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So the other day on Facebook, someone everyone knows (I won't name him though) said you and you effing late reports" Well, I haven't posted on here (or other fishing forums) because I didn't want to rant. However, I should get this outta the way, and get back to my normal posts..
If you read other forums, this lake was the flavor of the week for over a month. Reading the posts. anyone using anything, any time of day, could catch a limit. You could do great fishing it early, mid day, or even after dark. The Kokes were way bigger this year! There were 6lb Browns to be caught! There were Russian models wearing fur coats and bikinis passing out free hot chocolate!
You could also read a "blog" telling you everything you'd need to know on how to successfully limit out on delicious Kokanee Salmon. Now before I'm too hypocritical. Years ago, I woulda thought I hit the jackpot stumbling upon this blog. I should also add it was pretty good, and well written.
However, I discovered this spot years ago. Back when it was a tight kept secret. When I would see a post on it on here, the pictures would show nothing but ice.
Was it better back then? Without a doubt!!! I remember getting permission from the 5 other anglers to let my German Shepard run. Spent a great day on the ice with her. Couldn't let my puppy run this time. There were holes every 5 feet (not exaggerating), way too many people to ask, and really no room at all for her to run.
We tested out our Pac Shacks there. Only another group of 3 there that day. Good thing cause that 3 person shack blew all over the ice we were lucky to still have it at the end of the day. If we tried the same thing this trip, there woulda been casualties.
I fondly recalled days getting out with my family enjoying the scenery. Mountains, blue sky, birds, white snow... Stepping out onto the clean ice, and hearing the light crunch with each footstep, and the flapping of birds wings as they flew overhead. Picking out a spot, and drilling into the ice. sitting around with the family and enjoying a great day on the ice...
This trip was a little different... The scenery was replaced with about 80 other anglers. Instead of my kids noticing wildlife they pointed out some guy bent over showing butt crack (I did teach them the say no to crack line.)
Instead of clean ice, there were more holes than ice. The ice that had survived was littered with trash, bait bags and containers, eggs, and blood.
Picking out a spot turned into trying to find a place where four people would fit. I guess the no need for drilling could've been seen as a plus. However, I would have preferred to drill.
We still heard a lot. A lot of exaggerated fish stories, curse words, and people complaining about the fishing and crowd.
It cracked me up thinking about what the defenders of hot spotting would say.. It's a big lake. Well, it is, huge actually. However, if you wanted Kokes or ice, the spot was small. They'd also say this place was no secret. Funny, because one of the guys who started a post said it was his first time, and was asking for advice. I saw a lot of other posters saying it would be their first time, and others saying they'd like to try it..
Now 'm not saying no one should share. However, spots like this are special, and should be kept to family and friends. How many other spots can you drive right to, walk 5 feet, and catch spawning Kokanee Salmon through the ice? It's one of my favorite places to take the kids ice fishing, and I fish all over.
One last part of my rant...
Too many anglers can ruin this spot.
This is in a tourist town. If it becomes too much of an eye sore (90 rednecks on a small sheet of ice, or just the litter blowing around), the town could close it to ice fishing. It's been done in other towns.
It's also not the safest spot. I went on another trip before Thanksgiving, and the ice was sketch. One of my buddies went a little over a week before I went. After his trip, wind blew the ice away. All it would take is one guy pushing it. Maybe even to brag first ice on a forum.. Someone falls through, and they could close it to fishing..
Can you out fish it? Well, I'd make a guess that about 300 people were fishing it a week. Most people fish to eat kokanee. Remember, it's easy to catch your limit. If even only half of the people fishing keep their limit. That's 1,500 fish times 5 or 6 weeks. Just say 5, and that's 7,500 fish. I don't know how many fish there are, but that's a dent in any population!
In closing I'll say this.
You can call me selfish. However, imagine you're walking through a park along a chain link fence. You came across about 30 paper bills trapped in the breeze along the fence. Do you holler over to the dog walkers, the disk golfers, and the teenagers smoking in the trees. Hey, I found some money, lets all share it!
Well, a good day spent with my family on the ice is valuable to me. So call me selfish if you want...
Anyway, here are some pictures. I tried to take them not showing the crowd (some later after a lot had left, and some I walked out near the open water to get away..)
So we saw a Sasquatch on the way. Seriously, any doubters can zoom in and see
Also, we caught some Trout. Unfortunately no 6lb Browns this trip though..
I did catch my limit plus, but it wasn't easy.
I gave a couple to the two guys next us. They were pretty cool. They said, they had never seen it that crowded, that there were twice as many people there between 7 & 9 am. Also, that they had been fishing it for years, but this was the first year that they didn't catch from the first hole they drilled.
All in all I still had a good day fishing for Salmon under a Colorado bluebird sky..
