Weather: Sunny, clear, highs 75-77, lows 55-60
Moon Phase: 50% Moon
Location: All American Canal, California and Arizona border
Bait: Live bluegill for catfish, jerk-baits for bass, worms for bluegill
Who Went: Jonathan, Me
I had the opportunity to go down to the warm state of Arizona for work from November 13 through the 22nd. I flew into Phoenix then drove 3 hours southwest to Yuma, Arizona. The lucky part about this trip is one of our subcontractors (Jonathan) was local and an avid fisherman. His favorite target is the flathead catfish that are found in most lakes and rivers in the area. He doesn’t just go for any catfish though; his goal is to break the state record! Unfortunately I was there in the off season for big catfish, but he told me he still catches them occasionally. I tried to fit in some bass fishing after work the first week, but only had a couple nights where I actually finished work before dark and was able to get in about 15-30 minutes of actual fishing.
I caught tons of bluegill and largemouth, but none of the bass were very big. My camera decided to crap out on me after 8 years so most my pictures are pretty poor taken from my camera on my phone. One spot I fished right after work was below the diversion of the Colorado River into the All American Canal.
This canal sends what looked like 60-70% of the water in the Colorado River straight to California! The river above the diversion is impressive, but the river below is a third the size. The diversion ran down multiple concrete shoots before turning into one big canal.
The next night of fishing I had about 30 min. before dark and fished further down on the All American Canal where you can literally just drive the canal looking out the window sight fishing for bass and bluegill.
It was a lot of fun, but got dark way to fast. I caught a lot of bass, but they were all small in the 1 -1 ½ lb range.
I was working at the Yuma Proving Grounds Army Base and they do not work Fridays, so Jonathan and I planned a 3 day straight fishing adventure for flathead catfish. The way Jonathon fishes for these flatheads is at night! He shows up to the canal Thursday evening just before dark and catches a few bluegill to use for bait. He uses live bluegill for bait! Then he fishes all night Thursday for flatheads until the sun comes up on Friday and he begins fishing for Friday night’s bluegill. Once he has a few bluegills he goes home and sleeps until just before dark. He repeats this process through Saturday night and then sleeps most of Sunday before waking up and dressing out the catfish he caught over the weekend. He told me he has done this every weekend all year long with the exception of only a few where he had other commitments. Dude is a freak and I loved it!Thursday night came and Jonathon asked if I would go to one of his best bluegill holes and catch us some bait before fishing all night because he had a few things to take care of at home. I told him no problem, because let’s face it, I had nothing better to do besides sit in a hotel room. This spot was below another diversion they called Laguna Dam.
Jonathan warned me that this was a tough time of year to catch bluegill, but that this was a good spot. I fished hard during the hour of daylight I had left and caught channel catfish and largemouth bass, but was only able to land one measly bluegill for bait.
Let me tell you, having the pressure to catch your bait before fishing is something that is very new to me and I loved it! I’ve never been more focused on catching a bluegill in my life! I would miss a hit and it was devastating!I met up with Jonathan at his favorite catfish hole with my one bluegill and he set up one rod with my bluegill and another with a frozen bluegill that he uses when he doesn’t have live ones.
After that we sat there until 4:00 a.m. without so much as a nibble! It was all I could do to stay focused, but not Jonathan, I could tell that he knew what the possibilities were at any given moment. It reminded me of my lake trout fishing experiences where most people I take want to call it a day, but I stay focused as ever because I know it only takes one hit to catch the biggest fish of your life! Just after 4:00 a.m I couldn’t deal with it anymore and called it quits, so Jonathan did to. I went home and slept until my internal clock made me get out of bed at 10:00 a.m. Crazy as I am, I got up and went bass fishing all day, only to return to my hotel room and receive a phone call from Jonathan telling me he’s heading out to catch bluegill for tonight’s fishing! That said, I headed back to the canal where we fished for bluegill until dark.
