04-04-2003, 11:22 AM
[cool]Got in one last trip on Saguaro Lake Wednesday with Mike Barker from Utah. Forecast was for "breezy" conditions, but I had a couple of backup launch sites in mind if the wind got too bad. I went to work early and bugged out about 9 to get my rig loaded up before collecting Mike and heading for the lake. Fishing has been best later in the day recently, so we had planned for an afternooner, rather than a dawn launch.
As we drove past the protected marina area, it appeared that there was just a light "fishing riffle" on the lake, so we elected to proceed to the Butcher Jones cove area...usually a good spot for multispecies. As we were finishing the setup on our gear, a blast of onshore wind almost lifted our craft off the parking lot, where they had been aired up for the launch. It subsided in a few minutes, but was a warning of things to come.
Just as we were kicking away from the sandy beach area we had chosen to launch from, another sudden gust of wind slammed into us and almost beached us before we got started. It was even tougher fighting the wind in shallow water, because we couldn't take long kicking strokes with the fins. But, again, after a few minutes, the wind died down and we headed for our most productive areas, watching the sonar screen for concentrations of fish.
All afternoon the wind would come up for a few minutes and then die down again. It not only made it impossible to fish effectively while it was blowing, but it had an adverse affect on the fish too. They would just start settling down and tentatively biting our jigs, when the wind would howl again and they would shut down or move out of the area.
We did bring in a few nice yellow bass and a couple of largemouth and channel cats, but it really took the right presentations and "touch"...to get the fish to hit and to be able to feel them in time for a hookset. Even in the constant light breeze, maintaining control of our craft was essential in casting and catching.
This was the final test for my Outcast Super Fat Cat. I had maneuvered it through some moderate breezes since getting it a month or so back, but this was the first major workout in a heavy wind. It performed far better than any pontoon or other kickboat I have used. While it rides much higher than conventional tubes and most Uboats, the pointed bow (stern) allowed me to keep my back to the wind more easily and took the wind-blown waves like a champ.
Mike, in the Kennebec (mini-pontoon) did not fare as well. He had to fight to stay on the water when those periodic semi-hurricanes blew up. The Kennebec has two large air chambers and they are high profile wind catchers. Even my Cat almost felt like it was going to lift off into the air a couple of times when a super gust hit me.
The wind finally died down for the last half hour or so before we got out. It made for a brief period of activity that allowed us to catch several more nice yellow bass for dinner. The lake was almost glass as we hit the beach, for the end of Mike's visit to Arizona.
Here' a pic of a chubby 4# channel cat and a largemouth he kept to show his fiancee...along with a few yellows. Although he has caught plenty of cats in his angling career, he professes a new respect for their fighting qualities, when hooked from a tube, with light tackle.
![[Image: SCOU1712CustomImage1353498.jpg]](http://web.ecomplanet.com/SCOU1712/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/SCOU1712CustomImage1353498.jpg)
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As we drove past the protected marina area, it appeared that there was just a light "fishing riffle" on the lake, so we elected to proceed to the Butcher Jones cove area...usually a good spot for multispecies. As we were finishing the setup on our gear, a blast of onshore wind almost lifted our craft off the parking lot, where they had been aired up for the launch. It subsided in a few minutes, but was a warning of things to come.
Just as we were kicking away from the sandy beach area we had chosen to launch from, another sudden gust of wind slammed into us and almost beached us before we got started. It was even tougher fighting the wind in shallow water, because we couldn't take long kicking strokes with the fins. But, again, after a few minutes, the wind died down and we headed for our most productive areas, watching the sonar screen for concentrations of fish.
All afternoon the wind would come up for a few minutes and then die down again. It not only made it impossible to fish effectively while it was blowing, but it had an adverse affect on the fish too. They would just start settling down and tentatively biting our jigs, when the wind would howl again and they would shut down or move out of the area.
We did bring in a few nice yellow bass and a couple of largemouth and channel cats, but it really took the right presentations and "touch"...to get the fish to hit and to be able to feel them in time for a hookset. Even in the constant light breeze, maintaining control of our craft was essential in casting and catching.
This was the final test for my Outcast Super Fat Cat. I had maneuvered it through some moderate breezes since getting it a month or so back, but this was the first major workout in a heavy wind. It performed far better than any pontoon or other kickboat I have used. While it rides much higher than conventional tubes and most Uboats, the pointed bow (stern) allowed me to keep my back to the wind more easily and took the wind-blown waves like a champ.
Mike, in the Kennebec (mini-pontoon) did not fare as well. He had to fight to stay on the water when those periodic semi-hurricanes blew up. The Kennebec has two large air chambers and they are high profile wind catchers. Even my Cat almost felt like it was going to lift off into the air a couple of times when a super gust hit me.
The wind finally died down for the last half hour or so before we got out. It made for a brief period of activity that allowed us to catch several more nice yellow bass for dinner. The lake was almost glass as we hit the beach, for the end of Mike's visit to Arizona.
Here' a pic of a chubby 4# channel cat and a largemouth he kept to show his fiancee...along with a few yellows. Although he has caught plenty of cats in his angling career, he professes a new respect for their fighting qualities, when hooked from a tube, with light tackle.
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