April found us off to the Sierra Nevada for the opening day of fishing season. While most folks head on up to the lakes, I have always been content spending opening day on my favorite stream. Big Pine creek is nothing to shout about, but the area is dear to my heart, having been visiting there for about 40 years. Sandy was unable to go this year but Chris, my oldest son, came along. We had a great time together and I can't wait to do this again! Below is a picture of Boldlygo hooked up to the truck. We are stopped here in a little town named Randsburg. Randsburg is just a mile off of Highway 395 between Kramer Junction and Ridgecrest. Sandy and I had seen a Hewell Howser episode where he visited this town. I was intrigued, so I drove the 1 mile off the road to see what there was to see. Well . . . there wasn't much to see. I took a picture of Chris in the town jail and then we hit the road again. I probably won't bother stopping in Randsburg again anytime soon!
We arrived in camp about 1:00 in the afternoon, the day before the opener. We normally stay at the Upper Sage Flat campground, but upon arrival we were informed that it was closed for at least a week so that they could get their water well repaired. Apparently it did not survive the winter. The camp host was there, but the gates were locked. We chatted with the host for a while, a real nice fellow named Roy, recently retired from a job as a correctional officer. As an alternative, we ended up having to camp at the Sage Flat Campground, about a mile downstream. It's a very nice campground, but I still prefer Upper Sage Flat. After getting camp set up, we relaxed by the fire for a while. Actually, we spent a great deal of time sitting around the fire on this particular weekend. It really is relaxing to just sit around and talk. No TV, no phone, no distractions. Chris is wearing short pants in the picture below, but don't let that fool you. The temperature at the time this photo was taken was about 52 degrees. At night, the temps dipped into the low 30's. Opening day morning, the thermometer was hovering right at 30. A might nippy for sure, but it really did make that fire feel good!!
On opening morning, we were up at the crack of dawn and off to the creek. The bite was pretty slow in the morning, probably due to the cold weather. Regardless, we were able to pick up a few nice trout. Below is a picture of Chris with a couple of his fish.
We arrived in camp about 1:00 in the afternoon, the day before the opener. We normally stay at the Upper Sage Flat campground, but upon arrival we were informed that it was closed for at least a week so that they could get their water well repaired. Apparently it did not survive the winter. The camp host was there, but the gates were locked. We chatted with the host for a while, a real nice fellow named Roy, recently retired from a job as a correctional officer. As an alternative, we ended up having to camp at the Sage Flat Campground, about a mile downstream. It's a very nice campground, but I still prefer Upper Sage Flat. After getting camp set up, we relaxed by the fire for a while. Actually, we spent a great deal of time sitting around the fire on this particular weekend. It really is relaxing to just sit around and talk. No TV, no phone, no distractions. Chris is wearing short pants in the picture below, but don't let that fool you. The temperature at the time this photo was taken was about 52 degrees. At night, the temps dipped into the low 30's. Opening day morning, the thermometer was hovering right at 30. A might nippy for sure, but it really did make that fire feel good!!On opening morning, we were up at the crack of dawn and off to the creek. The bite was pretty slow in the morning, probably due to the cold weather. Regardless, we were able to pick up a few nice trout. Below is a picture of Chris with a couple of his fish.And here's a picture of me with my catch.
Nice looking fish, huh? The one on the right was just under 14".
After working up an appetite fishing, we came back to camp for a nice hearty breakfast. I just couldn't resist taking a picture of the bacon frying. Nothing like bacon on a nice crisp mountain morning. We added some pancakes too and had a camping feast. Of course, we had to eat fast. It was still so cold outside that our food would chill before we could finish eating!
Next to our campsite was my brother and sister-in-law's camp. Here's a picture of my brother with their faithful camping companion Bocephus. Boey (for short) is a Chocolate Lab and tips the scales at 100 pounds!! He's a real sweetheart and as friendly as can be. A funny story - Boey came over to our camp and stole a piece of firewood and walked off with it. He IS a Lab after all . . . after walking away 15 yards or so, he abruptly dropped the wood and started sniffing around. His nose led him another 20 yards or so, where he found a partially decomposed coyote. He picked it up and headed back towards us. My brother grabbed it from him and threw it into the brush away from our campsites. Boey spent the rest of the weekend sniffing around after that carcass. In the background, you can see my brother's camp.
Here's a shot of me standing next to Boldlygo:
Here's another shot of Chris in our camp.
Nice looking fish, huh? The one on the right was just under 14".After working up an appetite fishing, we came back to camp for a nice hearty breakfast. I just couldn't resist taking a picture of the bacon frying. Nothing like bacon on a nice crisp mountain morning. We added some pancakes too and had a camping feast. Of course, we had to eat fast. It was still so cold outside that our food would chill before we could finish eating!
Next to our campsite was my brother and sister-in-law's camp. Here's a picture of my brother with their faithful camping companion Bocephus. Boey (for short) is a Chocolate Lab and tips the scales at 100 pounds!! He's a real sweetheart and as friendly as can be. A funny story - Boey came over to our camp and stole a piece of firewood and walked off with it. He IS a Lab after all . . . after walking away 15 yards or so, he abruptly dropped the wood and started sniffing around. His nose led him another 20 yards or so, where he found a partially decomposed coyote. He picked it up and headed back towards us. My brother grabbed it from him and threw it into the brush away from our campsites. Boey spent the rest of the weekend sniffing around after that carcass. In the background, you can see my brother's camp.
Here's a shot of me standing next to Boldlygo:
Here's another shot of Chris in our camp.
Oh yeah . . . I forgot to mention . . . when you catch fish, somebody has to clean them! Here's a shot of Chris filleting our trout. Thanks for taking care of that chore Chris!! Of course, his hands stunk like fish the rest of the weekend . . . :-)
Well, that's it. Just a short account of the latest adventures of Boldlygo. Next trip - back to the same place for Memorial Day!!!
Well, that's it. Just a short account of the latest adventures of Boldlygo. Next trip - back to the same place for Memorial Day!!!