Today I feel really good. Didn't do to good fishing but I did have a great day and it was a great feeling to be back in action for 2010.
As some of you already know, last year I was having some problem with my ankles due to a sprain and possible fractured bone in my left foot.
Last time I went out I had a brace on my left ankle only... I was good for a while but when I got back home my right ankle was pretty sore. So I decided to double up with the ACE braces on both ankles.

I am very glad to report that I was able to hang with it today on the rocks for over five hours with no pain in my ankles due to twisting. If you have a similar problem I suggest you try these out. You can get them at just about any major pharmacy.

When I arrived at the lake today I went over to the main office to get my yearly pass. $125, same as two years ago so that is a real bargain. Looks like I was the 29th person to buy one this year!!!

While I was over at the office on the west side of the Lagoon I noticed a fine bigger than life size carved wood statue outside on the lawn that I had never seen before.

This basically says it all about why we love to fish here.
Got down to the shore of the Lagoon around 9:00 am. Conditions were calm with a very slight breeze coming from the SW. It was a little chilly. Air temp was 58, water was 48.

I was figuring it was gonna be tough with the water at 48. I decided it was gonna be a slow approach for me with the old favorites for large bass.
Water was very clear today. I could see at least 30 feet.

I hung with two of my all time favorites for a long time. Ika and Senko T-rigged weightless. I had the Senko going on spinning gear with ten pound P-line mono and the Ika going on ten pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon.

Also got into some Roboworms and Rattlesnake curly tails on the C-rig.
By noon it had warmed up a bit. Actually got to 78 and I stripped off a top T-shirt and a thermal and got down to one short-sleeve T.
But wouldn't ya know, just minutes after I did that the wind changed sharply coming from the NW over the dam. The water began to get choppy and the air temp dropped 18 degrees in about five minutes.
Wind got up to about twenty and I had the thermal and top T on again in short order.
I was trying out a new toy today. I got some samples of the "Salamander Sinker" and I was giving them a spin on the C-rig.

When I first got these out of the package I couldn't understand exactly what was so special about them. But after fishing with it for a while the strong points of this little jewel became quite clear to me.
Basically it is a flexible plastic tube that you can put one or two weights in. The end toward the leader is sealed and the end toward the main line is capped so a weight can be inserted or removed and then re capped.
The line slides through the tube. When you get near an obstruction the pressure on the line bends the tube creating a spring which when the pressure on the line is released pushes the main line end of the tube away from the obstruction and over it.

Very smart idea and well designed. I fished with this rig for over three hours in some pretty rocky spots and didn't get snagged once.
Obviously there are some well schooled engineers who like to go bass fishing.
Necessity is the mother of invention and simplicity is the mark of genius, the Salamander Sinker is both.
If you are a C-rig fan you should check these out. I was using the smaller size.
Didn't get any bites today, didn't see anyone else score either while I was there. Saw no fish or signs of life in the water.
Did have a great day and I was good to be back at it. When I left a about 2:00 it was still breezy from the NW. Water was still 48 air temp was 62.

I will back at it again soon as I get a chance.
Good fishing to you guys, later................