09-19-2007, 08:16 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Okay you impatient guys. Here's the first of three reports.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]MACKAY RESERVOIR...First Stop[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Friday 9/14 was a non-fishing day. Drove from Salt Lake to Moore, ID. Stopped in Blackfoot and Idaho Falls to buy 4 day out of state licenses for TubeBabe and myself…and to wander around through old neighborhoods of my Idaho childhood. It’s true. You can never go back…without getting lost.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]TubeBabe and I put on a fish dinner Friday night in Moore, for about a dozen relatives and family friends. We did my fried “Kitty Krispies” and some “Shrimperch”…shrimp flavored oven baked perch fillets. At least half of those present had never eaten either catfish or perch before. All had at least two helpings of each. Several made the comment “Why would anybody ever want to eat trout when they can have this stuff?” [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]After spending an appropriate amount of quality time with the aunt and uncle in Moore Saturday morning, TubeBabe and I headed north for Mackay Reservoir. We had been warned that it was LOW. That was an understatement. It was only 3% of capacity. The end of the lake was clear down past the campground toward the dam. But, there was water in it, so we drove down to the gravel beach near the dam and set up the tubes.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]We saw trout jumping in the choppy water of the morning onshore breeze, so we were encouraged. There was at least something living in the water, even though it was somewhat stained. While we were getting set up, a bank tangler began fishing to the north of us and two more walked out on the face of the greatly exposed dam. Both began catching trout on bait right away. Looking good.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]We launched about 9 AM…late for us. The air temp was a balmy 45…warming to 70 by the time we left after 2 PM. Water temp was 51 at launch, and rose to 55 by early afternoon. There were light NW breezes early, but they calmed to glass in about an hour. Most of our fishing was very relaxed in beautiful Idaho fall weather. The few big white clouds that started to build in the afternoon only added to the purty pictures…and not to the weather.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]My “fishing database” (mental) told me that if I did not want to use bait, I would probably do best with sunken flies or with spinners. Left the flies home so tied on spinners for TubeBabe and myself and started casting. I had several hits, but TubeBabe scored the first trout. I got in the game soon and started hooking nice trout in the 13” – 16” range too. We each found that gold spinners with orange spots seemed to be better than any spinner in silver. That seems to be the case in most situations where there is some color in the water. Later in the day the fish moved closer to shore and we did well throwing small light roadrunners in the gold and orange combo.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]We had some entertainment to go along with our fishing. A couple of parasailers were doing takeoffs and landings off the dam, using the updraft from the morning breeze against the dam face. Later, a motorized paraplane (?) did some aerial maneuvers out over the lake. Sounded like a big mosquito. The final show was some Idaho geniuses playing in the mud with their trucks. First one guy tried to drive through the greaselike mud with his truck…and got stuck. Then, the nice guy who tried to help him out got stuck too. Both had big aggressive-tread tires and 4X4, but that ain’t good enough in the goo.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]By late morning there were a few other tubers and a couple of tooners out on the reduced lake with us. Most of them were using the “float tubers’ distance cast” with fly rods. That is making a short sloppy cast and then stripping out line as you kick backwards…trolling the flies. Only saw a couple hook up and the jumping fish looked like the small ones we also caught and shook off with regularity. [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The deepest spot we found on sonar was a very small channel just before the outlet. It read out at 15 feet but jumped quickly back up to the 12’ maximum we could find anywhere else. The average depth except for right in front of the dam was about 8’. [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]There were quite a few bank tanglers by the time we left…both off the gravel beach where we launched and off the face of the dam. Many of them were catching trout on worms, salmon eggs and “bottle baits”. I knew I was back in Idaho as I observed the heavy red fiberglass rods with big reels and heavy line…and the guys reeling backwards with the spinning reel on top of the rod. Oh yeah, we got to enjoy watching the bank tanglers make that great looking two handed distance cast…finished up with the left arm fully extended, holding the rod butt. The empty corn cans (Idaho dry flies) also reminded me that I was not fishing in Utah…where corn is illegal.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]TubeBabe took big fish honors for the day with a pretty colored 17 incher. We both caught several in the 15” range and quite a few smaller ones. I also caught an ugly spawned out kokanee. Really a small kokanee compared to some of the kokes we catch in Utah. Not a bad day on the water, especially for fishing it the first time ever…and when everybody tried to discourage us from wasting our time on a “dry lake”.