lake powell

Wind Sick

mikemjensen Gratitude, kayaks, lake powell, Road Trip Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

The week drew to a close. The boat was cleaned, the appliances switched off, and the doors locked. It was sad to say good bye to our home and friend born of our adventures. It had served us well, ran beautifully, and had kept us safe.

The bow bobbing in the slip seemed to wave to us good bye.

And then the next adventure began.

High winds accompanied an incoming storm. One that nearly tore the kayaks from our rooftop and tilted the car so far off of its suspension with its gusts, our loss of traction alarm sounded. We had to turn the truck into the wind and wait out the high winds until the front passed.

I have never been so sick of wind as I am right now.

 

Post 3-141

To Dock or Not to Dock

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Hey Kids,

The day of fire arrived.

The skies were blue, the air warm, and the winds calm. It would be smooth boating from our beautiful spot at the Rincon, back up the channel, and near our return to Bullfrog Marina. This would be the easy part.

The first three hours of traveling passed without incident, as expected, with nearly no traffic until we got within an hour of Bullfrog. Slowly more crafts began to share the channel. I had no worries. I kept the boat traveling from buoy to buoy and changed course only to give way to a few faster houseboats.CleatRope

As turned off of the main channel and steered into Bullfrog Bay, we spied our target: the waste pump docks. It was now time for me to pilot this boat into a bust marina and onto a public dock. Fortunately, the outer dock was open but that would not matter if I could not dock, or worse smash the hull into the crapper. As luck and maybe some acquired skill would have it I was able to guide the boat to a gentle kiss. And after our procedure, it was time to park the boat into the slip.

Our neighboring slip not only help its boat, but one of its owner sat on the back deck, with her yappy dog, and reading a book. Under her eye, I was able to pivot the boat and drive the boat into its slip without a touch to the dock on either side (with Annette guarding with dock poles of course) (in other words, I would’ve touched without her guidance).

Once the dock lines were secured and the motors placed at rest. The baptism by fire had ended.

And I confirmed a competent captain.

Potty dock confirmed.

 

Post 3-140

This Was The Day

mikemjensen Fishing, kayaks, lake powell, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

Another beautiful day.

We took the kayaks a mile upriver and checked out Iceberg Canyon. The girls traveled much faster than I did, so I fish and picked up some smallmouth bass in and around the rocks in the mouth of the canyon while they continued up further.

We returned, ate some lunch and as the day began to stretch towards it conclusion, I paddled back out into the bay on water so calm it seemed like looking into a mirror. I found the school once again and caught stripers until it got so dark I couldn’t see anymore.

This was the day at Powell for which I had been waiting.

 

Post 3-139

Posted Retroactively

They Were Lost But Now They’re Found

mikemjensen Fishing, lake powell Tags: , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

Found at last!

After searching for a little while, and several times elsewhere, I found the school of stripers. The fishing map I have gave the clues and once we had calm winds and sunshine, I got out to the spot and spent a few hours searching.

The kayak has its advantages, but not on the list is searching open water and the general lack of electronics. But I’m a little seasoned now in the handling of the boat and my hand held can give me depths and sometimes even tells me of the presence of fish (although it does have a tendency to lie from time to time).

I also had to contend with a boat that want to troll through where I was trying to scout. Out of curtesy I would alter my course to allow them to troll though. The same gesture was not offered to me. It was a little pain in the butt but I held my ground (water, even that sounds wrong), and they eventually left.

Off the point of the little island, the depths drop off to about 30-50 feet of water. From there I would paddle straight out from its point until the water dropped off quickly to about 100 feet. I had brought two rods. A lighter spinning outfit that I thought would be good for the rocky points in shallow water for Smallmouth, and a heavier baitcasting outfit for the deeper water and stripers. However, I am also of the mindset that one should always use as many rods as one has. I tipped both outfits with anchovies and casted them out from the kayak and allowed them to drift and swing back to me.

The slight breeze and waves would then slowly push me back towards the island. The school, I found, were handing out along that sharp drop off in about 80-50 feet of water. When my baits hit that spot, it was time to hang on. Having fish on both rods was not uncommon. The smaller rod, that I’ve had with me for as long as I can remember, did just fine. It can now add stripers to its long list of fish caught on it.

As I may’ve mentioned in previous blogs, the striped bass is not a timid fish. They take the bait with a vengeance and pull like a Mack truck. By the time I would land one or both fish, the kayak would be pulled out of position and I would have to find the spot again, rig up and begin my drift. Of course, learning where that drop off was, and matching the depths to the bite took a number of experiences to dial it in. And then the afternoon winds came.may18

During the wind break, I filleted several of the fish and fried them in a pan of oil and seasoned with Old Bay. I sat and munched on crispy fish bits and tartar sauce while reading for a few hours.