It was tough fishing again, but I was able to land two and Jonathan one, so we at least had a few bluegill for bait.Friday night brought more of the same and we didn’t get a single bite! This time we stayed for the long haul and fished for bluegill and bass in the morning until around noon.
By this time I was exhausted and Jonathon began talking to me about Saturday nights fishing. In my mind I was thinking, there is no way I’m staying out all night again to watch a rod that never moves. So I ditched out and drove to Phoenix instead, to visit my buddy Shain Jorgensen who moved down there a few years ago. When I woke up at Shain’s house on Sunday morning I had a new picture message on my phone from Jonathan that read… “why did you leave lmao!” with this picture attached…
I couldn’t believe it! All that time spent with no bites and he lands a 25-30 lb catfish the moment I leave! This got my juices flowing again and I told him we had to try one more night! I left Arizona on a Tuesday, so Monday night before leaving I talked him into going out for one last chance. We started fishing around 5:00 p.m. for bait and were able to land a couple bluegills for the night. Once it was dark we threw two rods out hoping for one last chance. At 8:30 p.m. I finally had a bite.
I grabbed the rod and it was bouncing vigorously. I asked if I should set the hook and he firmly told me no way! He directed me to free spool my line and let the fish run, so I did. I free spooled my reel and wow did the fish run! He must have taken 50 yards off the spool when Jonathan told me to slow him down with my thumb until bringing him to a complete stop. Once he was stopped we let him run one more time breaking him down to a stop with my thumb again. By this time I couldn’t stand it any longer and felt I had to set the hook. Jonathan told me to wait for one good tug and then to set it. I felt a few minor tugs and then my line just stayed taunt with no play. At first I thought the fish was just holding it in his mouth, but after 30 seconds I realized something wasn’t right. Jonathan shined his flashlight down into the canal and my line was heading straight down the bank into some big rocks! Still not worried with 80 lb test, Jonathan tried to get my line untangled until he fell flat on his butt as the strong line finally gave and snapped in half. My spirits were at an all time low, and to make matters worse, Jonathan began telling me that based on how the fish was running he felt it was a good catfish in the 30-40 pound range! I was in pure depression. We still had one pole left with a live bluegill and I patiently waited until around 1:00 a.m. but the next bite never came. I can’t get the big fish out of my mind, but with more work planned in Yuma next year, I don’t expect it to be my last chance! The bass fishing was fun and the bluegills down there are huge! All in all I had a good time, but can’t wait for another chance to join the 40 pound catfish club!
We went to Willard Bay tonight in search of some boiling wipers and hopes that Rick could check them off his species to catch list. Jason Willard from Rocky Mountain Anglers joined us in our pursuit and we were on the water by 4:00 p.m. From the reports we read prior to going, the boils hadn’t been starting until right before sundown and that ended up being accurate. We spent the first 2 hours motoring around the north dike trying to find boils or fish on the finder. There wasn’t much going on anywhere other than two lonesome channel cats that Jason landed dragging a chartreuse jig with a worm.
It started getting close to dark so we decided to go boil hunting. We trolled the shorelines and found a few wipers surfacing for shad, but never could find a consistent boil to land any fish. It was disappointing as the sun went down and we were left with one fish and a bunch of missed opportunities. Rick will have to make a return trip to get wiper off his species caught list.
My buddy Rick booked a guided fishing trip 1 year ago with Captain Jim up at Flaming Gorge and scheduled it for this August. The day finally came and since we were fishing with Jim on Thursday, we figured staying and fishing through the weekend was a must. Johnny Leach drove up late Thursday night and fished with us on Friday and Saturday.
