| | -
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
| 2 labels |  |
|
1 |
-
| |  |
|
3 |
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
|
| | |
|
| Car Camping | |
|
| | Car Camping | | 3 Days | | |
| | | |
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Back in January, my Best Friend and Fishing Partner passed away...We had shared many a Fishing Trip and Tournament together. We belonged to a Bass Club, Canyon Bass, for years, and fished their Monthly Tournaments...The Members of that Club were a tight-knit Group and we considered them Family...Dad retired from Fishing and I had to quit the Club a couple of years later due to work conflicts...The Club dissolved in 2010. Occasionally, over the Years, we would see a Member or two, but as a General Rule, only when someone was sick or had passed, which was just the way it was...Everyone had spread out...Some had retired and moved to other areas of the State and some had just gotten into other interests...But the Memories never faded...
At Dad's Service, the Entire Core Group of Canyon Bass showed up...It was not only Amazing, but it also reminded all of us just how much we missed the "old days" and each other...And so, after the Service, when everyone was at the House, a Plan was Born...  And the Wheels started rolling within days after that, trying to round up Emails and Members. The Date, Time and Location was set for a Canyon Bass Reunion with a "Fun" Tournament. 
Four Days before our Scheduled Event, all of the Public Access Points at Roosevelt Lake are closed and locked...After a bunch of Phone Calls, we found that fortunately, the Marina at Roosevelt Lake is considered Private and was open. We would be allowed to Launch and Camp there. The Launch Ramp is pretty good, the Camping, well, there are really no places to Camp, other than the sides of the Roads within the Marina Complex, but we made do and worked it out...There was no way we were going to Cancel this Event after so much planning...
My Brother and I arrived on Friday Afternoon along with most of the others. We also brought just a little bit of Dad, stowed in a Ziplock Baggie in my Tackle Box,  My Brother had purchased my Cousin's old Bass Boat a couple of years ago, so we would be a Team, for the first time ever... And the Fun began...And it never quit until we finally pulled out on Sunday...
The Marina filled up pretty quickly that Night, with everyone funneling in to the one place accessible on the Lake, in spite of it's 112 Miles of Shoreline.  There was going to be an "Official" Tournament out of the Marina the next morning, in addition to our little "Unofficial" one. Needless to say, it was pretty much Wall to Wall people by Saturday Afternoon... However, since we launch and start by "Safe Light", we only had to contend with the other Tournament's Traffic on Saturday Morning...As soon as the Sun set, the Wind came up and was at least 25 MPH, gusting to 35 MPH...We were all hoping it would die down before morning...
It didn't and most of us had to start out in Sheltered areas just to keep from being blown around too much...Luckily, the Wind finally died down some about mid morning. We fished for 10 hours, although, my Brother is a "relaxed" Fisherman, like myself, and doesn't mind taking a Break every once in awhile...  We Beached the Boat around Noon, had a little Lunch, a short 20 Minute Power Nap and then a very refreshing Swim, before resuming with the Fishing. We had a hard time finding the Active Fish on Saturday and most of the Action had been really early in the Day. Although a little discouraging, we both still enjoyed the Day.
Canyon Bass always had a Tradition of doing a Potluck on Saturday Nights and this night was no exception...And everyone completely outdid themselves on this one...After the Weigh-In Saturday, we all got back to Camp, got ready for the next day and then started on the Food...I should have taken a Picture, but it would have required an extremely Wide Lens... There were 28 of us for Dinner... And the Laughing around the Campfire continued, until way too late...
The next morning we all launched, and then at my Brother's Request, instead of leaving, everyone hung around, while my Brother reminisced about Dad for a few minutes and then scattered some of Dad's Ashes into the Lake, amongst all his dearest Friends...It was a very fitting moment and everyone there will cherish it...
My Brother and I did well on Sunday, with both of us catching Limits plus some...There was Top Water Action in the Morning and it is always the best kind of Fishing Action there is...There is something very special about actually "seeing" the Fish rise up to take the Lure! It's the ultimate Fun in Bass Fishing!!! Everyone did pretty well that Day, with the Wind only be a factor for a couple of hours mid-morning. We did the Weigh-In at Noon and then everyone started packing up and departing. I convinced my Brother to stop at Big Daddy's on the way out, since he'd never tried it before...
Renewed Friendships, Good Times, Memories, Fish Tales, Lots of Laughs and just an incredibly Memorable Weekend...We all had so much fun, that it was immediately determined that this would be at least an Annual Affair...  The Dick Barnhart Memorial Tournament...He managed to bring us all back together, even with his Death...He would have loved knowing that!!! How Fitting!!!  |
| _____________________
| Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!" |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
