Another River Trip: May 4th-6th, 2012

It turned out to be another beautiful weekend at the Colorado River and Ferguson Lake. I helped my father get his jet boat hooked up and ready to go early Friday morning. The weather forecast showed for a bit cooler weekend than the last time we were out there two weeks ago. Mid to high 90's for the day and 60's at night. It turned out be accurate. After launching the boat at Squaw Lake I drove out to meet my folks on Ferguson Lake at the Imperial Valley Hunting & Fishing Club, or "Gun Club" as we called it. The dirt road on out to the lake was in good condition. It can get rough and rutted after a while, especially after a storm. I once barely made it through after a flash flood washed most of the road away a few years ago. Thank goodness for 4X4! 

Arriving at the lake I noticed that the water was much murkier than before. Hopefully that wouldn't affect the fishing too much. Turns out, catching bait took a while longer than last time but I ended up with 6 nice Bluegills. That night just after sunset I got a good run on my spinner. I engaged the reel and line peeled off the spool. Not wanting what seemed like a really big fish get into the stumps, I tightened down the drag a bit and... nothing. The line went slack and I reeled in the rig to find frayed line where the hook had been. Dang. But that means the big ones are here! Suddenly the clicker on my other rod sounded off! I grabbed it, engaged the reel and fought in the fish. It felt smaller than the last one but still pulled strong. 11 pound Flathead. Later that night I also landed a 6 pound Channel Catfish. Both fish were released. The next day was spent out on the sandbar relaxing and swimming. I got in late that evening and couldn't get anymore Bluegill for bait. I only had two left. I ended up getting two runs that night on then but they ended up spitting the bait. Switched over to chicken livers and got a few small Channels and Stripers. I had them for breakfast the next day, fried in butter and garlic salt. Then it was time to head home. I was missing my baby girl. Looking forward to my next outing there with the rest of my family.

I noticed this nice Jeep and trailer at the El Centro rest stop.

Squaw Lake.

Ferguson Lake Road.

One side of the road is Wilderness Area but the other has some fun Jeep trails to explore.

Fishin' off the dock. 

 

Saturday night was a "super" moon.

11 Pound Flathead Catfish

Another view from the overlook.

Watch out for the law!

Something that always bugged me was people leaving their stuff on sandbars overnight to "save" their spot. I asked the sheriff about it and he said that its public land and first come first serve. You can't save a spot and stuff that is left there is legally considered abandoned property. Good to know.

River Trip: April 20th-22nd, 2012

I wasn't planning to do much this past weekend due to a serious lack of funds. Well, that is until I got a last minute invite to the river with my parents along with my brother and his girlfriend. I showed up at their house with some of my gear at 5:30 Friday morning, load up their truck and boat, and soon we're east bound and down, loaded up and truckin'!

We launched the boat at Squaw Lake, I unhook the trailer and drive the truck around to meet them at Ferguson Lake. It was a bit warmer than usual for this weekend, at about 103. Low 70's at night. I slept on the dock, with a cool breeze, shooting stars and a couple catfish. The bluegills were everywhere. After a few minutes I figured 10 would last me the weekend. If not, just catch more! Around 10pm the first night, the clicker on my spinner started screaming. Pulled up a 3lb channel cat that ate my biggest bait! I guess he was really hungry... About midnight my bait caster started making noise. Now here's something I just thought about: Whenever a channel cat picks up my bait its a very fast run. Clicker screaming and line peeling off the reel. Flatheads just pull away at a slow and steady pace. That's my experience at least. So I bring in this next fish and its a 10lb flathead. Nice. No more runs for the night. All fish CPR'd. (Catch Photo Release)

On Saturday we spent the day out on the river at a sandbar, swimming, drinking, and BBQ. I got to sleep early that night, woke up at midnight and fished until dawn. No bites. However, just as the sun was coming up I notice a lot of activity at the surface just off the dock. Baitfish being chased. I grabbed my bass rod with a crank bait and soon I was into a school of striped bass. It was awesome! As the morning sun burned away the night sky the water around me danced to the commotion of predator and prey just below the surface. The flashing sides of the bass was like an underwater fireworks show. I caught 6 but only kept 3 for the freezer. They ranged from 2 to 6 pounds. Then after a few hours spent on the river we packed up and headed home. Should have put on more sunscreen but at least my sunburn has stopped hurting now.

The striped bass were delicious! Salt & pepper on one side and garlic salt on the other side. Pan fry the fillets in butter and they're good to go in under ten minutes!

SoCal & AZ Overland Adventure Dec. 2011 Part II

The journey continues... Cibloa Wildlife Refuge Trail to Ferguson Lake 

Sunrise over the Colorado River.

As soon I started out I noticed that I had a flat...

Another campsite along a lagoon, once part of the original river channel.

Palo Verde lagoon.

One of many camps along the old river channel.

I'll have to come fishing here sometime.

Now on to Black Mountain.

A partially difficult trail, Black Mountain Road starts at CA 78 and ends near Ogilby and Indian Pass Road.

Although the road up is paved, it is quite deteriorated at times.

The trail at first takes you on a graded road along the base of Black Mountain. This soon changes to a single-lane paved road as you start ascending the northern section of the mountain. The terrain is largely made up of black volcanic boulders and a mix of vegetation like ocotillos, chollas and creosore bushes.

The summit up ahead.

Spectacular views...

At the top of the Black Mountain you see communication towers. The view also includes the Chocolate Mountains, parts of Colorado river, Arizona, Cargo Muchacho Mountains and Picacho Peak.

Looking west towards the Imperial Sand Dunes, Salton Sea, and Laguna Mountains.

When you descend Black Mountain the trail again turns into a dirt road and it gets quite steep. The ground is made up of loose soil which gets worse when it rains. At the bottom, the trail moves across a bajada and small washes.

Getting steeper...

Looking back up.

Made it!

Driving the pole line road to Indian Pass.

Picacho Peak in the distance.

Indian Pass.

One hundred years ago Picacho was a gold mining town with about 100 citizens. Today the site is a State Park, popular with boaters, hikers, anglers and campers.

4-S Beach Camp.

Continuing through the park.

Taylor Lake.

Mule Deer.

Meeting up with a couple friends, Steve and Shellie, we set off for camp along Ferguson Lake.

Ferguson Lake is a backwater connected to the lower Colorado River that provides camping, fishing, boating, hiking, and hunting opportunities. A number of undeveloped shoreline campsites provide recreational boating access and stunning views of the Colorado River. Trails leading into the adjacent Little Picacho Wilderness Area provide idea day-hiking opportunities from your campsite.

Home for the evening.

To be continued...