I'm Back!

I have been away for a long time now. My last post was back in July and back then my fish count was at about 200.... Since then I have caught a LOT of fish, which would probably put me at over 300 for the year. And perhaps one of these days I will count them... but not today. I'm finished counting fish now. That in no way means I'm finished fishing though! In fact, it''s like Doc Holiday said in Tombstone, "I'm in my prime!"

Instead of trying to catch up with my posts, I figured I would post some of the highlights of the past few months.

Minden Success

Back in late July I got together with Russell and we went cat/ carp fishing. he happened to get into a great looking cat and I got into some very hefty carp! ended up having a blast with the buddy russ!

Burney Falls Camping

Back in August my family and I went Camping up at Burney Falls. The Falls themselves were breath-taking and that is an understatement! It it the type of thing you have to experience yourself. It was a 2.5 hour trip but it was WELL worth it. I of course went fishing with ol pops. Didn't get anything on the fly but did end up getting what I believe is my first brook trout on a kastmaster!

Brook trout?

My First King Salmon! 

It finally happened! After a few years chasing the king, I caught her when I least expected! I will dedicate an entire post with full size pictures to this but just thought I would post the update and the teaser pic below!

The First Annual End of the summer fish fry!

 Last year I began collecting fish for an end of summer fish fry but most of it ended up getting frost bite.

This year I collected some catfish, bass and crappie and at the end of the summer I threw a fish fry. I invited some of my best friends over, busted out some delicious craft beer including my last case of Sierra Nevadas summerfest of the season, and had a great time. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough fish for the fry and the only thing that took away that worry was catching the Salmon a few days before. And wouldn't you know it, we not only had enough, but waay too much fish! Everyone ate until they were full and still took fried fish and grilled salmon home! Nothing quite like spending a summer fishing hard and bringing it home to feed the tribe! Looking forward to The 2nd Annual End of Summer Fish Fry which promises to be bigger and better!

Aside from those events I continued to fish! I have been practicing a lot on the fly rod and the bait caster as well. Most of my trips I only take those two rods. Its finally beginning to feel like fall down in the valley and the fishing is about to peak before it slows down and head to the hills for some trout action. Get ready Mark, I'm coming soon! 

Well that's it for me now. Hope all of you are doing well and it is good to be back. 

Return to Green River Feb. 13th

 This trip took place on Friday, February 13^th. Although my buddies bailed on me, it was way too great of a sunny winter day to waste indoors. Instead I decided to head to Green River (Putah creek West) and try for some of their trophy rainbows.

As you might recall, the last time I went out there with Mark from Northern California Trout we got the ol skunk but I swore to figure out the combination to this creek. I can honestly say I gave it a great effort.

right hand view

in front of me

I arrived at around 9am and the banks of the green were already littered with fly fisherman. I went to my first spot. This spot is close to the dam which I figure would attract more fish. It looks easy to fish since the water kind of bottlenecks in one area and then flows through.  I threw a few flies and also got some caught in the bushes.

left hand view and dam

 If you didn’t know, Putah creek is the type of place where you are forced to improve your roll casts.

Left hand view

right hand view

A bit later I went to the second spot of the day. The time I was here with Mark, we met a guy that had a specific way of fishing one hole that is pretty deep, wide and slow. He fished it like you would fish a regular bobber: about 3 feet of leader underneath the strike indicator and wait for a bite. Unfortunately for me, this didn’t work.

In front of me

The Riffle

Spot number 3 was also a familiar spot with a great looking riffle. Last time I was here I cast at this area and had no luck. Yet the spot looks so fishy, I figured I would try it again. So I cast various flies at the riffle and let them drift in different directions with no takers. At one point I pulled out a mosquito pattern that I picked up at a fly shop and tossed it out under an indicator. Even though this fly was a dry fly, after hitting the fast paced water, it went under.  A few casts later I felt something and so I set my hook and sure enough I had a fish on my 2 lb tippet! I pulled him in and as I reached for my net, snap! He broke that 2 lb tippet and then he was gone. 

Even though I lost the fish, It was great having the sensation of a putah creek trout on the end of my line. Aside from that it was a gorgeous mid-winters day in California and I was out at the fishing hole during the week. Life was good. The perfect end to the Day was a burger and beer at Plainfield Station. 

As I have said before, Every fishing hole is like a lock and your job as a fisherman is to figure out the combination. Last time I was here I failed, this time I didn’t land the fish but I inched closer by finding a fly they would take.  I’m getting closer to cracking the code and when I do, it will be glorious!

Total Fish: 0

Winter day in California

Time for a Hail Mary!

I planned to release 3 blog posts the other day and didn’t even realize that I only posted two! Lol here is the third.  

The ultimate panoramic shot: a 360!

First Spot

With a little under 300 fish, I hoped to reach that number with a few trout out at Collins Lake this past Monday. I got together with Jeremy and made the hour and 20 minute drive up the hill into the Browns valley area. The lake was a little higher than it was last year around  this time but not by much.

