Fishing Goals for 2014

"I dare do all that may become a man" - Macbeth, Shakespeare

Oh man, he's getting poetic! That must mean it's time for some crazy fishing goals!! Here we go folks, time to do it big in 2014!

1. Catch 5 Salmon
This is five times last years goal (just to catch one) I told you I was feeling confident! I have yet to even catch one salmon but this year I WILL catch five!

2. Catch five Steelhead
Similar to my salmon goal, I am not only going to catch my first of these but I will catch multiple fish. Go big or go home!!

3. Catch 50 Trout
Oh man, I debated with this one. Last year I caught 10 trout total! I have never really been a trout fisherman and that is seen in the fact that I have only caught 11 in my entire life! But I am feeling confident today. I’m ready to shoot for the stars here. This definitely means focusing a lot more on trout fishing. I figure I will go a few more times this winter and I will be fly fishing a lot during small stream season so this goal is attainable!

4. Catch a new personal best striper, and then do it again!
I LOVE Striper fishing; It’s in my blood! Last year I slacked on the striper but this year I will be fishing the run, big time! I plan to break my previous personal best and then best that again, all in one year! I could have just tried to break my record once, but what better challenge could there be than beating your record twice in one year?!

5. Catch a 7 lb largemouth
I went huge last year in my largemouth goal. I went for a 10 lber. I figured this year I would lower that goal a bit and shoot for a 10 lber again next year.Who knows, maybe I will get into the 10 lber while pursuing the 7 lber!

6. Find 5 new fly fishing spots.
Who am I kidding, I LOVE fly fishing and I’m addicted. Every time I look at my fly fishing equipment, I want to fish! This year I will force myself to exit my comfort zone and search for new fly fishing spots. As a result I figure I will find some beautiful scenery and take some great pictures.

7. Catch my first fish in the ocean
I have been surf fishing once and did not do well. This year I am going on the Usal trip with my buddies again and this time I intend to spend more time hitting the surf. I figure even if I don’t catch one here, I can always try fishing off of a public pier or something.

8. Take a trip somewhere JUST to fish!
I JUST came up with this one while writing these goals so its new and exciting! Alaska , Montana , Idaho, Oregon? I haven’t thought this one out at all so I guess we will see!!

9. Catch my first Largemouth and Smallmouth bass on the Fly!
I have been wanting to catch a largemouth on the fly for a while. Why not commit it to paper and also add a smallie in there?!

10. Catch 70 Panfish
If you’re not breaking the bank, you’re not living!! It’s time for me to live up to my blog name. This is 10 less fish than I caught in all of 2013! I am going to catch 70 panfish in a year; bluegills, crappie, red ears, green sunfish, etc. If I accomplish this one and the trout one I will have caught more fish in one year than I have in any other year of my life!

As you can see, folks, I mean business this year! I have researched a lot, studied a lot and asked a lot of questions and it’s time to test my limits. Don’t get me wrong I am not trying to be the expert or act like I know it all but it’s time to really challenge myself. It’s time to break the bank, folks!

2013 Fishing Goals Report!

2013 was a decent year of fishing. It was the first year that I actually counted my fish so that’s a definite highlight. In 2013 I caught a grand total of 80 fish and I’m proud of that total! I worked hard for that total. I fished as much as I possibly could for that total. Part of me wants to say it’s not a lot of fish but it’s about more than just the fish, it’s about learning HOW to catch the fish! Its about always being a student of angling as opposed to being an un-teachable know it all.

My Personal best crappie - 12 in.

I am not an expert by any means but I now have 3 solid seasons under my belt. I would say that this third season has been the biggest learning year so far. That’s a huge milestone. In 2013 I learned how to fly fish, I learned how to fish for salmon, I learned how to set up a punch rig, I revisited and really learned how to use the slip-bobber rig to catch more panfish than I ever have. 

Fly fishing for the very first time

Out of all of these skills, my favorite by far is learning to fly fish. Ever since the moment I found out Mark would be teaching me to fly fish, I knew I would be hooked. So when I first held a fly rod in my hand, the moment I first tried to cast, the first fish I caught, the first trout I caught on my own rod;  all of those moments really confirmed that I would not forget about fly fishing and would eventually begin a lifelong pursuit of fly fishing. I will always remember 2013 as the year I became a fly fisherman. 

Below are the goals I had for 2013. Some I completed, others I will complete this year.

