hungry channel, but no luck.

Sil240sxrwd and I fished a BAF tourney a couple summers ago, and I spent the night throwing spinnerbaits with limited success, while James and Paul caught bass all night on cranks. They also landed multiple kitties on cranks that night. Maybe he can chime in on the details of that story.

Cool vid of a wet ride in. Sucks to hear about the lake levels. Ive been working so much this summer, Ive hardly been on the water. Fall will get better hopefully.

Sorry about your rod. Breaks my heart to see pricey gear shattered.
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[wolfs4evr]

It is the hardest hit one can get on Lake Mead. When a kitty takes a crank hang ooooon! This is my third on a crank. The first was over 6 pounds on a 3XD (9-12 foot diver) crank. Another was on a 6XD (20 foot diver) trolling for Stripers. On the Squarebill and the 3XD the cat hit with less than 5 feet of line out of the tip of the rod. So totally unready for something like that. Literally both times I was amazed after the fact that I didn't lose my rod the hit was so brutal.
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[Erawk]

It surprises me every time too, haha. I caught one casting from shore off Boulder Island on a rapala dt6.
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