Bible Scripture – Page 6

Pine Valley Reservoir, Southern Utah

This photo looks through the little meadow from which the Santa Clara River enters the small Pine Valley Reservoir. The “river” nomenclature is a misnomer; in reality it is a small creek. Note the two bait anglers settling in near inlet that I had just vacated.

It seemed to me it had been a long time since I had an out-of-town angling adventure. Excluding a 90-minute visit to the local Cold Creek pond, my last fishing trip was with my son Doug over eight weeks ago. I feel as though I missed the best part of the spring fishing. Maybe I feel that way because I anticipate next year will be difficult for spring fishing due to Nevada’s biennium legislative session, but who knows. Regardless, I know the anxiousness I feel about missing the productive early spring season seems directly related to God’s timing.

Cold Springs Reservoir – Wayne Kirch

Doug tubing Cold Springs, Grant Range in distant background

I admit to enjoying fishing alone. When I am by myself I feel as though I am in control of all the decisions. I can decide to fish shorter or longer, stay overnight or not, even to change destinations without consulting a fishing partner. Of course, I only “feel” as though I am in control. When traveling alone and making changes to the “plan” I always check in with my wife, both to keep her informed of my location and travel itinerary as well as to ask permission when such changes affect her expectations of my presence at home.

Chief Financial Officers fishing Cold Creek

Mummy Mountain, 11,527 feet above sea level, from Cold Creek Road

This late winter, early spring has been frustrating as the fishing goes. There have been periods with temperatures around 70 degrees in Las Vegas, and that translates into early morning to mid-day temperatures at the 6,000-foot elevation of 40 to 60 degrees… very tolerable. But life gets busy.

Ice Man at Cold Creek

Bright rainbow; first trout of the day on a beaded prince nymph

We had a little cold snap in Las Vegas this week, a precursor of the colder winter to come. It made me reflect upon the Cold Creek pond, wondering if the freezing overnight temperatures had sealed its fate for the season. But yesterday was a nice day for late fall standards, and the weekend forecast was good. Being an impulsive fisherman I decided to see about the ice status for myself this morning.

Cold Creek Pond, Clark County

Glass smooth Cold Creek pond reflecting Trout Truck and juniper under a snow dusted mountain

I suppose I should have called the hatchery number to check on the timing of the fall stocking program. But, had I called and been told that it hadn’t been stocked yet I might not have gone to Cold Creek. And although it turned out that it wasn’t stocked, and I’m glad I went “blind” to discover that on my own.

Cold Springs Reservoir, Wayne Kirch WMA

This is the Cold Springs boat dock. The Grant Range on the left side of the horizon.

I made a quick getaway to Cold Springs Reservoir in the Wayne Kirch Wildlife Management Area. The KWMA is nestled in the high desert of the White River watershed, such as it is. As barren as it appears from Highway 318 (thirty miles south of Lund, NV), the KWMA does have quite a variety of wildlife (see this KWMA brochure). On a previous KWMA excursion I wrote about almost running into a golden eagle that was pursuing a desert cottontail rabbit; that was an awesome experience. On this trip I again flushed another large golden eagle from the left side of the dirt service road. This time I got a very close look at the large raptor, and it amazed me that such a large bird can actually fly, let alone attack game from the air. By the time I stopped the truck, lowered the passenger window, and got the camera into zoom mode the eagle had gotten about 100 yards away and was circling back to the south. Having a close encounter with such a majestic bird is the highlight of any trip.

Pine Valley, Utah

This Pine Valley mansion overlooks the cattle pasture and the Santa Clara River that flows just below the white fence in the distance.

Holiday weekends don’t usually entice me to travel. I like to vacation between the weekends so as to keep the crowds to a minimum. It’s not that I’m introverted or antisocial, but truthfully, who likes to struggle in crowds on a vacation. Fishing works the same way, but for different reasons. When I venture outdoors I like to pursue the feeling of wilderness (even when it’s not reality). It’s a throwback to my youthful hiking days; always wanting to trek where no one has gone before, to see things as natural and undisturbed as possible. Currently, fishing on weekdays before or after the holidays is the best I can manage to create the sense of solitude and peace.

Cold Springs Reservoir, Wayne Kirch Wildlife Management Area

Sixteen-plus inch Cold Spring rainbow (note spawning color into caudal fin)

My first trip to Wayne Kirch was on April 1, 2005. It was a cold, windy day as I recall. I was the only fisherman on the water, and it was rough going in my Fish Cat tube. My notes from that day report that I landed just three rainbows. They also record three long distance releases (LDRs, as we call them) and three missed strikes. The notes blamed my poor showing on the cold weather and slow reflexes. Although I don’t recall that trip being particularly enjoyable, it was my maiden voyage to the Kirch WMA.

Cold Creek Revival

Some say communing with nature can be a religious experience. I, for example, find that everything in nature screams of the Creator. I don’t worship nature, but I find that the Lord’s hand is everywhere to be found in it. In the Bible, Job retorts in his defense against his so called friends, “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or ask the birds of the air, and they will teach you. Speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea tell you. Every one of these knows that the hand of the Lord has done this” (Job 13, 7-9). So, today I went to speak with Mr. Trout.

Beaver Dam Creek, Lincoln County, Nevada

They say you can never go back. Especially after you’ve been gone a long time. Things change. You change. Memories live on in your brain, scenes and events immortalized within. They say as you age the short-term memory goes, but the long-term memory lingers. Maybe that bodes well for senile reminiscing on early life adventures. Maybe I won’t remember this most recent trip.