North Platte WU
Newsletter Editors
7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 2,
Game and Fish Building
Goldeneye habitat project:
January was an interesting month. We had scheduled a club event on Saturday, January 8, for the planting of Christmas trees in Goldeneye reservoir to enhance the fishery habitat. A few months of planning and coordinating the cooperation of the various agencies proceeded with minimal problems. We had BLM onboard, Wyoming Fish and Game cooperation (thanks Paul Bailey), and the City of Casper had agreed to haul a large amount of trees out to Goldeneye a day ahead of the planned event. About 4500 pounds of concrete weights were onsite waiting for the arrival of trees. We had safe ice to work with and the weather looked promising. All was good.
Then Wednesday the 5th brought an early morning phone call saying we had to cancel or postpone the tree planting as we had a SNAFU. Seems the city lawyers got wind of the event and more importantly, the city's participation, and put a halt on any city involvement until they got a signed release from the State releasing the City of Casper of any and all liability that might be caused by them hauling trees to Goldeneye or the trees effects on the lake. The State said no and then a series of back and forth talks began between the city and state with a possible solution coming in a few weeks......or months?
After a few calls around town, it was decided that the city could release trees to us and we could haul them out ourselves. That was brought up at the club meeting that night and a scramble was made in the next two days to round up and haul out a little over 100 trees by Saturday morning. Ten or twelve members showed up to tie the concrete weights to the trees, use ATV's to drag them out to "the spot" and then with simple genius, drill groupings of holes and drop the trees through the holes to rest on the lake floor. This avoided the possible "bonfire" use of the trees if left unattended on the ice plus created instant habitat. Donuts and orange drinks were donated for the crew and a good time was had by all attending.
A smaller group of diehards, managed to deliver and sink an additional 50 trees on the following weekend which ended this years habitat enhancement. If we can get some more water released into Goldeneye this year this can be a good winter walleye lake. More trees will be sunk next winter to make it even better. Thanks to those who brought the ice augers, ATV's and manual labor, refreshments, and good humor. Great job gang.
Just a reminder that you can save a few bucks on your State Park yearly entrance permit if you get them before Feb 15. Available at any State Park, but for those in Casper you can get them at Edness Kimball Wilkins state park. They are short staffed this time of year so a phone call to 577-5150 will get you hooked up with them. Don't forget your annual camping permit at the same time.
This is the space that was supposed to have all the pictures of the recent Goldeneye Christmas tree sinking event. Alas, Microsoft products decided to eat the contents of the computer that held those files. To fill this huge space I'll resort to some random tidbits of useful and near useful information. Keep in mind I tend to over react to news in general so take the following with a grain of salt.
Walleye riff-raff?:
One of the more interesting bits of information discovered this past week was regarding this years annual spring Wyoming Outdoor Sports Show at the Casper Events Center in Casper. I've been told not to look for the large tank that has been at the show the last few years that allowed various seminars on fishing techniques to be presented. It was said that the Casper boat dealers were asked to limit the number of boats presented. If you remember last year the boats and the big tank was right next to the North Platte Walleye Unlimited booth. I guess it was determined by the powers that be, that this tank, those boats and the presence of the walleye club booth attracted too many "undesirables" that tarnished the over all theme of the show.. Perhaps this year this bunch of riff-raff could be better managed or even better, discouraged from attending this years show by eliminating the attractors of the low lifes, which I assume are WALLEYE fisherpersons.. Did I mention that the spring Wyoming Outdoor Sports Show is presented by the WYOMING FLYCASTERS ASSOCIATION and the Casper Events Center in a co-promotion?
I admit to being naive about these things, but I would guess that most if not all walleye people own fly rods. They would also admit to fishing for bass, tuna, brookies, or most any and all species of fish if given the chance. For tackle they use whatever it takes to get a fish on the line. They walk, ride, boat, crawl to get to where the fish are. In other words, they just love to fish, and especially catch fish.
Flycasters can be a different bunch. It is not about the fish, but the technique. You can give one heart palpitations just by suggesting they might have good luck tossing a worm at a fish instead of the meticulously tied bundle of dryer lint on the end of their line. For some reason they also appear to dislike walleyes and the people who fish for them. It seems they believe that if they get rid of walleye fisherpersons they can get rid of walleyes. Trying to keep our presence from the Wyoming Outdoor Sports Show is not the way to rid the world of walleyes. The only sure way to get rid of walleyes and walleye fishing is to make walleyes taste like trout.
Hot Maps:
For Some Good News, Navionics (http://www.navionics.com) makers of the Hot Maps software has something for us Wyoming people. For those who don't know, Hot Maps are lake topo electronic maps that show the underwater contours of lakes. These come on small memory chips that are inserted into various makes and models of GPS units and then show on the GPS screen the underwater structure and contours of the lake bottom. You can actually see on the GPS screen the lake contours under you in real time. Points, humps and bumps are visible and easily driven to. In the past the only Wyoming lake available was Flaming Gorge. Things have changed.
If you don't already have a GPS unit then this is a good reason to get one this year. New this spring is Navionic's "Premium" Western Section version of Hot Maps lake bottom topo maps of 13 Wyoming lakes.
