NANFA-- River Reef Report 7/21

kahley (kahley7_at_ptd.net)
Sun, 21 Jul 2002 06:33:31 -0500

Well, I was too late, even at 8AM, to get a clear look in the snag for
the walleyes. The reef is located in the upper reaches of Lake Augusta,

which is a 2000 acre, 13 mile lake, formed by an inflatable dam.
The dam slows the flow, so the silt which is stirred doesn't flow away,
but hangs and slowly settles back. This is not a good year for clarity
because, as mentioned before, there were two episodes of high water,
fueled by rain runoff and highly silty. The flooding deposited a lot of
silt
along the banks, and the recreational usage by powerboats and jetskis,
creates waves which wash against the shore and stir things up.
Being Saturday, the fisherman had been out since dawn and the water
was not as clear as friday, plus the overcast held until 10. When the
sun did come out, I slipped over and was greeted by a line up of
Green Sunfish. I always get a kick out of how they line up and
face me when I poke my head into their home. With their bull dog
mugs, they look so fierce, as though guarding their home. Looking
past them, I could see the lovely White Crappies.so delicate and
perky. But no sign of the Walleye. I just waited, holding very still
for a looong time and only caught a glimpse, But there is at least one
still in there and I saw a hint of white edging on the bottom fin and
tail
so I'm pretty sure they are walleye.
I tried to sneak around the back. but it was so twiggy I think it would
be better to try that nude. I'm not trying to be provocative by my Tee
shirt kept getting snagged and even my hair got hung up as I tried to
maneuver thru the mess. Then my cadre of chubs found me and I
knew that was it for the day as their zipping around stirred even more
mud
and I gave it up. There are hundreds of minnows in there, so maybe the
walleyes will hang out long enough for me to try during the week, when
things
are calmer.
This river has many faces. River for eight months and then a lake for
four,
recreation madness on the weekend yet soooo peaceful during the week,
you might see three boats during a whole morning. I bet the fish hate
the
weekends as much as I do. Well I have some chores to do before we
head out today. Ohh...almost forgot. I bought a camera! And now
I remember why we had so little luck taking pics the last time. The
focus
is fixed to a minimum of four feet and it's hard to keep the fishes that

far away <grin>. I will try though, but not until the water settles
down and the sun is bright. 8 bucks for 20 some shots! Don't
want to waste them. Another Sunday awaits <sigh>..lots of wakes
and vigilance to try and keep the SS away from the nests.
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