Posted: Oct 31, 2004  12:52

Vol. 3-10-04

“The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent fishing.”
-Babylonian Proverb-

“Nor the time spent thinking or reading about it either”
-Uncle Bud-

By Uncle Bud,

While you’re resting up for the fall derby and dreaming of hard water fishing coming our way soon, do some “scout in” … yes, before the powers to be (Corps of Engineers/Avista/BPA) raise Lake Pend Oreille up to its winter pool level, you bass folks should cruise along the NE end of the Long Bridge.

I’m willing to bet that once you “scout” this breakwater/check dam/rock wall (choose the one you like) you’ll bookmark it for some serious small mouth fishing. Here is your chance to see this man made habitat for serious bass fishing before it is covered with about 20-24 inches of water again.

If you are new to North Idaho’s infamous Lake Pend Oreille or you’ve ignored the warning signs and shaved two inches off a perfectly good propeller, you probably were not aware of this bass hot spot. In fact, you can park near the Power House and take a healthy walk down the east side of the bridge where you’ll have a good vantage point to check out the breakwater.

Coming up … Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club Fall Derby Nov. 20 – Nov. 28. so don’t put that boat away just yet. This year’s fall derby is patterned and ruled just like this great clubs’ previous derby(s) because, if it is not broken … don’t try to fix it.

For detailed information on this year’s fall derby and breakdown of the $6,000 prize money go to the: Lake Pend Oreille website.

Effectively fitting a lot of lures in one pocket.

Back in August we talked about traveling lite as the majority of North Idaho topography does not lend itself to dragging a lot of gear when seeking out those mountain lakes and streams. My wise (but nonetheless ugly) Bro back in South Carolina bugged me about saving prescription containers as they made for great mini tackle boxes.

Now I’m convinced he read about this idea of using translucent prescription containers somewhere else and is just trying to dazzle me with a new idea. However, I put on my hard water ears and put together my ice fishing lures … two capsule containers and a daily pill organizer. That is it! Everything in three small containers for one pocket leaving three more pockets for that secret depth finder, two hand warmers, and my red and white snuff cans of maggots.

I thank my Bro for this space saving organizer tip of using prescription containers. Actually his tip came as a total surprise because he’s usually so far behind, that he thinks he’s first. Well, not to be outdone, I’ve thrown in the word “translucent” just to confuse him. (It will send him to Webster for awhile and get him off my back.)

Hatchery news … Bruce Thompson reports that Kokanee numbers are shaping up and getting close to mirror 1999 numbers. This is good news for all concerned.

Early spawners are already showing up, and with the exception of Twin Creek effort, they are arriving in strong numbers. In fact, Bruce tells me there were over 2,000 early spawners in the Sullivan Springs area and … they have never seen this many, so early.

Trap tenders(s) Steve Lowe and Zach Olson reported an estimated 5,000 spawning sized Kokanee in the Sullivan Springs trap complex at mid-week. The entire gang at the hatchery will be heading to the trap on Monday to take the first eggs of this spawning season. I’ll bet those guys fill every remaining run at the hatchery with Kokanee this year.

I wait anxiously for our Slim Pickens ”On The Fly” mid-month report to all of us. Slim tells me he is going to step up to the plate and talk barbed vs. barbless hooks … I’m going to jump on his band wagon right now and give you my opinion of this argument … it does not make any difference (that is, tangible) in mortality rate between a fish caught with a barbed hook as opposed to a barbless hook. What does impact the mortality rate is the manner that the fish is played and handled during the entire catch and release cycle.

Now, I personally crimp the majority of my hooks, especially my bass plugs … makes it easier to retrieve them out of trees.

O.K. Slim, come and get us with your opinion on this issue.