Which ones you ask?? Let me run through them, BOYSEN, Flaming Gorge, Fontenelle, Fremont, GLENDO, Jackson, KEYHOLE, New Forks, Palisades, Wheatland Reservoir #3, Willow, Woodruff Narrows, and Yellowstone lakes. It also includes one hundred lakes or more in Colorado, Montana, Utah, ND, SD, Idaho and other western lakes including most of the tournament lakes. Although a bit pricey at $199 for the chip and maps I think it would be well worth it for being able to see structure before you even leave the house. It is on my must-have list this year. Be sure to check GPS unit compatibility if thinking about buying ths software It might be possible that these maps will be available through the club at a reduced price. Stay tuned.
High sticking:
Never "high stick" a rod. "High sticking" is pointing your rod straight up so that only the tip bends, or bringing the rod past a 90° angle with the water. This breaks more rods than any other fishing situation. It overloads the tip area of the rod, placing all the bend in the tip section which can easily cause the tip to break.
Assembling a rod:
When assembling a two-piece rod, apply a coat of paraffin to the tip of the butt section to lubricate the taper. It will allow you to seat the tip section much more firmly on the butt. Don't be fearful of putting the tip on too firmly; it can always be removed with a twisting action.
Rod sensitivity:
Rod Position Can Improve Sensitivity When fishing plastics, you will get better sensitivity if you hold the rod higher (around the 10 or 11 o'clock position). This allows the line to drop down at a 90 degree angle from the tip and in-creases sensitivity by transferring any activity to the rod quicker. Make sure you only use the reel to pick up slack line. If you feel a fish, lower the rod tip, reel in the slack and set your hook.
Annual banquet:
The second annual North Platte Walleye Club All you Can Eat Walleye Banquet is slated for March 5th., 2005 at the Parkway Plaza. Mark your calendars as this one will be bigger and better than our last one.
Our next meeting of the 2005 Banquet committee is 5:30 PM Jan 13 at the Sandbar Lounge. Come on down and help with the heavy lifting. Tickets for the 2005 Banquet will be available at the January club meeting. We will sell 400 tickets for this banquet and we intend to sell out early again this year, so plan ahead.
Guest Speaker will be Mark Martin, World Champion of the first P.W.T - 1990 In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail. Currently 31 top 10 finishes in P.W.T. & M.W.C. Tournaments & Governor Cups! Only person to qualify for the most In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail Championship since its inception in 1990. Noted author and information resource for walleye fishing. For more information on this great walleye fisherman go to to www.markmartins.net.
Winter bliss at Boysen:
I started fishing Boysen, through the ice, back in December and have been there several times since. It has been "good" for several weeks now. You will notice that I didn't say "excellent". I have had better winters on Boysen and I have had worse. What makes this winter special is the diversity, size and quality of fish caught.
I have been fishing mainly in 20 foot of water between Poison Creek and Badwater Creek. I have caught sauger, walleye, crappie, ling, perch and trout. I have caught a couple of sauger 22 inches long which, bye the way, is the minimum need to qualify for the In-Fisherman's Master Angler's Award.
I watched a friend of mine, Jim Bauer, catch a 23 inch 5.41 pound sauger which went to be mounted. The fish are all in great shape, even the sauger are fat. If you decide to fish this area, don't be deceived by the clear water just under the ice. I borrowed President Brenton's Aqua-Vu. The water is nice and clear at the surface but the bottom 6 feet or so is murky, warm (43 degrees) and in a slow current.
The fish appear to be hanging in the murky water. The clear water above was cold, 35 degrees. Anyway, go give Boysen a shot. You won't catch large quantities of fish but you will get quality fish. Unlike last year, when there didn't seem to be an evening bite, make sure you are still on the ice from about 4:30 to 6:00 PM. -- Bruce Parker
Fishing reports -- tips and tricks:
Fishing up against the dam at Glendo was rumored to be working. With the recent warm weather ice fishing can be real challenging if not downright dangerous. The ice fishing derby at Pathfinderis in jeopardy according to some rumors.
How Knot To Lose That Fish - The Trilene® Knot : The Trilene knot is a strong, reliable connection that resists slippage and premature failures. This knot can be used in joining line to swivels, snaps, hooks and artificial lures. The knot's unique double wrap design and ease of tying consistently yields a strong, dependable connection.
1. Run end of line through eye of hook or lure and double back through the eye a second time.
2. Loop around standing part of line 5 or 6 times. Thread tag end back between the eye and the coil as shown.
3. Wet line and tighten knot with a steady, even motion without hesitation. Trim tag end leaving about 1/4."
An Emory board makes a good emergency hook sharpener.
On the light side:
Three retirees, each with a hearing loss, were taking a walk one fine March day. One remarked to the other, "Windy, ain't it?" "No," the second man replied, "It's Thursday." And the third man chimed in, "So am I. Let's have a coke."
A pair of Michigan robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers. The first one shouted, "Nobody move!" When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.
Two elderly couples were enjoying friendly conversation when one of the men asked the other, "Fred, how was the memory clinic you went to last month?" "Outstanding," Fred replied. "They taught us all the latest psychological techiniques-visulization, association-it made a huge difference for me." "That's great! What was the name of the clinic?" Fred went blank He thought and thought, but couldn't remember. Then a smile broke across his face and he asked, "What do you call that flower with the long stem and thorns?" "You mean a rose?" "Yes, that's it!" He turned to his wife. . ."Rose, what was the name of that clinic?"
wyowalleyenewsletter@hotmail.com
Tight Lines -- Woody and Bruce