1.       Catch my first Salmon 

Incomplete. I didn’t catch my first salmon this year. However, my head is not down about this one. I learned exactly how to catch a salmon and the only thing missing this year was actually hooking into one. 2014 will definitely be my year for the king! 

2.       Catch my first Sturgeon 

Incomplete. Honestly, the weather has thrown my fishing schedule off. Usually around this time I would be trying for Sturgeon but the end of December and early January has felt like summer in Northern California. I usually wait for some rain to start salmon fishing but it hasn’t happened yet. All that to say I didn’t catch any salmon last year. Haha I will give it another go this year. 

3.       Catch my first steelhead

Incomplete. I didn’t really do anything toward this goal. I will however be going out for steelhead with they fly rod soon so hopefully 2014 will be the year for chrome!!

4.       Discover new fishing holes

Great spot on Dry Creek

Complete. I definitely accomplished this one! This year I found the bee hive, a salmon spot in Knights landing, A spot on dry creek for trout, and a great spot for catfishing at Ellis Lake. This year I will be on the hunt for more spots!

5. Catch more trout

PB Rainbow trout - 16 in.

stringer from New Melones

Complete. This goal wasn’t specific by any means but I have never been a trout fisherman. This year, I caught trout. I caught 14 total trout this year which was more than the single trout I caught last year. I also caught the largest trout I have ever caught which was a 16 inch planter. In 2014 I intend to catch many more. Its also important to note that 9 out of these 14 trout were caught on the fly. 

6.       Catch more smallmouth bass

My PB 24 in. Striper

Incomplete. I hardly even tried, but I will!!

7.       Break my striper record

Complete. This year I hooked into a hard fighting tuxedo bass that broke my old record by 2 inches. Even though I didn’t get into many stripers this year, I’m happy to say I got into my biggest so far. 

8.       Catch a double digit Largemouth

Incomplete. I hardly fished for largemouth this year and when I did get into them, they weren’t as large as I thought they would be. 

9.       More overnight fishing trips

Incomplete. I had a few camping trips but no overnight fishing trips. I need to put this goal back up in 2014 because I love al night fishing! 

10.   Do more fishing research than ever before!

Complete. I definitely researched more than ever. I think my tactic is different than in the past. Although I did do a ton of online research and video watching, I also asked a lot of questions to the experts like Mark with trout, Sean with Salmon and Russell with panfish. 

In all I met four out of my 10 goals. This year when I set goals I intend on focusing on those goals to get them done so I will choose wisely. 2014 Fishing goals are coming soon!

Update: Fly Fishing the Yuba River

I must admit, I underestimated the Yuba. This was my first longer trip devoted strictly to fly fishing and when i imagined the trip i figured i would be slaughtering some fish! I had my small box of flies, my new fly fishing rod and even some waders. I was ready to conquer the Yuba river but really, it taught me a lesson in respect for the Yuba and fly fishing in general.

Now first off, we arrived at the camp at around 1pm last Wednesday. Our campground was right on a small peninsula ( I think that’s what it would be called) with small creeks running on both sides of us. Nice little place. Anyway, before even putting up the tent I pulled a beer out of the ice chest (had to get the vacation started right!) and threw in a pole for blue gill. Right away I got into my first blue gill and I was ready to set up camp. 

After camp was set we hit a different blue gill pond and fished some more. As it turns out there were not only bluegill in there but redear sunfish, green sunfish, crappie, and all sorts of hybrid sunfish as if they were all in there having a giant sunfish orgy!  We got into a good number and saved the bigger ones for dinner.

After dinner we drove out to Hammond Grove Park to try our hand at some fly fishing. While we were there we saw some guys from “Yuba River Charters” wading up. They were pretty nice guys. Joked with them a bit and talked a bit about fly fishing. They also witnessed (and screamed) when Russell pulled his fly rod out half way and the tailgate closed right on the tip of his brand new fly rod! We tried to ghetto rig it up with tape and the tip off of one of his spinning rods but (of course) it didn’t work. Russell Sat this one out but he didn’t miss out on anything. Even the pros weren’t having any luck that day. Later on, Russells Dad decided to bring him a new fly fishing Rod so Russell wasn’t as unlucky as he thought he was that day!

The next morning we slept in a bit, got some breakfast and cleaned up camp. Then we went over to the day use area of Sycamore Ranch and waded up! 

We decided to practice a bit before hitting the actual river. We hit the boat launch area which had some ponds around it. Russell hit the side right by the boat launch, and on his first cast he caught what he thought was a small trout. It turned out to be a Sacramento pikeminnow. He was still pretty happy with his catch. 