After releasing Rick’s fish, the rest of the day with Captain Jim did nothing but kick our asses! We fished for 5 more painful hours with Rick getting one more bite and that was it. Our brains were fried, and my back hurt so bad I thought I might crumble in half! We gave it all we had in our tanks, and for the first time ever fishing with Jim… I got skunked! Rick and I drove back to camp and sat in our camp chair for over an hour without moving. By the time we gained enough strength to get back on the water, an afternoon thunderstorm pushed us off the lake and we weren’t a bit sad about it. We were beat! We made a quick tinfoil dinner and hit the sack. I think my eyes were closed before my head hit the pillow, and when I woke up in the morning I heard the sweet sound of John sawing logs. He made it in around 1 a.m.
We all jumped in my boat and headed out to find the fish on our own, but I have to be honest, Friday almost seemed like a wasted day for me. I was so exhausted from the day before that I just couldn’t get motivated enough to focus on fishing.
After the morning was over and I still didn’t know what a bite felt like, my motivation fell to an all-time low. We decided to jump out of the boat and take a swim to rejuvenate our senses. After that we bass fished. The bass fishing is completely crashing at Flaming Gorge due to the burbot eating all their eggs and food. All we caught were 4-6 inch baby bass. We took a couple and put them in Ricks crawdad trap and threw it out on a rocky shoreline to sit overnight.
By evening I finally felt enough energy to fish and Rick and I put in a good hour of focus while John ran to the marina for ice. In a span of 2 minutes we had fish all over us down on the bottom and started getting hits like crazy.
I had 3 and Rick had 2, but we missed every one of them! The hits were very light, but we observed our jigs after the frenzy ended and sure enough there were teeth marks all over our new jigs. Now it was getting frustrating! We went and picked up John from shore and headed back out to the same spot.
The fish were still there and within a few minutes John was hooked up. It wasn’t a monster, but any fish at this point was exciting! It was a good fighting 7 pounder that got John on the board.
After landing Johns fish the sun went down and darkness was fast approaching, so we headed for camp and I showed John how to fillet his trout. We cooked some steaks and again my eyes were closed before my head hit the pillow. Woke up early on Saturday and the sun came out quick, and immediately stole our energy. Our motivation was down and our focus was slipping. The fish were still moody and we found ourselves taking more dives off the boat for a swim than dropping lures down to fish. By 11:00 a.m. we were physically and mentally exhausted! We collected the crawdad trap that was set out the night before and we had about 15-20 in there.
We quickly cut off their tails and gave them to John as an appetizer to his lake trout dinner. Loaded the boat on the trailer and packed up camp. It was now official… I fished hard for two and a half days straight and got skunked! Mack fishing can seriously kick your trash, but once you know the feeling of having a 30 pound lake trout on the end of your line, it doesn’t matter, you just want to come back for more! 
The story behind Lake X goes back to a canoe trip that Hunt and I took 8 years ago down a river in Utah. As we were canoeing down this river we met a guy in a very tight area that I didn’t believe you could even access without taking a canoe like we did down the river for miles. He proved us wrong and the reason he was down there peaked my interest. He told us there was a pond not far from where we were that held a lot of largemouth bass up to four pounds. Since that time I have long forgotten about the area because I just couldn’t figure out an access point without crossing over private property. Then I started fishing with Innovative Rick (nickname) who I told about Lake X. Rick has a funny way of figuring out how to make things work, hence the nickname. He got on google earth and started searching and before long he had a route mapped out. A few months back we tried out the route and even though we had to cross a canal that went 1 inch below my waders along with parking in an area that could or could not be private property, and hiking over a few hills I finally made it back to Lake X after 8 years. Rick brought his pole and even though the weather was still cold in June (weird year), Rick had a largemouth bass landed on his 3rd cast.
I didn’t catch a ton of bass, but the way I was catching them made it worthwhile. The shore access to this pond has become very limited with the growth of summer and I regret not taking my float tube. There are only a few areas to shore fish because the reeds are thick and surround almost the entire pond. The moss is thick on the waters surface, which is normal for August on most small lakes and ponds, but I could hardly throw anything into the lake without getting snagged. After fishing the shorelines with no success for almost 2 hours, I tied on a weedless, weightless, senko and started throwing it into the thickest areas of moss I could find. That’s when I finally figured out where the bass were. I had been wasting my time fishing the main body of the pond, the bass were tucked up underneath the thick moss beds that surrounded the shore. The biggest bass I caught hit the senko before it even made it through the moss bed, almost like a topwater bite.
