Sunday in DaHo...

Last night was much better. Pam slept pretty well and so did I, compared to the last few nights. I got up about 6 and couldn't sleep, so I got up, but couldn't stay awake, so I went back to bed and ended up sleeping until almost noon. The sleep was good for us both...

Pam's mother was coming over for the afternoon and they were going to take a shopping trip out for a big sale at JC Penny and to see how Pam would do being out for the first time since her operation. They found all sorts of good stuff and things went well. Pam is planning on going to work tomorrow, which I still have doubts about, but she is definitely doing much better today than yesterday. So, we shall see...

The weather was nice, so I ended up going out searching for the Sturgeon again. I ended up going to King Hill, a very little community past Bliss on the old road, before the freeway was built. I had hear about good fishing around there and though I would check it out since the fish had left where I usually go when it got cold. I couldn't find anything good, and thought I would just drive through the little community and see if there was a tackle store or something that I might ask about fishing in the area. I didn't see any businesses at all, but happened to drive by a house that had a boat and van in front with someone working in it. So, I stopped in the middle of the road and talked to the couple that were there. It turns out that he is a Sturgeon fishing addict and she was a marine biologist that actually helped 'stock' and track the Sturgeon population in the area. I think I sorta weirded them out at first, but as we got to talking and I brought out my Google Earth maps, they got the idea that I was for real and we had a great talk about Sturgeon. As I was told before, when it gets cold, they head for deeper water where it is warmer. I had assumed that the fish had gone down stream, but actually, they go up stream in the cold. I now understand that its not really deeper, just warmer water they seek, and the warmer water comes from the output from the dams, since their water output, used to produce their power, is the bottom of the lakes they create - which happens to be the warmest water around since it is deep and still. Also, I guess the turbines chew up lots of lake fish while producing all that electricity, that the Sturgeon like to feast on.

My next stop was going to have been the Bliss Dam anyway, but after talking to them, I had a much better understanding of what was going on and how to deal with it. So, I went down to the Bliss Dam for the first time. I had driven past the dam many times on the other side of the river, going to the place I have been catching all the large fish at in weeks past. Its about 5 miles, or so, downstream from the dam toward Kill Hill, but there is no access from that side of the river. I don't even have to go over any really nasty roads to get there. A very nice feature as the weather gets nastier.

I was able to drive right down almost to the water about 150 yards from the dam turbine output. I am not sure that is where to go, after today, but it was very easy to get to and I didn't have much time to check it out. The river is about 50 yards across there, and the first 30 yards or so, closest to me was very shallow water with a visible, mostly flat rock/concrete bottom. But, the farthest side, was very deep and where the fish were. I hooked up with a large one almost immediately after getting there. It was a big one by the way it was running out line. I started to put some pressure on it and after only a few minutes, it ended up breaking my line on the rock ledges. I was only there for about an hour or so, and got lots of good Sturgeon bites and a couple more hookups with the same results. Its in a pretty narrow and deep canyon and the sun goes down there very early. So, what I learned at this point is that I have found the fish, but not the exact right place yet, or am going to need some wire line or something, to deal with the rock ledges there...

Then, I started remembering what those folks were saying and realized that the place where I was at, was where they said they went to land the fish after it got tired - in the shallow water. And, where they caught and fought the fish at was in the deep hole just under the dam, about 150 yards up stream. I didn't go there because it is about 40 feet down very large rocks that were placed there as part of the dam project. I guess you could actually cast from the road above, into that hole at the base of the dam and not have to go down the rocks, but that would really be pretty amazing to conceptualize working without 'issues' at this point. I would love to go back to talk to those folks again after being there and seeing it all, and maybe I will one of these days.

Anyway, I think I have found the BIG fish again, an probably even larger ones than before, which should provide great fun and enjoyment for the fall and early winter. And, I learned a lot of very valuable information that I could have spent years trying to figure out...