A Fishing Report From Navajo Lake

Tuesday was an iffy day weather-wise so I headed to town in the morning to do some laundry and pick up some supplies.  The afternoon turned out to be a beautiful sunny day for a boat ride and some serious fishing... unfortunately, the fish did not know we were there.  This is a sample of what we were catching - bass the same size as the lure.

 

Not being easily put off, we doubled our efforts today - I actually took a book AND a magazine.  We hit the water at the crack of noon or just before.  Mike decided to fish like he would in MN using huge muskie lures and "fishin' the flats".  Between 2 and 3:30, we boated 6 northern - 3 were 10 pounds each, one 7 pounds and 2 just under that.  This was the first one I caught.

We quickly released him - not big enough for a picture.

This one I caught just minutes after the first.  I'm a little timid around toothy fish so I kept him at a distance.

 

Mike weighed him and he was a solid 10 pounds - fun to catch, too!

 

Who knew that fishing with the "bumble bee lure" off the bright yellow pole would actually work...

Mike holds the fish the right way and they look much bigger...

but the scales don't lie, another 10 pounder.

After we caught and released 5 fish, I decided to photograph the landing process.  At first he was very cooperative...

almost docile...

It was like I was shooting an ad for a new kind of lure...

 

that he really did not like!

Unfortunately, after he was boated and weighed (7 pounds), he was not able to survive when released, so I netted him, we put him in the cooler, Mike cleaned him and this photographic fellow is now in the freezer.

Today was a great day of fishing!  Who knows what tomorrow will bring...

Just Us

Today, it was just us on the patio enjoying the view. The Lyons and Larry have headed home. 

Yesterday, we enjoyed an afternoon of country music at Wines of the San Juan Winery just down the road.  It is a quiet and quaint little family owned winery Mike and I discovered a couple of years ago when we were in the area.  There was a 2 person band playing music and even a couple of locals dancing. 

You never know what you will find around the corner at this place.

We had to pose for pictures where the wedding photos are taken.

It was a good place for a team of "old birds"  to land for the afternoon.

Till next time...

Still More

Have I told you that every night for the past week, Bonnie and I and Barry and Larry and Mike gather on the patio for cocktail hour.  And every night we look at the lake and marvel at the beauty and never really look at each other as we discuss the events of the day.  Well, finally, I documented that sociable time.

And I took one more picture of the beauty we see.

Oh yes, in the last blog I talked about Barry and I going fishing.  Well, when the alarm went off at 6 am, I decided I needed my sleep more than I needed to catch a fish so I caught 40 winks and Barry caught a nice northern.

Last night we entertained Karen and Mike from Farmington.  You know, Mike and I owe Dan and Sue a big THANK YOU - if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't know any of these people.  Good time - lots of laughs and a hint that we may golf next week.

Today, Larry recuperated and caught up on household chores while the four of us went for a cruise.  We enjoyed more unique shoreline.

It took two men and a bathing beauty to rescue a stranded lure  - it is now in Mike's tackle box.

 

We had to do an about face to take a look at this "cave" - I see three men with foreheads together in deep contemplation... one has a really big nose ... what do you see?

When we returned, we enjoyed our usual hour of contemplating the lake and then Mike prepared the fish,

the next day's events were discussed,

and we enjoyed a delightful old-fashioned Minnesota fish fry complete with dry white bread, coleslaw and tomatoes... oh, but we did add a bottle of Rex Goliath...

Tomorrow is the last day our friends will be here - Barry is making pancakes for breakfast and after the guys do some last minute fishing, we are going to the winery to listen to live music for a couple of hours.  I know we will miss the three of them when they are gone. 

Oh by the way, we have not forgotten our Cleveland Friends - they enjoyed the crisp Minnesota fall air by picking grapes - 9000 pounds is what I heard.  (Sorry I haven't figured out a way to make cell phone pictures any bigger.)

Till Later...

More From Navajo Lake

I've now been out on the lake a few times and the fellows have only missed one day - today when Larry finally had the hook in his thumb removed by a plastic surgeon in Farmington.  The surgery went fine and there was no nerve damage so all is well and he expects to have a rod in his hand by Saturday - long process!

When I have been out on the water, I am still amazed by the rocky tree-infested shoreline and my camera sees all kinds of things...

I am sure the 6-foot cracks and crevices hold all kinds of treasures.

The trees seem to be camoflaged - sometimes you only spot them by their shadow.

There are faces in many rocks...

and I must have been playing "Angry Birds" too much because this sure looks like a green pig laying on its side...

I wonder how many motors were dinged by this rock when it was just a few feet under the water...

 

With the water so low, it is not unusual to spot this kind of marker buoy.

I was called down to the Marina one day to take a picture of this 9 pounder Mike caught.

When you clean fish at the fish station on the water, these carp love to hang around.  You can judge the size by the full sized duck floating just above them. 

Bonnie and Barry and Mike and I spent a few hours on the water yesterday.

The boys were fishing back in this beautiful bay on La Jara Arm.

 

 

Bird Rock was keeping close tabs on our actions.

And Mike caught this beauty - if you can read the scale, it says 12 POUNDS.

 

Mike isn't smiling cuz it was just plain heavy - cool huh...

We tucked the fish in the cooler and eventually ended up on the Colorado end of the San Juan Arm at a small marina where we celebrated with ice cream. 

 

 I have to quit and go to bed.  Barry and Mike and I are going out at 7 am.  We are both "fishless" - I will let you know the results of our early morning adventure. 

A Bass, A Northern... and Urgent Care

The last two days have been hard core fishing days.  Larry and Mike have hit the water by 9 or 9:30 both days and each has caught a fish worthy of a picture.  This is Mike's 4+ pound smallmouth bass.

Larry's story will take a little longer to tell.  Here the boys are getting ready to master the big water and catch giant fish.

Aside:  Take a look at the depth of the water at the marina.

We were all confident that this side of this arm of Navajo Lake was going to net a northern.

Larry was posed and ready.

And before you know it, this 9 pounder is landed and on the floor of the boat...

and the hook is in Larry's thumb.  Mike tried to play surgeon but to no avail.  He ended up cutting off the hook and I took Larry to the Urgent Care in Aztec, about 25 miles away. 

The Doctor at the Urgent Care didn't remove the hook since it was really lodged in a bad spot - Larry will see a specialist next week in Farmington.  BUT, after a pill and a couple of scotches, he was ready to have his picture taken with the fish before Mike cleaned it.  It is on the menu for dinner!

Barry arrives today... I am not even going to guess what will happen next week!