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.