The wind died down early in the evening and I set back out on calm waters and found my spot. I fish until near dark, catching my last striper of the day against the orange glow of the last bit of sunlight reflected off the few remaining clouds and the redrock cliffs of the lake. It was a picture worth a thousand memories and one that I will forever have in my head.

It was one of the best days I have spent on this lake.

 

Post 3-138

So Far, So Fast

mikemjensen lake powell, Road Trip, Useless Observations, Utah Tags: , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

The lake calleth anew.

The weekend has come that we are about to head down to Lake Powell and get our boat training. At one point, this day seemed so far away and despite our numerous trips, I thought it would never come.

And now, the night before we leave, what have I packed? Nearly nothing.

By tomorrow morning, I’ll be rushing around trying to get ready, pushing the clock, and panicking that I’ll forget something.

But I’ll never wish I had more time to get ready.

 

Post 3-124

“What’s on Your Mind?”

mikemjensen lake powell, Road Trip, Utah, Vanity Tags: , , , Leave a comment

OK, this might seem more like a Facebook update than a blog post but here’s the story.

The day started out early, around 4:30. I got up did the morning routine, got me and my bike to the day job, did my full day there, got back home, packed the 4Runner, and got out of Dodge, er, Salt Lake.

Most of my pontificating will be done within the echos and cobwebs of mind as I watch the little dotted lines of the 300 miles of roadway fly past us. I’ll sing a little, cuss at other drivers a little more, and count down the miles as we roll through each town on the way.

In the morning, I’ll wake up floating atop 100′ of liquid happiness, other wise know as Lake Powell.

I love being where I belong.

Post 3-104

Wet and Dry in the West

mikemjensen lake powell, Useless Observations, Utah Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

For as long as recent memory serves, the warning sirens have been sounding. It’s a shortage here, water restrictions there, and “one good year does not a drought end” everywhere.

In the western US, water is always a concern; there’s more of us than there is of it. For most of my life, the threat of sudden death (exaggeration) has always been the water forecast it seems. The number of good years are few and far between and the memories faded by endless reports of dead fish, dry swimming pools, and brown lawns.

powell

Stolen from: Friends of Lake Powell

This year is a good year. The reservoirs are full or filling- big Lake Powell has added four feet already; the rivers are flowing to excess, and the snow is still falling in the mountains- nearly two feet of new snow this weekend alone.

There are no reporters talking about new city restrictions, low snow packs, or crops drying in the sun-dried and cracked fields. In fact it seems this year may be one of those years that not only erases a multiple year drought, but postpones the begining of another for a few seasons. My hope is that everyone remains in conservation mode, that we all learned how valuable water is and not to waste it anymore in a year of plenty than in a year of little.

It’s truly a year to savor, void of the water doom and gloom warnings and alarms.

Flooding excluded.

 

Post 3-099

First Firsts

mikemjensen Fishing, lake powell, Road Trip, Vanity Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,bliss

During the next two months a few “firsts” will be accomplished. Tonight will be the first of the firsts.

Last October, I spent a couple days on Lake Powell and it was love at first sight/boat/fish. If you’ve never seen Lake Powell, look it up.

Following our trip, it became my mission to return, and to make it so we would return more than once. We investigated and invested into a houseboat. This weekend will be our first overnight visit. Although we won’t be able to take the boat out of the slip, we will be hanging out for a couple of nights. We do have the task to commission a new kayak and I have a few new rod and reels to baptize.

I hope to have enough Wi-Fi from the docks to post new updates. If I disappear for a few days, which wouldn’t be a first, I’ll catch you up on our return.

Wish us sunny skies and calm waters.

 

Post 3-090

Common Interest

mikemjensen Useless Observations, Utah, Vanity Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

I checked snow levels at the local ski resorts today. 140 some-odd inches of snow, roughly 12 feet.

It’s as deep now as it’s been all winter and March is still a snow month, especially for the major resorts whose starting elevation is at least 8-9000’.

Ironically, many of these resorts will start closing this month. Not because of the snow, but because of lack of interest. People have been skiing since Thanksgiving in November and the days down here in the lower elevations are getting longer and warmer. Which brings me to my interest.

I don’t ski. My interest in the snow levels is purely based on the water content, and more importantly in the water content that will flow down and into Lake Powell. The fact that none of the snow at the local results will actually flow into Lake Powell is not lost on me. Our snow, nonetheless, is indicative of the snow in the Rockies that does. The more snow we have, the more snow they have. In general.

You see, I also notice the warmer and longer days. I know that winter still has some blustering to do, but I’m ready to hit the lake and I want it as full as it can be for this season and again for years to come.

lakepowell

My interest in Lake Powell, however, will last longer than 3-4 months.

 

Post 3-061