I was shocked at how shallow the bass were, but even more bewildered at how thick the moss was in the areas I was catching them. I made a couple casts into the thickest willow I could find and hooked two bass that I could not pull out before my line snapped. Next time I go I will be prepared with stronger line! Here is a picture of my most productive area. I was dropping my plastic worm right through the mossy mat surrounding the logs. 
Needless to say I had a blast and this won’t be the last time I go to Lake X, but I must admit it’s a struggle getting the motivation to cross that canal and all the other variables that come with fishing this place. It’s location will remain a secret and will be forever known as Lake X on my blog! I don’t want someone to find this spot and tell everyone they know about it. It could be fished out very quickly!
My buddy John was heading down to Utah Lake today to kitty cat fish so I thought I would drop in and surprise him and throw out a line for a couple hours. I pulled up to the lone tree on the west side of West Mountain at around 8:00 a.m. They already had one channel cat on a stringer. I rigged up two rods, one with a bobber and a worm using a 3 foot leader, and the other with an egg sinker and white bass meat. The bottom fishing with the egg sinker was by far the most successful method out-fishing the bobber 4 to 1. We caught about 8 channel cats along with a few white bass to mix it up. John took them all home to filet and eat. Catfishing from shore can be one of the most enjoyable and non-stressful ways to fish.
I also snapped a few photos of the Lincoln Beach Boat Ramp because I’ve never seen it so high. The south dike is almost under water. I can remember only 6 years ago being in a major drought and people couldn’t even launch a boat at this ramp! Amazing how times change so quickly.
I thought we could anchor up and throw out a couple lines for catfish keeping it very simple. I found out that nothing is simple with a 2 year old that wants his daddy to give him 100% of his attention all the time.
Luckily Yah-Yah (my mom) joined us to help me out or it probably would have been a total disaster. She also took all these pictures to help us remember Devins first official fishing trip. So, after an hour of giving my full attention to Devin and only squeezing in a second here and there to rig rods, I finally had two ready for catfishing.
I casted both rods out and thought okay now it’s time to relax, yeah right.
Now Devin wanted to reel in the poles.
He also took a liking to dad’s new rod and reel that cost him about $450. He started leaning over the boat and dipping the pole in the water and we all know the outcome of this fun game. I took the rod from him and you would have thought the world had ended.
I realized that the only way Devin was going to see a fish was to snag a carp. They were all over the surface and the catfishing was obviously not going very smooth. I rigged up a big kastmaster and 5 minutes later I had a big ugly carp in the boat for Devin to look at. He thought it was pretty neat, but he wouldn’t touch it to save his life! Can’t say I blame him.
After about an hour and a half on dad’s boat, Devin’s busy little mind was feeling trapped by the confinement of the boat, so we headed to shore and loaded it back on the trailer. Devin was my big helper as I loaded the boat and he supervised me the whole time.
We spent the next 3 hours playing along the shores of Utah Lake and had a picnic at the campgrounds.
Devin had an absolute blast playing in the American Fork River and throwing rocks into Utah Lake.
While I was watching Devin play along the shoreline, I noticed these big black pods of minnow’s right next to shore. On closer inspection I noticed they had little whiskers and were indeed tiny little bullhead catfish. I couldn’t believe how dark black they were.I tried to catch one, but they would swim away when I approached them. This is the best photo I could get.
After lunch and rock throwing Devin was worn out, so we called it a day. His eyes were closed before we could leave the marina. I can’t wait until my other two fisher buddies (kids) are old enough to come to the lake with dad!
