calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I remember that and agree Sam!

There are e-pics that are easy to find that show Mead is infamous for it's wind damage. It's a lake that you want to treat like an ocean and don't take anything for granted.

Our worst incident was with a group of 4 houseboats in Middle Point. It was one of the typical perfect days on Mead, skiing on glass at 2 in the afternoon. I was keeping an eye on the weather at the southern end building up, and around 4pm I happened to look down towards the Temple and noticed the water boiling which is never a good sign. I yelled to everyone they have about 5 minutes to take down e-z ups, pack up and reinforce their beach stakes. Some looked at me in disbelief and some didn't understand the whole wind issue having never experienced it. It came from directly behind us and when it hit we lost one boat sideways on the beach. It was the only one that decided to stay there. I had headed for windward cover which worked out good for us. We pulled the beached HB off the next morning and had 2 other separate groups on their way to meet lake support see us stop and ask if we could get their h-boats off the beach. We were forced to decline because of the liability issues.
The moral of the story is never take the lake for granted. I've even seen HB's not staked in! :facepalm:

 

[QC]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

We have had what I call "Battle Stations" on almost every trip. Exactly as you describe. Always seems to happen in the middle of dinner :facepalm:

I've even seen HB's not staked in!

I was also so stuck in the muck around Gypsum Reefs in a a house boat that it took two support boats to get her off the beach. And this was in just one afternoon. Got that vacuum thing going and that was it. Stakes would've made no difference that day.

 

[sam60]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I think that we may be done with freezing AM temps here. I need to get parts ordered for transom reseal (& gimble bearing, etc.) and get the fuel pump voltage issue figured out. When the spring wind is done blowing and it is too hot to boat, I will be ready for fall...:facepalm:

 

[fishrdan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I think the spring winds stopped blowing Saturday evening at 10:14pm.

(I'm not a weatherman, but stayed at a Holiday Inn Express a couple weeks ago...)

 

[sam60]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I here ya Dan. If I lived closer and had a smaller boat, it might not seem like such a chore to get out there.

How has the fishin' been this year? I am still looking for you to get the striper record!

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

We had a great trip!!

We stayed at calville bay campground,some guys had my favorite spots at campgound,looked like they had been there for weeks with all the gear they had.

We camped at nunber 1 site for the two days with winds around 5 to 15 mph but the lake never made caps,it was a nice ride each day.

We set up camp monday morning and sat by its side for a few hours and organized our stuff,We hit the water by 3 and began trolling for fish for 45 min and caught a few stripers nothing to brag about,then we went sight fishing and saw many large mouth on the beds so i didnt want to ruin there parade so i left them alone.

Then we headed toward the narrows in search of big horn sheep along the arizona side,we almost made it to the middle when we found them.realizing we left our phones at the campground we couldnt take pics or call for help if needed as the sun was setting the weather got much colder on the ride back in. Then the motor cut off as we were heading back suddenly. I was scared at first then after a short check i noticed the kill switch came loose a little and we were back on our way.The first night at the campground we relaxed and left the boat floating at the marina,we ate at the marina because the next night all food would be closed due to seasonal patterns lol.We found firewood around the campground to burn once we got back by riding our bikes around.It was wet and took several hours to burn hot though.We made hamburgers just before bed time and slept well.But i did wonder a little about where i left my wallet that day as i fell asleep lol. More to come as day two arrived

 

[fishrdan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I here ya Dan. If I lived closer and had a smaller boat, it might not seem like such a chore to get out there.

How has the fishin' been this year? I am still looking for you to get the striper record!

Couple weeks ago was my first trip to Mead for the year, and we got skunked. LOTs of micro fish swimming around in the lights, I'm guessing the shad had spawned a week earlier. I do agree about bigger boats being a pain to prep/haul/launch/load. My 14'er is a piece of cake compared to my 18'er, easily a couple hours of added time with the bigger boat. I imagine hauling a 25'er from Pahrump has to be a day worth of time, just getting to and from the lake when everything is considered...

We hit the water by 3 and began trolling for fish for 45 min and caught a few stripers

LOL, you did better than we did. 2-3 hours of soaking bait at night and trolling for 3 hours the next morning got us a big fat "0" :facepalm:

 

[sam60]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I do agree about bigger boats being a pain to prep/haul/launch/load. My 14'er is a piece of cake compared to my 18'er, easily a couple hours of added time with the bigger boat. I imagine hauling a 25'er from Pahrump has to be a day worth of time, just getting to and from the lake when everything is considered...

This time I hear and not here you....damn keyboard. :facepalm:

I use a 6' fiberglass ladder to load and unload. We are both tired after each process, but I am glad to have that as a problem!

I am hoping that work is picking up a bit for others that work in any aspect of construction. I seem to be seeing more going on, which will ease the pain of buying parts and accessories...and paying my bills.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I use a 6' fiberglass ladder to load and unload. We are both tired after each process, but I am glad to have that as a problem!

I am hoping that work is picking up...

Using a ladder has to be a huge pain in the...... I mentioned my 14'er, everything is accessable standing right next to it, can reach all the way across the boat while standing next to it On my 18'er, we have to climb aboard for most things so it's an in-out, in-out process. Though, with the minions aboard I don't have to get in-out too much.

I'm not in construction, but my work has been going strong for the past 6 months or so, which is a good sign.

 

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

This was from a couple years ago at a lower water elevation than now. I think pretty much all the people in the pic are from Temple Bar Trailer Village. This was a great beach, but only the beach area in the foreground was really protected from the northern blow.

 

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

This is the pic I mentioned a while ago in this thread about the "NO UPSTREAM TRAVEL' buoy up the Colorado River from Lake Mead near Separation Canyon. After this is the first set of rapids (or the last if you're rafting )

 

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

This is a little Cove we used to love stopping in, especially at this elevation. It's a little cove appropriately named Spring Cove, as it had a little spring feeding into it. When these were taken it was only a couple feet deep and our 2 Dobies loved it!

 

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

If you've gotten the idea that I finally scanned some old pics, you're right! The Admiral turned 50 last week ans I spend many hours putting together a presentation for a surprise birthday we had for her last weekend.

Here's a pic from our first HB trip out of Calville. This is in Secret Cove, which is one of my favorite coves to this day.



Before the HB trip we spent the weekend at Echo on the Parker Strip and one of our friends won both the wet t-shirt contest on Saturday and the Hot Legs contest on Sunday. What a way to start a trip! She was invited back for the finals in Sept which she won something like $1500!
(edited to protect the innocent!)

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Great pics 12vman!!!!

 

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Thanks jj. I'll post up some more when time permits..

In the mean time, escape to the Muddy Mountains!

 

[sam60]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I agree with jjacobs007, great stuff!

 

[motor boater]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Wow, its cool to see there's a few of you who frequent lake mead. Im just getting back into the fishing game and am almost done with my refurbishing. After that I Hope to begin learning some hot spots for striper.. I've still never caught one but have friends who have caught monsters. Cant wait to share stores with you all. If anyone is ever looking for a fishing partner/buddy let me know. I would love to learn some new things. Im not a newbie, but still have lots to learn. Other than that, you may see me in a blue and white four winns freedom 160, wakeboarding in the middle of the lake outside of hemmenway. Summers here, I'll see you all out there.

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

The spirit of lake mead will never die!!! Even if one day were just sitting a few miles down from calville bay on the rivers edge it will still be great.

 

[QC]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Wow, its cool to see there's a few of you who frequent lake mead.

Welcome to the thread mb. Great group we have here, and also the rest of iboats!

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

12vman that muddy mtn video was good,Crystal and the NPS did a great job on the cutting and mixing .I finally watched it.