I went over to the opposite end and tried a bass popper hoping for some largemouth bass. I didn’t get any bass but I was surprised at how much sunfish like bass poppers! They attacked it tons of times but I finally got into a nice one.  I must admit, the feeling you get when a fish hits your fly, the line tightens up and you instinctively pull back on your fly line, bringing the fish in is incomparable! I absolutely LOVE fly fishing!!  Maybe its just the fact that it new and different to me but I find it to be pretty darn fantastic.

We finally hit the main river and I snapped a couple of pictures. I hit a small pond on the southwest end of that stretch of the river first. I had on a crawfish pattern under an indicator and tried fishing close to some trees on the bank. At one point I was getting closer to the bank and stepped right into a hole and went in waist deep which got my pants a little wet. That cold water sure woke me up!

When I met up with Russell again, he told me that he was tossing in a black wooleybugger and had a trout on for a second. Apparently he was unable to keep his line tight and it got away. That was it for our action on the Yuba. The rest of the time we continued to cast but there were no more bites to be had. We wrapped up around 4:30 because I wanted to run home and watch the Niners pre-season opener. Isn’t it crazy how quickly the summer flew by?

At the end of the day I felt a bit defeated. Even though I caught the biggest bluegill I have caught on the fly to date, I really wanted a Yuba river trout! I guess I could have gone out earlier in the day but I guess I will have to wait until next time. I have a new respect for the Yuba and also for fly-fishing. It’s definitely harder than I thought but with enough practice I think I can find the right combination for the Yuba and any other river that I visit in the future.

Well anyway, that’s it for the beautiful Yuba river. Hope you guys enjoyed the report. Hopefully next time I will be able to report some trout or even a bass! So until next time, break that bank, folks!

Sutter Bypass - 6/27 Report

No fishing this weekend. Last Thursday was the latest fishing trip. I did however scout a new location that I will more than likely be trying out soon.

So Let me tell you about last Thursday. Sutter Bypass, Yuba City, CA.  I took the hour drive to meet my new fishing buddy Russell. Russsell is out of Yuba City. He met me out at the boat launch with his boat in his truck. That’s the first time I have ever seen somebody with a boat in back of their truck, but I guess if it works, why not?

Well anyway, first thing is first, we cracked open a beer at 5pm and launched by 520. The area where we were fishing looked very promising; Lots of vegetation and shade. It was still hot when we hit the water so we immediately went looking for shade. I started off with the torpedo. I have it in two different sizes and threw them both out. Not even a strike.

Next I threw a frog for a while, nothing.  Then I tried a spinner bait, nothing. Then a strike king red eye shad, a swim bait, a jig, a torpedo again…. All of that and only two strikes the entire afternoon. Russell through out pretty much everything and also taught me how to use a buzz bait, which I didn’t know how to use before this trip. He says buzz baits usually get them in the bypass but he let me know that this specific day was a strange one, (Lucky for me!) everybody we asked was getting skunked.

Well, it wasn’t a total waste. Russell turned out to be really cool and we had some cold beers on a hot day on the water so I can’t complain.

We were pretty much finished and on our way back to the ramp when a lady started talking to us from shore. She asked if we caught any, we said “none.” She told us she had caught five small catfish. As we cruised by, I saw a dead bass in the water. I pointed it out to Russell. He was ecstatic and decided to go back and check it out. Turns out it was alive… barely. Russell lipped it by hand and after weighing and measuring, it turns out it was an 18” 4.82 lb Largemouth!  The Lady sees it and says, “I told you guys you were in the wrong spot, this is where they are.” We found it pretty funny because we weren’t far from her at all, she didn’t hear a struggle or anything and for some reason she thought we caught the fish ourselves. Russell then lifts it up and asks, “do you want it?” Sure enough the lady says yes. We stuck around long enough to hear her tell her husband that she caught it herself and to hear the jealousy in her husband’s voice as he said, “nice bass… very nice bass.” Sneaky lady!

As for the Torpedo, since  we weren’t getting any strikes on anything and since I still have yet to use it in bass heavy waters, I have to suspend judgment on it yet again. As soon as I find a good area, I will give it a test and let you guys know what’s up.

