When life hands you lemons, make lemonade

So... Slam Outdoors suffered our first mis-hap of the season and we weren't even out at the lake. Which reminds me, unfortunately, we have had some bad moments from time to time like the Tahoe breaking down outside Loa and the whole ordeal with Brian's Auto, Doug quitting (twice) out at Powell, the flat on the boat trailer, loosing the fish finder transducer, the boat quitting out at Quail on the windiest day of the year and those people running into the dock; and all of this doesn't even include the many brand new Ugly Stiks I broke in half and are now at the bottom of the lake along with the reel or the many lures hanging in branches of trees around the lake. And let's not forget our last (expletive laced) coyote trip when I got the truck stuck and lost my Blackberry in the snow. Also, just tonight, I noticed that when i took my reel off to take it to sportsman's to be re-spooled, I must have dropped the gear under it that holds it up and now it is useless.

Now back to last weeks episode. We were working on Doug and practicing with Nick's bait caster when he leaned his rod and reel against the truck when i wasn't looking. When I went to move the truck, (being careful not to back the trailer into the gate AGAIN....) it fell down, and I ran over it, smashing the reel into pieces and breaking the rod in half.




The next thing I knew, Nick was in his truck and going to leave without saying goodbye. So... what did I do?? I sprung into action and saw an opportunity to turn our misfortune into something positive. So without further adieu, heer is what came of our misfortune:


The "Fly Rod"

So what can we learn from this little exercise?? S*#@t is gonna happen to us (and by us I mean Me) this year like it always does but it's how we react to it that is important.

I Like This Guy

"Fishing during April this year will be memorable as many different kinds of fish can be caught in large numbers." -Wayne Gustaveson

Big Striper Contest Rules - 2011

There will be 2 age groups and prizes for winners of each age group this year. Age Groups are 15 years of age and younger ( or Youth division ) and 16 years of age and older. The rules below apply for both age groups.
Disclaimer
This contest is not governed by the laws of any state or union. This contest is for the pure enjoyment of the participants and complaints can only be addressed to the " Gang of 3 " ( see body of rules. )
Contest date:

January 1st, 2011 through December 31st, 2011

Prizes to be granted for the 5 largest Stripers caught at Lake Powell in the 16 and over (adult) group and 3 Prizes for the 16 and under group (youth). These prizes will be for the largest Stripers caught during 2011.
There will also be Hats awarded to each monthly Winner proclaiming the Largest Striper caught for that month.
Each youth entry will receive a hat with their name on it just for submitting an entry.
Prizes TBD and will be given out to winners after January 1st, 2012.
Prizes will be for:
16 years and older.
1st Largest Striper by Weight
2nd Largest Striper by Weight
3rd Largest Striper by Weight
4th Largest Striper by Weight
5th Largest Striper by Weight

Ages 16 years and under.
1st Largest Striper by Weight
2nd Largest Striper by Weight
3rd Largest Striper by Weight

Eligibility:
Anyone fishing Lake Powel Utah or Arizona within the Glen Canyon Recreational Area.
Any resident of the Planet Earth.
Participants only have to send in the required data listed below to enter. No official forms for entry are required.

Rules:
1. The largest Striper ( Fish ) by weight must be caught on fishing pole and line at Lake Powell.
2. No illegal baits. All State fishing regulations apply.

Requirements for contest entries:

- One Picture of fish, ON SCALE with readout visible.

Note: Scales will hopefully be supplied at Lake Powell marina stores for those that do not have scales with them or need something to measure a very large fish.

- Second picture of entrant holding fish with Lake Powell in the background.
- Length of fish.
- Date caught. This will be important for monthly acknowledgements.
- Location caught, and technique used to catch. Please provide a fish report!
- Time of catch.
- 1 witness not including yourself (just name of person is fine.)

Note: A plea to the director of the tourney Brian Collins and " Gang of 3" for an
exception to the rule will be required if the fish is caught by a lone fishermen or
fisherwomen with no witnesses. Deliver the plea to avdude@tds.net
- Name of person catching the fish and an email address or physical address.
- Pictures and details to be sent to avdude@tds.net with subject as fishing contest.

Special handling:
Disqualification of entry or Suspicion of fraud will be handled by the gang of 3. ( Jack H., Rhonda B. and Dale E. )
Disqualification could be caused by but not restricted to; lack of information, incorrect species, or gross exaggeration.
Fraud could include but is not restricted to, Picture of fish entry with background of the Gulf of Mexico, Altered photos of Marlin resembling Striper, or 6 in. fish with 40lb. claim.

LINE CHOICE

While we're on the subject of line selection. I will share with you my favorite. It is P line Floroclear. I find that this is the best of both worlds. It is Fluorocarbon COATED so you get the characteristics of a mono and a floro line! The Fluorocarbon coating helps it not to be porous and absorb water adn those other drawbacks to monofiliment line as outlined in the 2 previous posts. I haven't looked much into braids but maybe somethin we might want to look into. I just don't want anything with memory!

ALSO,,, FYI - Cabela's is offering a $6 mail in rebate when you buy 2 spools of P LINE!!

And Nick,
I am very sorry about your bait caster and rod!! We should post a pic

Mono, Braid, or fluorocarbon?

http://bassinblog.richlindgren.com/2006/04/14/monofilament-vs-fluorocarbon-vs-braided-lines--how-does-one-choose.aspx

http://www.stripers247.com/Monofilament-fluorocarbon.php

Swim Bait Rigs

http://www.bassdozer.com/articles/jig-catalog-shakey-swimming.shtml

Southern Utah Stream Adventure

Last Tuesday Slam Outdoors traveled to a secluded southern utah stream to check out the native brown trout. We brought along special guests Noah and T-bone. We all had success and loved being in the outdoors. We traveled across terrain that took me back to my childhood. We had to walk through rain soaked earth, meander our way between many willows, walk along a large water pipe resting along the ground, and wade in the stream to finally find the secret spot. I would love to take anyone who is interested in taking this adventure.

JUST A WARM UP

The pres made a quick evening call, and asked if I would join him at the local golf course to see if we could lure some of the largemouth bass lurking in the pond off of hole number 4. It was a nice winter evening in St. George. Ducks yappin', the local folk talking about days of old, and Quinns phone playing the sportscenter theme song every five minutes. I think it attracted the fish because we ended up landing a few.

Instructional Videos

I hope you find these videos both informative and useful! I think you will recognize the one gentleman in the last few videos. (I'm not quite ready to give up on him yet) Hopefully we can catch a few more fish this year using these techniques. ENJOY!