[/font][/size]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]MACKAY RESERVOIR...First Stop[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Friday 9/14 was a non-fishing day. Drove from Salt Lake to Moore, ID. Stopped in Blackfoot and Idaho Falls to buy 4 day out of state licenses for TubeBabe and myself…and to wander around through old neighborhoods of my Idaho childhood. It’s true. You can never go back…without getting lost.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]TubeBabe and I put on a fish dinner Friday night in Moore, for about a dozen relatives and family friends. We did my fried “Kitty Krispies” and some “Shrimperch”…shrimp flavored oven baked perch fillets. At least half of those present had never eaten either catfish or perch before. All had at least two helpings of each. Several made the comment “Why would anybody ever want to eat trout when they can have this stuff?” [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]After spending an appropriate amount of quality time with the aunt and uncle in Moore Saturday morning, TubeBabe and I headed north for Mackay Reservoir. We had been warned that it was LOW. That was an understatement. It was only 3% of capacity. The end of the lake was clear down past the campground toward the dam. But, there was water in it, so we drove down to the gravel beach near the dam and set up the tubes.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]We saw trout jumping in the choppy water of the morning onshore breeze, so we were encouraged. There was at least something living in the water, even though it was somewhat stained. While we were getting set up, a bank tangler began fishing to the north of us and two more walked out on the face of the greatly exposed dam. Both began catching trout on bait right away. Looking good.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]We launched about 9 AM…late for us. The air temp was a balmy 45…warming to 70 by the time we left after 2 PM. Water temp was 51 at launch, and rose to 55 by early afternoon. There were light NW breezes early, but they calmed to glass in about an hour. Most of our fishing was very relaxed in beautiful Idaho fall weather. The few big white clouds that started to build in the afternoon only added to the purty pictures…and not to the weather.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]My “fishing database” (mental) told me that if I did not want to use bait, I would probably do best with sunken flies or with spinners. Left the flies home so tied on spinners for TubeBabe and myself and started casting. I had several hits, but TubeBabe scored the first trout. I got in the game soon and started hooking nice trout in the 13” – 16” range too. We each found that gold spinners with orange spots seemed to be better than any spinner in silver. That seems to be the case in most situations where there is some color in the water. Later in the day the fish moved closer to shore and we did well throwing small light roadrunners in the gold and orange combo.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]We had some entertainment to go along with our fishing. A couple of parasailers were doing takeoffs and landings off the dam, using the updraft from the morning breeze against the dam face. Later, a motorized paraplane (?) did some aerial maneuvers out over the lake. Sounded like a big mosquito. The final show was some Idaho geniuses playing in the mud with their trucks. First one guy tried to drive through the greaselike mud with his truck…and got stuck. Then, the nice guy who tried to help him out got stuck too. Both had big aggressive-tread tires and 4X4, but that ain’t good enough in the goo.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]By late morning there were a few other tubers and a couple of tooners out on the reduced lake with us. Most of them were using the “float tubers’ distance cast” with fly rods. That is making a short sloppy cast and then stripping out line as you kick backwards…trolling the flies. Only saw a couple hook up and the jumping fish looked like the small ones we also caught and shook off with regularity. [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The deepest spot we found on sonar was a very small channel just before the outlet. It read out at 15 feet but jumped quickly back up to the 12’ maximum we could find anywhere else. The average depth except for right in front of the dam was about 8’. [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]There were quite a few bank tanglers by the time we left…both off the gravel beach where we launched and off the face of the dam. Many of them were catching trout on worms, salmon eggs and “bottle baits”. I knew I was back in Idaho as I observed the heavy red fiberglass rods with big reels and heavy line…and the guys reeling backwards with the spinning reel on top of the rod. Oh yeah, we got to enjoy watching the bank tanglers make that great looking two handed distance cast…finished up with the left arm fully extended, holding the rod butt. The empty corn cans (Idaho dry flies) also reminded me that I was not fishing in Utah…where corn is illegal.[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]TubeBabe took big fish honors for the day with a pretty colored 17 incher. We both caught several in the 15” range and quite a few smaller ones. I also caught an ugly spawned out kokanee. Really a small kokanee compared to some of the kokes we catch in Utah. Not a bad day on the water, especially for fishing it the first time ever…and when everybody tried to discourage us from wasting our time on a “dry lake”.[/font][/size]
[signature]