Well anyway, Saturday I went out for a cruise with my wife and we ended up at a bridge in the outskirts of Wood-town. The bridge runs over Cache Creek, a small creek that eventually drains into the delta south of Davis, CA. Well anyway, I went out and stared at the water for a while and I saw a small fish swimming around. As I stared a bit more intently I noticed another fish, a bit bigger, and then another, and another. They were pretty far down but their behavior told me they were largemouth bass. Whenever I would throw a pebble from up top, they would quickly go investigate like they were hunting for a meal on top of the water. I also saw a couple of turtles and what appeared to be a large sunfish. Well anyway, hopefully I will be checking out that fishing hole later this week and I will let you know what gives. Have a great week, folks!

Fly Fishing with Mark!

Last week I wrote a blog post talking about my expectations for my fly fishing trip with Mark Kautz over at Northern California Trout. The trip not only met these expectations, it exceeded them!

I left my home in Woodland at about 540am. I took the long windy road out to Marks house and arrived at around 7:30. We then took off and started up the day with a cup o’ joe from The famous Cook’s Station which had a very nice staff. 

As I sipped my cup of coffee Professor Mark shared an impressive amount of information with me about everything from knots to fly fishing waters. I was there to learn and I knew I had come to the right place and the right person. 

After a short drive we arrived at the Middle fork of the Cosumnes River, a beautiful small stream with large boulders and tall trees nestled in a valley that looks like heaven on earth. Mark immediately pulled out the fly rod and showed me what he was talking about. Within minutes I was casting a fly rod for the first time in my life. 


We walked to the first hole. When mark took his first couple of swings I saw an unmistakable sight, a fish striking after the fly! 

I took a shot at the fly rod and within minutes I landed my first fish on the fly rod! If that had been the only fish I caught the entire time, the trip would have still been a success. But that wasn’t it, in fact, I ended up catching four that day! 

I must confess that fly fishing is more difficult than I originally thought. It certainly is more demanding than spin fishing or bait casting. I had problems with casting as I was instinctively trying my hardest to fling the line out into the middle of the river. Mark continuously reminded me to allow the weight of the line do the job.

While I was there we trekked through many yards of gorgeous untamed forest along the riverside. At one point mark fished a hole with the Tenkara Rod and I kept walking.  Each few yards were more beautiful than the next. The crisp cool air along the meandering riverside accompanied by a soft breeze hooked me just as much as the actual act of fishing. 

When I stood on a large rock and focused on my technique i realized how hard i was trying to force the line out into the middle instead of doing what Mark had told me. Instead I made myself swing the line back and forth keeping the line at 10 and 2. Slowly but surely the line made its way to the middle and I watched the fly slowly drift on top of the stream. The next cast i did the same thing. After a while I was flowing through the motions effortlessly. I was pulling line, whipping the line back and forth, stopping, watching the fly drift, watching if it sank, pulling it back in, drying it off and casting it back out. I caught another trout and I looked at mark but he wasn’t watching so I got some water on my hands, unhooked the little guy, placed him back in and continued on with the pattern. 

Although i was still having trouble with my line tangling, it was that moment of complete serenity sitting in a deep valley surrounded by walls of rock and tree that i realized that i had become a fly fisherman and although i loved spin fishing and bait casting, I wouldn’t soon be forgetting fly fishing. It had become a part of my life. Just then I got a nice bite and fought my biggest fish of the day. Although the fish wasn’t huge it still put a smile on my face. 

We drove away, had lunch and talked about fishing, life and fishing as a lifestyle. At one point i realized how much fishing has changed my life. Four years ago I was sitting at a desk and watching countless movies, hanging out with friends in the big city every weekend. Today I still sit at a desk but my weekends are spent on the water, surrounded by beautiful scenery, meeting new people i never would have met, taking trips i never would have thought of taking, learning things that I never had in the past. Oh and I also catch fish, which is a huge plus. 

We finished up the day soaking some power bait out at beautiful Silver Lake. At that point I was tired and dozing off on the drive home. Mark gave me a tour around his beautiful home. Mark is an experienced angler, a gifted teacher and a great person. He would be a great fishing guide to anybody and should probably charge folks to share his expertise. I of course say that after I already got my free lesson! haha I also just wanted to take the time to thank him and promote his outstanding blog “Northern California Trout.” 

My first experience with fly fishing was unforgettable. Now it will only be a short time before i buy a fly rod, learn from experience and research and teach everybody I know or anybody willing to learn about fly fishing, because that’s what I love doing. It was only a matter of time before I picked up fly fishing and now it has become part of my wonderful fishing way of life.