Learning is fun, unbalanced boats, good vs OK cover, no showers and lots of bass

[boudroux]

So I'm in my second summer of a business that allows me to spend two months on the lower Colorado River while my boys are out of school without the wife/mom around very much.  We have the main river channel with it's man made rip rap banks that hold smallmouth.  Last year my boys and I only fished the main channel and absolutely killed the smallies.  This year so far I'm targeting the largemouth on the back waters.  All this is still very new to me so each time I catch a fish I feel like a little kid at a toy store.  

The back waters look like this, I have direct access to approximately nine miles of this type of water, it's shallow from edge to edge, 6" visibility and in the middle of the CA/AZ desert so the water is warm and the air temps are 100+ all summer:

So far I've caught em flipping brush hog type plastics to the reeds and have been catching a lot of small guys, nothing decent + yet.   This past week the milfoil has started breaking through and creating big surface mats and I've been getting them on a frog along the edges of the thick mats.  These have been my first top water bass and holy cow what a blast.  So far the decent sized ones have come on the frog.  

When flipping the tules with the brush hogs I'm wondering if the bigger bass prefer a different type/area of cover since I've not hooked one yet in the tule edges.  Is there such a thing as primary cover where the big boys hang and secondary, not as good, cover that the little ones get pushed to?

I've also recently learned that if I'm in my boat solo (19' 20 yr old Ranger 396V) to only fill up the gas tank  opposite of the drivers side or I feel like a there is a serous case of gangster lean going on when not on plane, or I just need to lose some weight. ha

The other thing that has been fun to watch is my boys 6 & 8, learning how to use a bait caster.  I got them both a Kastking reel with a price point ABU rod.  Kids can't get it through their heads that distance comes with skill and me telling them to worry about properly casting before trying to zing the bait a country mile fall on deaf ears.  However they seem to be having more fun fighting birds nest on their "adult" set ups vs using their spinning gear that their spinning gear has been relegated to nightcrawler rigs for catfish.  

It's Tuesday, we've been taking "river" baths each day and mom is showing up this Friday to resupply us with clothes so we are on tap to take a real shower and do some serious house cleaning. 

I'll start taking some pictures of our fish to post,. I'm not good at remembering to do that but the memories for my boys are important.  Been a flyfisherman my entire life and it's nice to know there are other types of fishing that are just as fun.

Also, at night the big ole catfish are prowling for bluegill, caught this 40 pounder last year and hope to get a bigger one this year:

My 5yr old last summer with one of many smallies, hopefully we get into them this year like we did last because those little suckers are fun to catch.

[BassB8Caster]

Congrats on what sounds like an amazing trip. My first child is almost 11 months.  I CANNOT wait to go on fishing trips with my children. I got a bit to go but I think about it all the time.  You are right,  those boys will remember these memories forever. One day they will tell a story of.....dad remember that time.....makes every bit of it worth it. Keep up the great work!

[boudroux]

Thank you. Memories for sure.  Yesterday afternoon I watched a decent rod and reel combo disappear into the river when it slipped from my kids hand.  He got hung up in the bushes on the edge and was trying to hold the line to break it off.  All I heard was "ouch" and watched the rod disappear.  The line burned his hand and he let go.

 

Good times.

[boudroux]

I broke my phone yesterday morning so no pictures.  

 

Yesterday my two boys (6&8) took a canoe out on their own to go catch some catfish bait, bluegill or red ears.  Two hours later they came back with well over 30 freaking bombers!  So many the bait basket was stuffed.  Immediately I knew that that was to many fish to keep and we had to let most of them go.  Boy I tell you reaching your hand into a bait basket with 25-30 ticked off bluegill is something special, its like reaching into a hornets nest.  

 

Later that day we went out to the main river channel with rip rap banks and threw small swimbaits for smallies.  Both boys caught fish, I caught fish and couldn't take a single darn picture.  Should have a new phone by Friday.  Spending the summer 50 miles from anywhere down a dirt road is great, until you need overnight shipping.

[Joshua Beaver]

Congratulations on being able to take a trip like that with your boys.  Dad trips, as I call them, are a great way not only to bond with the boys but make long lasting memories for years to come. Keep em going and always remember that taking your boys fishing is not a great way to teach them respect for the animals and the environment, but also some life lessons like patience and knowing when it's time to set life aside and take some time to relax and have fun. May your cast be long and your line be tight.