Good to the last drop

It was after 12 by the time we had lines in the water. We had some lunch and a couple of Sierra Nevada Celebration ales. Both of us are fairly outgoing so we talked to the people next to us for a bit. They said that nobody had gotten a bite all morning. Not a good sign but I stayed positive.  

Rock stack

The lake was calm and there were very few boats out. We talked to the people next to us about the Niners, Raiders and Jim Harbaugh.  We sat, we waited, we remained positive. After an hour and a half of no bites, we moved down a bit, past our fellow fisherman to an area that seemed deeper. We continued to drink and hang out. Jeremy completed a pretty impressive rock stack. 

Second Spot

We sat and discussed “the pits,” and what it might be like to fish them during this time of the year. We speculated that spring was going to be great there as we hoped for bites. Unfortunately there were not even bites to be had that day. 

Unfortunately I was unable to reach 300 fish this year, but the trip, as every other fishing trip, is never in vain. As we packed up our stuff, we both remembered the good old saying, “a bad day fishing is better than a great day working.”  And it sure was true. I had a great time with my buddy, ate some food, drank some beer and had lines in the water. I gotta say it was a good day!

Last "Selfie" of the year

That wraps up 2014 for me. I still have a fall wrap up,  and then a review for my 2014 goals and I can move on to 2015.

Total Fish: 0 

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My First Time at Amador

I just realized that the fishing trip I am about to cover was on the second day of winter… I originally thought it was still fall. Oh how time passes. Looks like I owe you all a Fall wrap-up post!

 

Last Monday I took a quick trip up into the hills to try Lake Amador for the first time. I met Mark from Northern California trout in Martel, got some coffee and hit the lake. I have he

ard many stories about huge trout in Amador so I had some pretty lofty expectations for the lake.

The lake had a nice layer of fog around with fairly low visibility When we first arrived. A few minutes after we arrived, Yuki showed up and we started our fishing adventure. I put out one rod with a nightcrawler and the other 

Yuki started things off just a while after he arrived. I don’t care what mark says, that guy is okay! AND he isn’t as cursed as Mark says either because he drew first blood and beat the skunk.  After that all was quiet until the trout plant came! 

A truckload of trout was planted in the lake and I must say it was one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had.  The fish were breaking the surface every 10-20 seconds and on occasion even swimming right up to the bank!  One of the coolest things I have ever seen. Unfortunately even though we could see fish, they refused to bite our lines.

A while Mark got into his first and the last of the afternoon. It was a nice 2 lb football shaped rainbow that I was able to net up for him. That was pretty much it for the action on that trip. 

Unfortunately I was skunked but I would have two more attempts at getting over 300 fish in 2014! 

Total fish: 0 

Summer 2014 Totals

Time to take an informal tone while I review the summer of 2014. So welcome to my post fishing buddies, pull up a chair, have a cold one or a hot coffee or whatever makes you happy and let’s rap a bit.


Summer is gone and I want to get this seasonal report out into the “blogosphere,” before I end up sitting on it for the next month and releasing it late. Summer is my favorite season for a reason: I am able to get more fishing done and get er’ done nearby. My spots within a 10 mile radius hit most during the summer. That means a short trip after work while the sun is still out at 5pm, can still be very productive. With fall comes an earlier sundown, colder temperatures and the fish in my area begin to shut down. This is why you often hear me talking about “heading to the hills.” The hills and their lakes are at least 45 minutes away so that means longer fishing trips that I can’t take after work.

Another reason that I love spring and summer is that my favorite fish are a’ feedin’! That will be apparent with my summer numbers which are exciting to me! So, without further adieu,  here is the breakdown:

Carp/ PM = 04

Pan Fish = 25

Catfish = 14

LMB = 41

SMB = 01

Trout = 07

Striper = 28

*Steelhead= 00

*Salmon = 00

*Sturgeon = 00

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Total: 120 Fish

So let me give you some perspective as to why this excites me:

•   Spring time brought me 60 fish and to me that was productive, but summer brought me 120 fish.
•  This summer I caught 120 fish out of the 211 I have caught all year! 
•   Last year I caught a TOTAL of 80 fish! One summer brought me more fish than the entire year of 2013! 

And aside from that here are some observations:

• Only 25 panfish which is a decent number but I also didn’t just pad my numbers with easy catches.
•  41 Largemouth Bass! I had some decent bass days.
• 28 stripers after having so few last year! It felt good to get out there and catch some tuxedo bass again!  

So those are the numbers and that was my season! Now fall will bring trips out to Collins, hopefully some trips to fish with Mark and some trips to Putah creek to catch some fatty trout.

I will continue to search for some Bass this fall and go after some salmon. AND I will post some pictures of my first annual “End of the Summer fish Fry,” after we figure out a date. Well folks, thanks for swinging by and I look forward to sharing my fishing adventures with you this fall!

Cheers!