03-23-2014, 12:00 AM
This last week I had to take some use it or lose it vacation time. After I looked at the weather I decided to go catfishing for the first two days, then take a day off to see my uncle for his birthday, then fish on Tuesday. Well I started out on Saturday after catfish and I was happy to see that the 48 degree water temp and 30 degree air temp was not going to put a damper on the day. I took my Steelheader with my 4 hp Johnson to tackle the river.
I got 10 cats on Saturday and not one was under 25" and I had one fish that was 30".
On to Sunday. I have wanted to go farther up river but the water is so low that it was fast and I was hitting bottom with my motor. So I got out and I walked it up river. In all It took me 4 hours to get about 4 miles up river. So I started fishing about noon. Right off the bat I get into some big one's. After I left that hole there was another hole I passed last year that I wanted to fish but didn't get a chance to. So I stopped there and was happy to see that my thinking was right. I got 9 cats on Sunday and nothing under 26" and four of them were 30" .
Well Monday was a blow out. I mean a BLOW OUT!!!! We had winds of up to 70 mph and four trucks blew over on bridges. I saw my family and headed home because the weather forecast was wind for Tuesday. I sit out Tuesday and got ready for Wednesday.
I took my Sportsman's 9 into the sturgeon hole. The air temp was mid 20's and the water was in the 40's.
I have to drag my boat through a set of rapids. Something I have done a ton of times. This time the water lever was the lowest I have ever seen it. I was about 1/2 way through and I slipped on the ice on the rocks. I went down into the flow and was washed down a few feet. I went to get up on a rock and either slipped or was washed off that rock into deeper water. I was up to the top of the waders and it happened so fast I didn't have time to think I just powered my way on the boat and didn't lose anything. I hopped back off and finished the drag into the hole.
I hit the hole early but I didn't get a bite for a couple hours. The first fish I got was a fat 6 foot fish.
I hooked up with several more fish but didn't land them. I was bummed out big time for all the bad luck.
I took off Thursday due to wind, so I got ready for Friday.
Friday was the last day for the week of fishing. Sturgeon was again the fish of choice. On Wednesday I had a lot of hook ups but I broke line and they spit the hooks. About everything that could go wrong did. To top it off I fell in the river, so I wanted to end the week on a good note
When I got up the temp was 21 degrees at my house. So I took a couple of hours to let the day warm a bit. The last thing I needed was to have a bunch of ice again on the rocks and fall again. So I got there later and filmed the portage into the hole.
I got to the hole at 9 am and didn't get my first hook up until 10:00. I sure wished it would have jumped but I don't get jumps until the water warms up a bit. This fish pulled HARD. It took a while to whip a fish that big. After I got him to the boat I was wishing I had someone there to take a picture so I did the best I could.
This fish was the biggest of the day.
I got three more about the size of this little guy.
Over all I had a real good week. I got to catfish, sturgeon fish and visit family in the Nampa area. I had a great vacation. Ron
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I got 10 cats on Saturday and not one was under 25" and I had one fish that was 30".
On to Sunday. I have wanted to go farther up river but the water is so low that it was fast and I was hitting bottom with my motor. So I got out and I walked it up river. In all It took me 4 hours to get about 4 miles up river. So I started fishing about noon. Right off the bat I get into some big one's. After I left that hole there was another hole I passed last year that I wanted to fish but didn't get a chance to. So I stopped there and was happy to see that my thinking was right. I got 9 cats on Sunday and nothing under 26" and four of them were 30" .
Well Monday was a blow out. I mean a BLOW OUT!!!! We had winds of up to 70 mph and four trucks blew over on bridges. I saw my family and headed home because the weather forecast was wind for Tuesday. I sit out Tuesday and got ready for Wednesday.
I took my Sportsman's 9 into the sturgeon hole. The air temp was mid 20's and the water was in the 40's.
I have to drag my boat through a set of rapids. Something I have done a ton of times. This time the water lever was the lowest I have ever seen it. I was about 1/2 way through and I slipped on the ice on the rocks. I went down into the flow and was washed down a few feet. I went to get up on a rock and either slipped or was washed off that rock into deeper water. I was up to the top of the waders and it happened so fast I didn't have time to think I just powered my way on the boat and didn't lose anything. I hopped back off and finished the drag into the hole.
I hit the hole early but I didn't get a bite for a couple hours. The first fish I got was a fat 6 foot fish.
I hooked up with several more fish but didn't land them. I was bummed out big time for all the bad luck.
I took off Thursday due to wind, so I got ready for Friday.
Friday was the last day for the week of fishing. Sturgeon was again the fish of choice. On Wednesday I had a lot of hook ups but I broke line and they spit the hooks. About everything that could go wrong did. To top it off I fell in the river, so I wanted to end the week on a good note
When I got up the temp was 21 degrees at my house. So I took a couple of hours to let the day warm a bit. The last thing I needed was to have a bunch of ice again on the rocks and fall again. So I got there later and filmed the portage into the hole.
I got to the hole at 9 am and didn't get my first hook up until 10:00. I sure wished it would have jumped but I don't get jumps until the water warms up a bit. This fish pulled HARD. It took a while to whip a fish that big. After I got him to the boat I was wishing I had someone there to take a picture so I did the best I could.
This fish was the biggest of the day.
I got three more about the size of this little guy.
Over all I had a real good week. I got to catfish, sturgeon fish and visit family in the Nampa area. I had a great vacation. Ron
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