What do spouses and fish have in common?

Sheila Miller and Linda Prater seem to have the same attitude toward men as Tom and I have toward fishing:  if something works, even if it’s getting worn down and outdated, stick with it. Thus, Sheila and Tom will be marking their 60^th wedding anniversary in a few weeks; Linda and I are about to celebrate the big 5-0.

Having said that, and at the risk of giving Sheila and Linda some dangerous ideas about husbandry, even I concede there are times when you just have to change things up a bit.  And there’s no truer time for that on the Front Range of Colorado than the Dog Days of August.  Truth be told, fishing around here lately has kind of sucked:

• ·         Boyd’s not good for much right now except jet skiing;
•        A few of us motored up to Dowdy last week and, like just about everyone else on the pond, came pretty close to a skunk (can’t wait for the club’s annual outing to the really high country water around Ranger Lakes)
• ·         Everything in River’s Edge is hunkered down deep in the weeds, waiting for fall
•    Even on old reliable Horsetooth, the angling’s getting pretty darned challenging in this August heat.

     I ventured there yesterday, armed with my usually reliable Ned rig - a Green Pumpkin TRD and 1/32-ounce mushroom jig - and started beating the water around shallow rocks up and down the east and west shorelines. Like gullible juveniles of all species, a few solid 5- or 6-inchers took the bait.  But it wasn’t until I reluctantly switched tactics and moved into deeper water – 14 or 15 feet – that anything interesting happened.  No flurry of fish, or anything gargantuan, but half a dozen decent smallies, mostly coughing up minnows.

 

There’s a lesson here:  Like club members getting ready for the August picnic, smallmouth still want to eat this time of year; they’re just pushing further from the buffet table than normal, and wanting maybe a nice fish taco instead of crawdad.  I can’t guarantee your catch will improve, but if you’re venturing to Horsetooth you might want to move out deeper than you’re comfortable with, and try a pearl or shad-color grub or tube jig, strapped to something heavy, 1/8 or ¼ ounce.  

How about Boyd?  I dunno. Tom and I are frantically getting in shape for a second honeymoon, and hoping for cooler weather.