North Platte WU
Newsletter Editors
7 p.m. Aug. 3
at Game and Fish Building
July 30 is our second family outing, this time at Pathfinder Reservoir. We have reserved the shelter next to the Marina store. Would like to see you all out there if you can fit it in. The club will provide the cooking oil, condiments, pop, and onion rings. We would like members to bring a covered dish, and cutlery, plates and glasses. Cooking will begin at 2:30 PM
There will be a plaque given out for longest fish and all fish must be in to be measured at the shelter by 3:00PM to qualify. Door prizes for the kids will be given away and guests are most welcome.
We have three more new fish biologists working out of the Casper office. Paul Gerrity will be working the Casper District, with Andy Dux and Gordon Edwards working on statewide projects. We will try to get them to come to one of our meetings so we can do a face to face.
Only one tournament of interest this month, that being the WWC at Seminoe Reservoir. Members Bill Porter and Al Keffer got fifth place finish with a two day total of five fish weighing 18.11 lbs. I haven't heard of any takers on the $75,000 clipboard and mailing list.
For those who didn't see the Casper Star Tribune, a nice walleye was caught at Harry Yesness Park recently. I would hope no NPWU members planted this fish there.
Do you have a minn-kota electric trolling motor with auto pilot? Does the auto-pilot go crazy and have a mind of it's own? Did you know the nearest repair shop is a 340 mile round trip to drop off the motor and the same to pick it up. Well I'm guessing your answer to all three is yes.
I had my auto pilot repaired this spring and it lasted 3 trips before it went nuts again. I did not want to drive to Sheridan yet again to get it repaired. Coincidently, I found a repair manual on the internet that shows how to adjust and calibrate the compass card in the auto-pilot that should allow a user to do his own repairs. I will be attempting to repair/adjust my trolling motor in the near future and will report the results next month. It would be great if we can fix our motors in town.
I will have a few copies of the repair manual printed and have them available at our next club meeting, Aug 3 at the Wyoming Game and Fish building.
The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs Nothing motivates a man more than to see his boss putting in an honest day's work. Work smarder and not harder and be careful of yor speling. Clearly stated instructions will consistently produce multiple interpretations.
Fishing Reports-Tips-& tricks
Current Lake levels
Glendo dropped 14 ft this month. The fish will move to deeper water when the water is dropping. Glendo is currently at 66% full with the inflow 2530 cubic feet per second and the outflow 4925 CFS.. I haven't heard but I think Glendo will be fairly muddy after all the rain that came through recently. Probably a crankbite for the next two months.
Boysen is hanging in there, being 96% full and only dropped 1.5 ft in July. It has an inflow of 2537 CFS and the outflow 3117 CFS. Jigging and cranks probably best.
Seminoe is starting to drop rather quickly as it dropped 5.5 feet this month.. Seminoe is 57% full and the inflow is 1045 CFS, the outflow is 2813 CFS.
Pathfinder actually rose one foot this month. The lake is 23.3% full with an inflow of 2667 CFS and the outflow 2599 CFS. It looks like they are trying to hold the lake at current levels. Jig and plastics and/or cranks are the best options these days.
Tips
I did an informal survey about the most favorite crankbaits, and the #5 Rapala Shad Rap was the winner. Favorite colors were silver/black, Holographic blue/green, and the blue top, silverside, orange bottom. Also mentioned often was the crawfish, which produced a 10+pounder at last years family outing at Pathfinder. There wasn't much mentioned about the #7 Shad Rap but I think they become more popular in the fall of the year. Other brands of cranks that get honorable mention would be Tail Dancers (chub), Deep Jr Thundersticks (trout) and Reef Runners (white).The other 500 cranks we seem to need in the boat are just there to help us balance out the boat.
Walleys are not always on the bottom. This time of year with the warm water temperatures the fish can be anywhere in the water column. In the last month I have seen fish caught in two feet over twenty feet of water, at 20 feet over 35 feet of water, and on the bottom at all depths. Don't be afraid to try something different.
When all else fails, go faster. With the water as warm as it is, the fish are perfectly capable of catching a crank bait going over 4 mph or even faster. 4.5 to 5 mph is not out of the question. It has been suggested that the faster you go the bigger the fish you will catch. Which might explain why they don't water ski in the ocean much.
For those who would like to get a better understanding of lead core line, dipsy divers, snap weights and other methods of getting lures deeper in a precise manner, PRECISION TROLLING BIG WATER EDITION by authors and trolling experts, Mark Romanack and Dr. Steven Holt, will answer a lot of questions. This is a companion to their book "PRECISION TROLLING, the trollers bible" which is another great resource for trollers. If you cast crankbaits to shorelines you might be interested in their book "Precision Casting", the most comprehensive and advanced casting guide available.
Try spraying your boat bunks with silicone lube after you launch. It makes it much easier to launch/load. Just be careful to keep your bow eye attached until you are over the water!
I'm guessing there is a fair amount of club members who do not have a computer or internet access. This may be the time to reassess that position. Computer prices are quite affordable these days with complete systems going for less than $300 and internet access going for less the $10 a month and in some cases absolutely free for limited service.
There is so much information available that it borders on astounding. Computers are much more user friendly these days so that a person can be up and running in minutes. Shopping opportunities are mind boggling as are product reviews, research, worldwide email, internet long distant phone calls, sending and receiving photos, and more.
If there are members wishing to explore the possibilites of a home computer, let me know and I would be glad to help you get over the learning curve, no charge.
Some jokes
While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant and resumed their trip. When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the table. And, she didn't miss them until after they had been driving about twenty minutes. By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around in order to return to the restaurant to retrieve her glasses.
All the way back, the elderly husband became the classic grouchy old man. He fussed and complained and scolded his wife relentlessly during the entire return drive. The more he chided her, the more agitated he became. He just wouldn't let up one minute. To her relief, they finally arrived at the restaurant.. As the woman got out of the car and hurried inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to her, "While you're in there, you might as well get my hat"
The truth about dieting
For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies. 1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION:
Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English apparently is what kills you.
The price of ball markers
A golfer walks into the pro shop at the local course and asks the golf pro if they sell ball markers. The golf pro says they do, and they are $1.00. The guy gives the golf pro a dollar... The golf pro opens the register, puts the dollar in and hands him a penny.
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Tight Lines -- Woody and Bruce