Friday, July 27, 2012

Keeping Cool

August 4, 2011…a day that will live in infamy!  Okay, it may not be that big of a deal but I can tell you it was an interesting day for me.

My plan was to drop my small 2-man Basshunter boat into the river area of El Dorado Lake. Problem was the weatherman called for 40% chance of severe thunderstorms.   Now, call me crazy (all my friends do) but being on a very large and dangerous reservoir in a small 9.5ft. boat with a 4-horsepower motor in a severe thunderstorm seemed a bit nuts…even for me. 

What to do…what to do?

I know, I will go fish McPherson State Fishing Lake.  Sounds good except I didn’t make that decision until almost noon and just as I arrived all the cloud cover “mysteriously” disappeared and I was left with clear blue skies, very bright sun, temperatures exceeding 100*…and did I mention it was HOT…!  Yes, I guess I did…just wanted to be sure you were paying attention to this riveting story.

So here I am at a lake I’ve never fished before (and had some difficulty locating!)…with the worse possible fishing conditions possible…a bright sunny and hot day following a frontal system (it rained the night before)…and me trying to keep my “streak” alive! Welcome to my world.

NOTE: For those who haven’t been following my blog (shame on you.) the “streak” is that by utilizing great skill, masterful technique and incredible natural instincts I have managed to catch multiple fish on every lake I have fished during this project in spite of some major (and I mean MAJOR!) weather conditions.  That’s 8-different lakes!  WOW…!  Did I mention great skill?

Special note for my regular “followers”…Please keep your opinions to yourself…thanks! 

I am excited to fish today except I have a new “belly boat” that has never been put together much less actually used in the water.  “Clay why would anyone drive 76-miles (one way) to test a new belly boat when you could do that in your own backyard since you live on a lake…DUH”!  

Okay, did you actually think of that all by yourself or have you been talking to my wife?  Listen, if you are a guy reading this…and you thought of it yourself…okay, never mind! 

An hour and half later (No...I'm not kidding...it really was an hour and half later...!) the boat is finally put together and I’m ready to fish.  The fact that it’s now 2:00pm and the hottest part of the day is a minor point.  I’m going fishing and since I will actually be “in the water” and not “on the water” I will stay cool no matter how hot it is.  Thus the name of this blog…“Staying Cool”.  Pretty clever huh!  Sometimes I even amaze myself…not often…but sometimes.

Join me as I attempt to keep the “streak” alive and try to stay cool doing it.  There are some great lessons on these videos about fishing in hot summer conditions.  Hope they help you catch more fish on your favorite body of water…I hope you enjoy it. 

If so…please let me know! If not, (okay that’s not really possible is it.)…but just in case…don’t tell anyone…not even me.

Until next time…go fishing…keep some to eat…turn back the rest…check back in soon.

Clay