Well That's A First

I figured that if I was going to have a day of fishing at Upper Blue Lake I'd better get to it.

Three things will be happening up there very shortly.

1. They will close the road for the Winter. Makes it difficult to get to the lake.
2. They make it into a snow park on November 1st. and it requires a permit to play in the snow (that is if they get any up there).
3. It gets 10's of feet of snow lakeside. 8100 feet in elevation tends to do that.

So I headed out of the house early since it's about a 2 hour drive to get there. 

On the way I noticed Hope Valley Campground is already closed. The West Fork of the Carson River is, for the most part, dry. All the PG & E campsites are closed. There was practically no one up there.

When I got to the lake I found a fairly smooth path to the lake and set up 2 rods with Power Bait.

Did I mention I have a new rod. One of my rods accidentally got caught up in the garage door when it was closing the other day. Snapped that sucker right in half. I stopped by Big 5 where I got the kayaks and they had (right in front of the row) a Diawa Laguna 6'6" medium weight rod. Exactly what I was looking for. In and out in minutes. 

At precisely 9:43 I got the first bite of the day. Must be a little out of practice because I missed it even though it was a good bite. While I was waiting for the next bite (seemed like it was going to be a good day) I took a couple photo's around the lake.

Toward the dam

Across the lake

To the right

See how far down the lake is?

Upside down mountains

Natures rod holder

OK, I was getting a little bored. The last photo is actually because it has a bunch of Lady Bugs on it. Thought you might be interested.

From 9:43 until about Noon 30 I sat. Not so much as a nibble.

Like the title says, being skunked at Upper Blue Lake is a first. I've not been up there when I haven't caught at least 4.

The lake was glass calm. Would have been a blast in the new kayak, BUT not a good idea doing that when you're pretty much the only person up there AND you're a Geezer. When you're OLD, one must be careful. remember that youngsters. 

It was really quiet up there too.

I'm back.

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That's, That's, That's all folks.

A Lot Of Updates

Since I last update about the whole Genealogy thing, this photo showed up from a "new" cousin. The last update (August 16th) I showed you the picture of my Great Uncle Christoph and his family. 

Then this photo showed up. I believe this to be a "family" photo taken at the turn of the century (1900) and it was a "knock your socks off" photo. We know for sure that the man, center-rear is Christoph. Based on birth dates the one to his left would be my Grandfather Michael. To Christoph's right we believe is my Great-Aunt Louise. In the front on the right we believe is my Great-Uncle Georg. The young man we believe is my 1st cousin 1 x removed Herman (son of Christoph), AND the man that everyone is touching is my Great-Grandfather Gottlieb. 

With that part zeroed in, I've traced, via DNA matches on Ancestry.com to one Gottlieb Martin Kautz who I believe is the man in the picture.

Now a medical update. I saw the Orthopedic Surgeon on Tuesday. He looked at the X-Rays and the diagnosis from them. Here's what he had to say. Good news - I don't need a hip replacement. Bad news, there isn't anything that can be done (Steroid shots are not an option because of the blood thinner I take) until, and I quote "My hip tells me it needs replacing". Could be years, could be never. In the mean time mind where I walk, use the cane, take drugs if I'm in pain.
I've been to 4 doctors and the consensus of opinion is that I have Osteoarthritis in both my lower back and my left hip.

So I did the only thing one would do under those circumstances. I went fishing.

Yuki and I were supposed to go out to Lake Tabeaud this morning, do a little yakking, and see if we could catch anything. He sent a text last night cancelling because he's down with the creepy crud (for those not familiar with that phrase, a bad cold).

Not wanting to yak alone (not confident enough yet), I threw my gear in the truck and headed up the hill. Silver Lake was my destination. I thought that the place Yuki and I fished the last time would be a good place to start. It seems to be lacking in water. 

The cove

Last time all the land you see in the front of the picture was under water.

A little shallow

I did cast out both rods, but based on the amount of "sink" it couldn't have been more than 18" at best.

So I took a photo of the Fall foliage across the lake. There was a lot of yellow up the hill.

Across the lake

Packed up and drove back to the Day Use area, but the gate was locked and it was more of a walk than I felt like attempting. So I headed for Caples Lake.

I didn't think I could negotiate the "dead tree" area so I went to the dam. I was able to walk down and set up, maybe 50 feet in from the edge of the dam.

