Break That Bank!

Ol Pops came into town and we decided to go fishing for a bit in the afternoon. I knew exactly where I was going to take him; the bee hive! The bee hive is a spot I have on Lisbon slough. In the past we have had success with crappies and I caught my personal best catfish there so we gave it a try.

Previously my dad had been skunked here. He has only been to the bee hive twice and both times he went home empty handed.  I only have two times I have been skunked here, both of those times were with my buddy Jarred. That is because Jarred is bad luck!

We arrived at the fishing hole at around 5pm so I had plenty of time to get into a groove. I started with a quick cast with a bobber into the feeder creek for a small bass. Beat the skunk. A few more casts, a couple more fish and then switched to the main canal. Ol pops went straight for the catfish set up and a night crawler. I set up my heavy catfish rod but had no takers on the nightcrawlers. A bit later I was able to get into a small bluegill and replaced my worm with a gill and hoped for the best. My dad did the same. We were hoping for some huge cats but nothing big seemed to be going for the gills. 

After a while I switched to a slip-bobber rig and went to work for some crappies. For whatever reason nothing was biting so I kept changing the depth of my bobber and the distance of my cast. Eventually I found a hole about 7 feet in front of where we were and about 16 inches of leader length. First I caught a nice blue gill which I released. Then I started seeing some activity on top so I tossed my line in and I reeled in a nice 11 inch bass. 

Meanwhile my dad tossed his line into the feeder creek and got into his first bluegill of the day. He continued to cast there and started catching small bass and bluegill, so he finally beat the skunk at the beehive. 

A bit later I tossed my line in, my bobber danced around a little before it went down and I caught my first decent fish of the day, a nice 12.5 inch bass.   

I continued to cast within five feet of the same spot and as it got darker, the bites were more plentiful. At one point I had a light but swift takedown , so I reeled in and I got into a 10 inch catfish, my first catfish of the day. My final fish was just before it got too dark to see my bobber. I tossed my line in, it dunked once and then disappeared. I reeled in and something took off with my line. I reeled in, my dad got the net and it hid under the weeds. My dad dipped the net into the weeds and eventually came out with what would be the last fish of the day, a 14 inch Largemouth bass. I ended up putting the two bass on the stringer and filleted them up for what will be my first (possibly of many) end of the summer fish fry! (More to come on this idea later) 

In all, one of my better days this summer even though it has been a good summer overall. I was also excited that I got into multiple species today, which is always cool. I am glad my dad was able to get into fish and see me catch some decent fish at the bee hive because that makes him believe in the spot a little more than before.  All together my dad and I had a 17 fish day. 

 

Well that’s it for now. Good luck, break that bank people… break that bank! 

Total fish: 7 Largemouth Bass + 2 Bluegill + 1 catfish + 1 green sunfish total fish = 11

When the Drought Hits Home

I got home from work at 7PM Last Tuesday and decided that I was going fishing. The closest fishing hole to me is Cache creek, about a 10 minute drive. I grabbed Excalibur (6wt.) and shot for the creek before the sun went down. 

For those of you that don’t remember, Cache creek is the place where I SLAYED the green sunfish and where I caught my first smallmouth bass on the fly. AS you may recall there is a deeper pond where the big boys hang so that was to be my first spot, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to find.

It was gone! That stretch of Cache creek has been reduced to a 4 foot deep ditch without a big smallie in sight.  And the worst part is that the spot where I caught my first smallie is now bone dry. 

This part of the creek no longer exists.

I took a couple of pictures of where the pond used to be and the little bit that is left. Its very sad. A beaver was still hanging around swimming and I wonder if he sensed that his home would soon become a casualty of the drought.

I went ahead and fished what remained of the pond. There was no interest in the hopper pattern or the popper. With single swings my fly reached across the entire pond. I wondered if the shallowness and narrowness of the pond put the big fish in danger for predators or if they were hiding somewhere in the cattails. 

 

  I tied on a black wooley bugger and after a bit I brought my first green sunfish to hand. I really wanted to try a new fly that I bought at sportsman’s warehouse. I didn’t get a name for it but it has a black body, a pink tail and a tiny propeller on the top.  It did attract the attention of one green sunfish and then I switched back to a popper and finished the day.  

On the walk up to my car a sheriff stopped me, let me know that this was private property and I was trespassing, which is weird because last time I was there the sheriff told me I was fine to fish there. I guess it doesn’t matter because within a couple of months, this creek like many others, will be gone.

