Update: 2013 Fishing Goals, Spring+ Update!

So at first I figured that I would give you guys a quarterly report about my fishing goals but then I realized that my first quarter was terrible and long past. So Then I figured I would do a “Seasonal” report but I am long past the “first day of summer” report. Either way, a seasonal/ current state of affairs type of update is what I will be doing. 

       It is July 15^th and we are a few weeks into summer. To be honest I haven’t been fishing or camping as much as I would have liked but oh well.

S    So far my total fish count has been 37 which some people catch in a single trip but that is not bad for me considering I hardly caught any fish in the first couple of months of the year. Spring was pretty good to me in terms of pan fish and trout. I haven’t caught enough striper and largemouth but I am still trying! Anyway, here is an update of the goals I set in January.

1.       Catch my first Salmon

-          Salmon Season starts tomorrow. I will be on the water on Wednesday morning. My buddy Sean is an avid Salmon angler and will be taking me out on his boat. I know, I know I am betraying my namesake but honestly, I need to catch a salmon PERIOD before I learn how to catch one from bank which I hear is supposed to be more difficult than landing one from a boat. Considering that I have yet to catch a salmon, I can’t be picky. My plan is to catch one from boat and then teach myself how to catch one from the bank.

4.      Discover new fishing holes

I have not explored a lot but I have discovered new fishing holes. I was able to locate what I can officially call my first “honey hole” where I have caught a fish every time I visited it. And I did discover it by exploring so I guess so far this has been a success.

5.      Catch more trout

  Last year I caught my first trout. So anything over one trout would have been a success. This year, thanks to Mark and my fly-fishing experience I hooked into four trout this year! I can assure you this is only the beginning of my trout and fly fishing experience this year! With upcoming trips planned to the Yuba river and deer creek, I have only begun to fish trout. I not only plan to break this record, I plan to shatter it!!

7.      Break my striper record

This one was a complete success! First striper of the year and the run and it was a 24” beauty! This broke my previous record by two inches! Now, I’m on to bigger and better stripes!!

9.      More overnight fishing trips

I feel I have failed on this one. I haven’t even taken many camping trips this summer at all! But I plan to fix that in the next month and a half or so along with two trips already planned… one for this weekend!

So I have met three of my 10 goals which isn't bad at all I plan on meeting at least 9 of 10 before the year ends! Well, that’s it for now. My next update will be at the end of summer. Thanks for reading, 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!

New Fishing Buddy and Hog Hunting!

Once again I will briefly be abandoning my namesake and fishing from a boat!

Like I said yesterday, I now look forward to meeting folks and fishing with them. Recently I met Russell over at the fish sniffer and he said he wanted to fish with me so it’s on!

I will be meeting him over at Sutter Bypass in Yuba City and we will hopefully be getting into some largemouth bass. As I mentioned before I have had a recent craving to catch myself some largemouths .  Ever since I got back from Washington and caught a 3 lber, I have wanted to get back out there and catch some big ones.

My goal when it comes to largemouth this year, as discussed in an older post, is:

8.      Catch a double digit Largemouth

My personal best is a 20” 5 lb Largemouth. I not only want to catch a bigger one but specifically I want to catch a 10+ lber. And don’t worry, I will catch and realease.

This also reminds me that I have to do an update on my fishing goals for the year. I figure I will just start writing a seasonal report since I already dropped the ball on a quarterly report.

So as I hit this new fishing hole that I have only been in once, my hope is not only to catch a new personal best but also to hook into my first double digit Largemouth.  But I won’t focus just on big fish I am also just looking to have a good time with my new buddy Russell, drink some beer and get out on that water!