Once again I made the trip to Yuma to fish for Bluegills and Shellcrackers but ended up catching more catfish than panfish.
Bad Brad and I left San Diego about 0900 Thursday, stopped the the Golden Acorn Casino for lunch and made it to the Motel 6 behind Denny's on 95 about 1400. We started off at the rocks on the river between the Imperial and Laguna dams. The water was way up and you could not even see the rocks. There was a man and wife set up there already so we just visited a bit and left the spot to them. On the way back to the paved road, we stopped and tried for some Bluegills in the slack water under the bridge but had no luck. By 1600 or so we were set up at the head waters of the AAC. Fortunately the bugs were not biting, unfortunately the fish were not biting either. There were a few folks fishing from the NW corner of the bridge who were pulling in some small (1-2lb) catfish and stripers but that was it.
Friday morning we hit Denny's for breakfast and then the Headwaters of the Gila Gravity. We pulled two nice Channel Cats out of there. After lunch we migrated down the canal to where it comes out from under the mountain. Brad got another nice Channel Cat and I caught a real nice Bluegill. The rest of the time we enjoyed the scenery.
Thursday evening when we were unloading at the Motel we met a couple who had just arrived. They saw our gear and struck up a conversation. It seems they have never fished in Yuma before. We spent an hour or so visiting with them over beers and filled them in on the fishing spots that we know of. There are more spots that we do not know than there are spots we do know but we did what we could.
Saturday we fished our way to San Diego. First stop was the Tilapia hole at the Algodonies exit for nada. Next was the hydroelectric plant at the confluence of the the East Highline and the AAC for nada again. Then we drove up the west side of the East Highline and tried at each of the drops, again for nada. We had lunch at the Neuvo Mexico some-thing-or-another Taco Shop in Holtville. Good food but no beer license. Then we rolled for home.
Conditions:
Air temp: 85 degF
Water temp: 78 degF
Water clarity: Gin clear
Wind: gusty enough to make life difficult out of the west
There were not enough fish caught to call it a "fishing trip" but I put together a travelogue for my brother and sister back in the Midwest. You can see it at:
November in Yuma
Additional pictures at:
Welcome to Facebook ... 14f5b87b9d
