Arizona fishing (Updated)

Saguaro Lake boat ramp

My one and only brother Bill set up housekeeping in Apache Junction, Arizona, last year. He found a home in a 55+ park and, with his girlfriend Pat. duplicated many of the things they have in Massachusetts: two cars, a boat, a really nice organ, and comfortable living. Bill worked long and hard, and late in life. I'm glad for him that he's able to enjoy life in retirement.

The Arizona boat is a 20' Sea Ray with a 190 HP Chevy inboard/outboard which he found on Craig's List. It was designed for skiing and such, but he's made some good modifications to use it as a bass boat. He took out the front seats, and built a raised floor in the front with a fishing seat, and added a 24v trolling motor with a Garmin fish-depth finder.

We planned to do some fishing here, as Arizona has numerous lakes and reservoirs, and has one of the highest boats-per-capita numbers in the nation. The closest is Saguaro Lake, one of three reservoirs on the Salt River, about 18 miles from his house.

Bill with the boat

So far, the fishing has been obstructed by Murphy. Before we arrived, he had the boat parked in the street in front of his house, and a neighbor's friend backed into it and bumped it. No apparent damage, but an auspicious start nonetheless. After we arrived, we took the boat to Saguaro Lake, but the boat would not start. He had planned on taking it in for service, as it has sat since last spring untouched. So, we went from the boat ramp to the shop in Tempe. A few days later he got it back. Again, we took it to Saguaro late one afternoon, and it started and seemed to run OK. We checked out the trolling motor, and that all worked fine. We only had about an hour, and found no fish.

After bringing it home, he discovered that there was excessive side-to-side play in the I/O unit, and after checking with the shop, determined that the likely cause was that the accident did cause some damage. He got an estimate for repairs, negotiated with the perp, and got a settlement. The boat went back to the shop. A week later it was back.

We spent a morning getting the depth finder mounted, and went back to Saguaro to check it all out. This time, all worked perfectly, and we still caught no fish. But we talked with others who were successful and got some tips on what lures to use, so we took a trip to Bass Pro yesterday, and we're ready to go fishing in earnest soon. Of course, it's almost time to leave here, so we'd better get out there!

For me, fishing in Arizona is Epiphany (defined as: "A sudden revelation of truth inspired by a seemingly trivial incident." as used by James Joyce). The revelation here is that it might be possible to catch fish when surrounded by saguaro cactus in the middle of the desert. Being there just seems strange, given my Massachusetts/Minnesota/Maine background.

Possible. Possible. We'll keep trying. It beats the alternative.

Update (12/26)

Saguaro Lake shoreline

We got a long day back at Saguaro Lake, with new lures, live bait, everything as we thought it should be. While the day was cool, the wind was light and the sun was bright and warming. I made us some sandwiches for lunch, and we got to the lake around 12:00 noon. We've done this enough times now that the launch is more or less routine. I backed the boat into the water, and Bill tried to start it, but it wouldn't start. The engine battery was nearly drained in the process.

Not wanting to throw in the towel, we asked a few guys who were putting in or taking out their boats if they had any jumper cables. We finally found a guy who did, and Bill pulled one of the trolling motor batteries and jumped the engine battery. Much to our glee, the boat started.

We headed out into the lake and found some fish. Tried all our lures. Tried lots of spots. The depothfinder displayed lots of fish, at various depths, but they didn't care for what we were offering them. Other guys on the lake said they were only catching very small fish, 6-8 inches.

We ate our lunch, trolled alomg the shoreline.

Bill trying to land a bush

ow, don't think that just because we caught no fish that we didn't catch anything. We both caught stuff on the bottom severl times each, resulting in the loss of a couple lures and a couple hooks with worms or anchoves. And Bill casts his lures much farther than he thinks he can, catching stumps and bushes on the shore.

But, that's why they call it fishing, not catching. And, honest, the live bait died trying for us.