“Howdy !!” from Lake Cuyamaca….. This is “Dusty Britches” along with “Peppermint Patty”, “CT-3”, and “Slo-Bullets” listening to uncle “Snot Locker” Britches talk about signs along the roadways when he was young before the big highways came in to being. “Burma Shave” had some good ones like….”A man, a miss, a car, a curve, he kissed the miss, and missed the curve”. Or…..”Don’t stick your elbow out so far, it may go home in another car”, or “trains don’t wander all over the map because nobody sits in the engineer’s lap !”

Ole “Snot Locker” had some good ones! Like the story he told us about sliding down the banister at home to find it had splinters in it….

The fishing has picked up considerable with reported rainbow trout catches of up to 6.5 pounds! Limits coming out as the days lengthen and water warms….. and that was before our recent stocking of 1,000 pounds from Jess Ranch on April 7th. Not to be confused with the upcoming Western Outdoor News “Troutcast” tournament which will see some good action as we have an additional 4,000 pounds of Mt. Lassen trout to be planted before the April 23 fishing extravaganza! They have a different idea for prizes and awards this year.

The Lake will be closed for fishing from the 19th of April until tournament day.

Not to mention another fishing tournament for the young anglers on April 30th…..”Flippin Sticks and Rippin Lips” for ages 15 years and under. Natasha Hollingsworth is the organizer for this event.

The bass anglers are starting to show….rock hoppin has started. We are unable to get any catfish lately, but it will be interesting to see how well the panfish faired through winter when things warm up more……it looks pretty good so far. And if you come up, kill a carp…. fish for free, or camp for free**. I hear that Bohemian potato bread works wonders with them. Buy a loaf, bring it, mush some of it up into dough balls to fish with and make sandwiches with the rest. 

The winds are from the east as the Santa Ana’s grow strong up here and dry out the inland valleys.

The number of dogs going on walks in the early mornings with me has increased to 4 which provides more entertainment for me. More butt sniffing, grass eating, stick fetching, and K-9 farting. Something to be said about a dog’s passing of gas, no noise…..just an odor that permeates the air in all directions.

This morning was clear and windy. We watched as a local bald eagle was being chased by a very mad raven…..I wonder what the eagle did? One of the more amusing questions that we get is “When is a good time to take a picture of the bald eagle? and where?” or….when do they fly by? …….hmmmm….. that’s right up there with “Where can I catch fish?”

Things are waking up from a long winter’s nap….the deer are out, red winged black birds are here in force, the Canada geese are pairing up, turkey vultures are doing their thing, raccoons are stirring, skunks smelling, road kills happening in greater numbers, and those splats on the windshield isn’t rain.

We have a couple new employees, one is an ex-postal worker, and the other is 81 years old, no discrimination here. They wanted to stay anonymous, so I told Bill and JoEllen that their secret is safe with me…..

The restaurant is coming along swimmingly (I heard that somewhere) with the new kids on the block Tom and Tyson. Damn good food, and better service so come and check it out. The new brand for the restaurant is “The Pub” at Lake Cuyamaca. Smoked chicken wings for appetizers (or the Charcuterie board) followed by a ”Nickle Pickle” burger with garlic cheese fries is my favorite. To look at their menu, check out their web-site. They are now open for dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings too….. sometimes with live entertainment!

Well, I’m headin' on so, “Happy Trails” to you until we meet again.

“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened”.  “Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe”……”Mark Twain”.

“Tight lines and Bent rods…..take a kid fishin”…..”Dusty Britches” .

** Kill a carp, show the tackle shop or a ranger, and you will receive a gift certificate for a future fishing permit or a future night of tent camping.