It has definitely been an interesting 2 weeks - one of many firsts. First off, Rick and I actually got to go camping with friends over a weekend thanks to Bryan, thus no weekly report last week. When we had returned, we got to drive on the bridge for the first time - they're definitely getting it done!

The Lake went empty last Sunday up front for the first time - due to drought conditions and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power not working with Edison to try and keep the Lake levels up a bit.

This is NOT a first - looks like you've all been dancing a tad cuz there was a bit of snow on Mt Haeckel and the Whites a week ago Wednesday - it's a start - not a first for now in August, but the first snow of the season. And we also have quite a bit of color already showing around the Lake - a bit earlier than normal.

And probably the biggest first of all is - "Yogi" came in thru the louver window by the front door - not once, but twice during the night. It was pretty interesting watching on the security cameras. He is a pretty well-mannered bear - came around to the back of the candy counter to get ButterFingers and Peanuts rather than sticking his paw thru the front. The mini-sausage container on the counter was just a bit too small for his paw and that got broken. He got into the frig in the kitchen and only pulled out the deli drawer to get the bacon and only cherries and berries were taken out of the back freezer. Quite an eventful morning!

Not much of a changed on what's working and what's not - Fishing in deeper water (that would be behind what is normally the Island or taking a bit of a hike to at least the front of the back natural Lake) with NightCrawlers or PowerBait. Fishing the inlets (not much water coming in at any of them) with a fly and a bubble, NightCrawlers, PowerBait or Lures are getting limits. Got a good load of stockers from the Department of Fish and Game last Monday. We got our last stocking a week ago Wednesday.

Tommaso Tarantino, pictured above of Las Vegas landed a 3-1/4 pound Rainbow on what he likes to refer to as the "Tommaso" Buoyant. Evan Snellings, Photo #1 of Redlands pulled out a nice 3 pound hook-jawed male Rainbow using Gulp Chunky Cheese.

As I said earlier - we got to drive on the new bridge and it is looking fine! They are now working on the parts of the road leading to the new bridge and there are some delays while the dump trucks are loaded with rocks and dirt - so please be patient. The crew did have a bit of a setback when the excavator ended up on a huge rock which broke off the hydraulic pump off the motor - luckily no fluids were lost.

We have been asked quite a bit about where the water goes out of the dam - that would be the outflow structure - located on the other end of the dam - fishing tends to be pretty good over by the outflow structure due to the moving water (when we have water J).

We have also been asked what all the indentations are on the bottom of the Lake bed - that would be the spawning beds of the sucker fish - we have lots of suckers in this Lake.

Another week of possible monsoonal weather - beautiful blue skies in the morning, big fluffy clouds start growing, then a few thunderboomers and much needed rain! This week's temps are expected to be in the mid-40s for the lows and in the high-70s for the highs. You can check NOAA's website at http://www.weather.gov and enter ASPENDELL, CA on the site and it will give you a fairly good hint at the weather up at the Lake or check in with Howard at www.MammothWeather.com.

Remember when using the bug juice and SANITIZER you need to really wash your hands before fishing - then rub some Salmon Egg juice, worm dirt or Anglers Bros Trout attractant to take that smell off. Also, remember your polarized dark glasses and sunscreen.

We're started scraping and painting the building, so the deck will be off-limits unless you've got a scraper or paint brush in your hand. If you happen to come by and see a "CLOSED - GONE FISHIN" sign on the door (during the week), it's because we haven't had a car in the lot for at least an hour or two - hope you understand the closed sign - the fish are calling. Bryan will be here during the week periodically to give us a chance to get off the mountain.

Juanita, Rick, Patti, & Bryan