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Thanks for putting up with my negativity. I have more and better posts coming. So after this, I'll get back to my normal "effing late" posts :biggrin1:
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If you read other forums, this lake was the flavor of the week for over a month. Reading the posts. anyone using anything, any time of day, could catch a limit. You could do great fishing it early, mid day, or even after dark. The Kokes were way bigger this year! There were 6lb Browns to be caught! There were Russian models wearing fur coats and bikinis passing out free hot chocolate!
You could also read a "blog" telling you everything you'd need to know on how to successfully limit out on delicious Kokanee Salmon. Now before I'm too hypocritical. Years ago, I woulda thought I hit the jackpot stumbling upon this blog. I should also add it was pretty good, and well written.
However, I discovered this spot years ago. Back when it was a tight kept secret. When I would see a post on it on here, the pictures would show nothing but ice.
Was it better back then? Without a doubt!!! I remember getting permission from the 5 other anglers to let my German Shepard run. Spent a great day on the ice with her. Couldn't let my puppy run this time. There were holes every 5 feet (not exaggerating), way too many people to ask, and really no room at all for her to run.
We tested out our Pac Shacks there. Only another group of 3 there that day. Good thing cause that 3 person shack blew all over the ice we were lucky to still have it at the end of the day. If we tried the same thing this trip, there woulda been casualties.
I fondly recalled days getting out with my family enjoying the scenery. Mountains, blue sky, birds, white snow... Stepping out onto the clean ice, and hearing the light crunch with each footstep, and the flapping of birds wings as they flew overhead. Picking out a spot, and drilling into the ice. sitting around with the family and enjoying a great day on the ice...
This trip was a little different... The scenery was replaced with about 80 other anglers. Instead of my kids noticing wildlife they pointed out some guy bent over showing butt crack (I did teach them the say no to crack line.)
Instead of clean ice, there were more holes than ice. The ice that had survived was littered with trash, bait bags and containers, eggs, and blood.
Picking out a spot turned into trying to find a place where four people would fit. I guess the no need for drilling could've been seen as a plus. However, I would have preferred to drill.
We still heard a lot. A lot of exaggerated fish stories, curse words, and people complaining about the fishing and crowd.
It cracked me up thinking about what the defenders of hot spotting would say.. It's a big lake. Well, it is, huge actually. However, if you wanted Kokes or ice, the spot was small. They'd also say this place was no secret. Funny, because one of the guys who started a post said it was his first time, and was asking for advice. I saw a lot of other posters saying it would be their first time, and others saying they'd like to try it..
Now 'm not saying no one should share. However, spots like this are special, and should be kept to family and friends. How many other spots can you drive right to, walk 5 feet, and catch spawning Kokanee Salmon through the ice? It's one of my favorite places to take the kids ice fishing, and I fish all over.
One last part of my rant...
Too many anglers can ruin this spot.
This is in a tourist town. If it becomes too much of an eye sore (90 rednecks on a small sheet of ice, or just the litter blowing around), the town could close it to ice fishing. It's been done in other towns.
It's also not the safest spot. I went on another trip before Thanksgiving, and the ice was sketch. One of my buddies went a little over a week before I went. After his trip, wind blew the ice away. All it would take is one guy pushing it. Maybe even to brag first ice on a forum.. Someone falls through, and they could close it to fishing..
Can you out fish it? Well, I'd make a guess that about 300 people were fishing it a week. Most people fish to eat kokanee. Remember, it's easy to catch your limit. If even only half of the people fishing keep their limit. That's 1,500 fish times 5 or 6 weeks. Just say 5, and that's 7,500 fish. I don't know how many fish there are, but that's a dent in any population!
In closing I'll say this.
You can call me selfish. However, imagine you're walking through a park along a chain link fence. You came across about 30 paper bills trapped in the breeze along the fence. Do you holler over to the dog walkers, the disk golfers, and the teenagers smoking in the trees. Hey, I found some money, lets all share it!
Well, a good day spent with my family on the ice is valuable to me. So call me selfish if you want...
Anyway, here are some pictures. I tried to take them not showing the crowd (some later after a lot had left, and some I walked out near the open water to get away..)
So we saw a Sasquatch on the way. Seriously, any doubters can zoom in and see
Also, we caught some Trout. Unfortunately no 6lb Browns this trip though..
I did catch my limit plus, but it wasn't easy.
I gave a couple to the two guys next us. They were pretty cool. They said, they had never seen it that crowded, that there were twice as many people there between 7 & 9 am. Also, that they had been fishing it for years, but this was the first year that they didn't catch from the first hole they drilled.
All in all I still had a good day fishing for Salmon under a Colorado bluebird sky..
Thanks for putting up with my negativity. I have more and better posts coming. So after this, I'll get back to my normal "effing late" posts :biggrin1:
