Mission Accomplished!

This was my third fishing trip with  my buddy Jarred. He is the buddy that bought his license last year and only went fishing one time. Well he bought  his license earlier this year and got skunked for the second time. It got to the point where he began joking that I didn’t truly catch fish because every time we went together we got skunked.  So of course my retort was that I didn’t catch fish with him because he was bad luck to fish with.  Lol

My reputation as a teacher was on the line when we hit ditch pond with a bag full of minnows in hand. I couldn’t just assure him that he would catch fish because I have become superstitious about promising fish but i really wanted to get him into some.  So instead I made no promises and told him we would try our best.

We started off at about 5:30 and had lines in the water at about 5:40 since I had to set up my line and his. On his next trip I’m going to have to teach him a few knots. We started the fishing trip like we did the other two; lines in the water, beer in hand and me hoping for at least a bite.  Sure enough our lines were not even moving.

 My new buddy Charles came by and we talked about fishing a bit. I told him about my fishing experiences with Jarred and how he was still waiting for his first fish. I watched Jarred’s bobber for him while he joked around with Charles, telling him that he was starting to believe that I simply took pictures with other peoples fish when the bobber went under.

“There you go right there, “ I said and he turned around to see his bobber under water. He ran over to his rod and reeled in only to be met with the peeling of line and a bent over pole. I knew that what he had on his hook was bigger than a crappie so I grabbed the net. A bit later he brought out his first fish a nice 15” Largemouth bass. He was overjoyed and yet afraid to touch the fish or grab him by the lip. For me and Charles it was hilarious, like watching a child touch a fish for the first time but I guess we all started like that at some point! He quickly bumped my fist and said, “Alright, alright, you’re the man!”  Glad he acknowledged that because of course I am! He also ended up catching three small 5-8 inch crappie which he released.

Now at this point I noticed the change happen. Jarred went from talking it up and not paying attention to his rod, to the intent piercing gaze and concentration to the end of his line that only a fisherman possesses.  I must say I was proud. 

With the sun going down quickly I had yet to catch a fish. I had a couple of take downs but nothing stuck. Either way, I was happy watching my buddy catch fish. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get skunked that day so I figured if I was going to get skunked, I might as well get skunked with a fly rod in my hand. 

I took out Excalibur and prepared him for battle. I looked through my fly collection and decided on a “Sarges Crappie Fly” that Bryan from The Rogue Outdoors sent me a while back.  I took a few casts and after about my fifth cast I felt some weight on my line. I wondered to myself if it was a snag but I felt it move so I knew I had a fish on. a few strips later I had caught my first ever crappie on the fly! I was super excited as you might be able to tell by the picture. It was a nice size crappie that Jarred decided to keep along with his bass for a fish fry. Just this milestone would have been great but after a few more casts I had a second crappie on the line and my last fish of the day. 

We ended the day with Jarred having caught his first four fish and me having caught my first two crappie on the fly. We went from two trips with no fish to adding a third trip where we caught six fish all together. Now Jarred can’t joke that I don’t catch fish! Mission accomplished. 

Total Fish: 2 Crappie

Crappie Milestone

Friday was the big day. We had our fishing trip all set. Jarred and I were supposed to head over to Russell’s Secret crappie hole which I will now refer to as “Ditch pond.” Fortunately I got out of work  a bit early and so I decided I would give it a go a day early.  I’m glad I did because the bite was on!

Now last time I went the dynamics were a bit different. The bite didn’t turn on until dark and all the fish were tiny. 

Ditch Pond

I took my buddy luis out and we throughout some minnows under a bobber. First line was cast at about 4:45. It took about 20 minutes and then came the first bite. It wasn’t a slow moving bobber, the bobber just sank.  I reeled in and saw the huge head of a crappie on the other end! As I reeled in, I asked luis to net him up for me and after a few shakes of the head, he was gone.  I was heartbroken but remained hopeful. Then came the second bite… and the second loss. Then came the third and we realized

we needed a better plan. So the obvious was let’s stay close to our own rods and we net each other’s catches quickly.

12 in. Crappie

When the bite came, we were ready. I reeled in, held it until Luis got there and swoop! I was on to my first fish. My previous PB crappie was a 12 incher and this one matched it. I was happy and relieved that this one didn’t get away.  A little bit later Luis lost one as well. For whatever reason luis wasn’t getting as many bites as I was. In fact he ended up not feeling well and sitting in the car for a while since he just got his wisdom teeth pulled out. A few minutes after he left my bobber went down and I set my hook. I reeled in, grabbing the net and netted him myself. This guy was an inch bigger which means I beat my previous PB crappie by one inch!  Milestone! 

PB Crappie, 13 in.

After that Luis came back and we watched our bobbers for another half hour or so before we decided to call it quits. Both of those crappies were released to grow another day. So today was meant to be our fishing day but its raining in nor cal so those plans are pretty much canceled. 

Total Fish: 2 Crappie

Slaying Crappie

So there are days when you slay them and days when you don’t. Wednesday I slayed the Crappie!  It started off with a big confusion in terms of who was going fishing with us, what time we were going fishing and ultimately whether or not we were going fishing at all.  I seem to befriend a lot of people that are bad at communicating! Lol

Finally, we set the trip to meet up at 415 at a gas station in Sacramento and follow my buddy Russell to one of his secret crappie spots. A few days prior Russell had caught a huge 18 inch crappie at this spot.  I followed him out to a spot that was dead

center of the city but it blends in by standing out. It is a very public place but by looking at it, you would never be able to tell that it was a good fishing spot.

You know my sub-heading that reads, “Fishing clear creeks to dirty ditches?” Well this is a dirty little ditch! Its muddy brown water in the center of the city but it comes straight out of the Sac River so it’s not the worst water you can fish, it just gives you the idea that it is. 

beat the skunk!

We had our lines in by 4:30 but wouldn’t get bites for another couple of hours. The crew was me, Russell, His girlfriend Ivy and his other buddy Gene. Russell had warned me that the bite didn’t pick up until sundown but we had beer to drink while we waited so we were good. I also killed time by throwing out some flies to no avail. I tossed out a royal humpy, a mosquito pattern, a beaded wooley bugger and a thin mint but no takers. The sun started going down at around 7. And that is right around when I hooked into the first fish of the day. It was a small crappie but it beat the skunk. I was happy to finally get into one but little did I know it wouldn’t be my last. 

A few moments later, Gene got into his first one, and then a second one. From that moment forward, I was in full on competitive mode! Sure enough the bite got crazy when the sun went down. Gene and I were going fish for fish until we both reached 6 crappies a piece.  I wanted to catch one more to put me on top, which I did. 

2nd double of the night

1st double

At one point I had a rod in the water, saw my bobber disappear, hooked that fish and while I was removing the hook, saw my other bobber go down and hooked that one as well. Alas, my first double of the night. Oh yeah, I said first double! After catching one more fish I got into another double and at that point it was just easy.  Russell didn’t end up getting into many fish but Ivy ended the night with 5, which was pretty good considering that she just started fishing. 

Last fish of the night was also the biggest but that doesn’t mean it was huge. These crappie were on the small side so the biggest one was about 8 inches.  We were hoping for the big 18inchers like Russell caught a few days ago but they either weren’t around or weren’t biting.  In all it was a pretty good day. A few more days like this and I will meet my goal of 70 Panfish this year!

Total Fish: 12 Crappie