From set up

One rod out with PB and the other with a crawler and a couple white floaty things to get it off the bottom. Once I cast out, the water was a good 15 feet or more. Much better.
 

Straight out

In the picture below, I've fished from that area on several occasions and had fairly good luck.

The peninsula by the dam  

 Tried Kastmasters too.

Set up

I expected cold. It was (according to the weather guessers) 26 degrees in South Lake Tahoe (elevation 6237') this morning. Caples Lake being 8000 feet, I guessed would be as cold or colder.

Nope, I was in a tee-shirt at 9:45 and as an 8000' elevation would be, toasted by 11:00. Remember, I've not been out much this Summer and the UV rays are intense at 8000'. So to save myself from another bout with skin cancer (I've already had two), I wrapped it up about 11:30. 

In the photo below I wanted you to see the snow still on the mountain. Don't know if it's left over from last Winter or from recent rains. Elevation of that hill is about 9000'.

      
Oh yeh, want to know if I caught anything..........Nope. Not even a bite.

Stay tuned. I'm only getting started again.

Success On Many Fronts

Today we had the maiden voyages of the His & Hers kayaks.

Since we are running out of warm weather, we thought today being about 85 degrees would probably be our last chance to have my wife try hers out before it started getting chilly.

A couple things to note about our "sit-on" kayaks. One they are 10' long and 31" wide. I mention this because if you'll recall the "Yuki" incident so many years ago, the kayak he was in was only 28" wide. These are much more stable and my wife felt safer in a wider one. One would ask how a mere couple inches would make a difference, but it definitely makes a much more stable kayak.

Second and more of a problem is that "sit-on" kayaks have scupper holes. If you're not familiar, they are designed to let water drain while you're out paddling around. The ones we rented a while back had scupper holes and the water came in as fast as it drained. Your butt end gets exceedingly wet as the water sloshes in and out. Ergo (I love that word) I purchased, via Amazon Prime, scupper plugs. They work like a dream AND if you get a little water in the bottom, pull up a plug, let it drain, plug it back up. With the exception  of water shoes getting wet while getting in and out we were completely dry.

We launched at the Day Use Area of North Shore Camanche. There are about a dozen places with sandy beaches and we could just pull up to the side of the lake and slip the kayaks out of the truck. Plus if we weren't exactly full of finesse, no one would see us.

We paddled out as far as the island, and I'm guessing maybe somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 mile. From there my truck looked like a Hot Wheels truck. Paddled around a while, checked if a couple guys fishing caught anything (no) and paddled back, then around and back and forth just getting the feel of the kayaks.

After an hour and a half, with sore shoulders and a couple blisters on my hands we called it a day.

Note to self: get some paddling gloves. 

My wife is now a believer.

It is the perfect way to get out on the lake with my hip problem and didn't create any after effects.

Orthopedic Surgeon appointment Tuesday. Maybe he can find out what's wrong with my hip and leg.

I will be fishing again shortly.

Stay tuned. 

His & Her's

Need I say more?

Lifetime Tamarack Angler 10'

Weather Guessers Strike Again

Got up this morning, leg was not hurting, hip was not hurting, didn't need the cane. Next step was to check the weather since it rained most of yesterday.

Weather Guessers said intermittent showers and by definition: "Stopping for a time and then beginning again". OK, I can live with that. 

Check the DFW planting schedule. Last place planted was Upper and Lower Blue Lakes last week. Target >>>>> Upper Blue Lake. 

Loaded the truck and apparently it's been a while since I went because first I forgot the chair, then my warmer hoodie, then water and granola bars, but remembered all before I left. 

Wife left for work at 8:15 and I followed her out just as it started sprinkling. No problem, intermittent showers, remember.

The further up the hill I went, the harder it rained. By the time I got to Pine Grove (just 8 miles up the road) it was full on wiper blades. 

Between Pine Grove and the beginning of Pioneer (a scant 4 miles) it was raining so hard the gutters were full and water was running across the highway. Doesn't strike me as "intermittent showers". How about you?

Lastly let me explain a little about Highway 88 between Jackson and Carson Pass. A VERY dangerous road. We have at least one accident each week. The last one was a cattle truck last week that took a turn too fast and the highway was closed for the entire day so they could remove all the dead cows. Sad for the cows, scary for driving. 

That said, I wanted nothing to do with driving up there with the conditions as they were, so I turned around at Pioneer and came home. 

Maybe another day.   .