Total fish: 2 Green sunfish

Ellis Lake with Pops

Anybody know what kind of panfish this is?

My mom had an appointment in Yuba city so pops and I decided to make the quick trip up to Ellis Lake and see if we could get into any quick cats.

I usually have a specific spot I go to but I was told that the area across from where I fish hits pretty well so I gave it a try. We only had worms as bait but we were hoping for the best. 

Small Green Sunfish

I cast one line out with a slip sinker rig and the other  with a small bobber for panfish to use as live bait. It took me a while even though the panfish were all over but I finally got into two and we hooked them up.

 No action… AT ALL! No bites on worms, no takedowns on the panfish. We had to leave after an hour and a half but no day fishing with pops is ever a bad day. 

Total Fish = 2 Panfish

The Wonders of Ellis Lake

Ellis Lake is a strange fishery. It is a small man made pond in which water enters, but never exits.  This might explain why the water has a permanent visibility of only a few inches. The water is so opaque that it has hidden a few dead bodies in its past. 

It is no mystery now that Ellis has become a breeding ground for many exotic pets that have outgrown their tanks, which gives fisherman the opportunity to catch the occasional South American Pacu or arapaima (guy in FB group posted pictures)  in Northern, California. The water that comes into this lake never exits which keeps the exotic species from entering and possibly destroying other ecosystems. The interesting part is that this ecosystem houses these strange fish and they seem to coexist with the catfish, bass, crappie and bluegill that call this lake home. You know what that means… bring on the Peacock bass!

Russell and I hit the lake at around 2:00 armed with some crayfish, nightcrawlers and bone crusher (my 8 Wt. RLS+).  I was also armed with positive thoughts which I am convinced makes the difference between a bad day fishing and a great day fishing.

We had lines in the water with live craws within minutes. I also rigged up a second rod with a worm and bobber. I started by picking off some of the green sunfish from the cracks on the side of the lake rock. I was able to get into two of them. A bit later I tossed my bobber in deeper in hopes for one of the mammoth carp that roam these waters. There are big boys up to 20 lbs in there and I was aiming for one. at one point my bobber started moving to the side only it wasn’t a fish…

That was the first time I ever caught a turtle, which is definitely a milestone. The turtle was safely released and good thing it was because we later saw it hanging out with a couple of baby turtles.

We sat and waited for our catfish to come but they didn’t. A bit later I broke out bone crusher in hopes of a bass or piranha or something.  I took a black wooley bugger and went around the pond. I ended up catching a green sunfish in a shaded area and got a bass to chase my WB in the shallow, but no strikes. A bit later I changed it up to a Sarge’s Crappie fly and cast out to the deeper ends. An older gentleman came up and was watching me cast then asked if I had caught any. I told him a couple of green sunfish along the edge. He asked if it was hard and I told him, “No it’s easy, you just drag it close to the sides like this…” and when I said that I caught my last green sunfish of the day. He was pretty impressed. 

The old guy was fishing and ended up giving me some hot dogs he had which are the “go to” bait for Ellis lake. Unfortunately it didn’t do much for us. That was pretty much it for the day. The catfish weren’t having anything to do with our baits so we wrapped it up. 

** and I just realized that as I write this, we are officially in the last day of spring! That means a spring wrap- up is coming. Summer will be filled with Largemouth, catfish, striper, and hopefully some high country trout fishing.  Oh and come mid July I will continue my quest for my first King Salmon.

Total Fish: 3 green sunfish… oh and  + 1 turtle!

One Year on the Fly

I just realized that as of yesterday I have been fly fishing for an entire year! It was on May 22^nd that I decided to take a trip that changed my life. I met Mark out at his place, we drove to cat creek , I held a fly rod in my hand and the rest was history. 

I knew from the moment I first held the fly rod in my hand that I was hooked! It was one of those things I feel I was destined to learn. I knew one day I would learn how to fly fish I just didn’t know how I would pick it up or how I would learn. Then Mark came along and it was over. 

Today, I enjoy fly fishing more than I do spin fishing. I will never leave spin fishing behind because love all types of fishing and want to try all of them, but fly fishing has a special place in my heart. 

As of right now, I have caught bluegill, green sunfish, crappie, rainbow trout, and smallmouth bass on the fly rod. I promise that Largemouth will come soon.  And although I love catching fish, to me it’s more about learning the correct processes and flies with which to catch these fish. 

Another thing that I love about fly fishing is that it has made me more interested in catching Trout. Prior to fly fishing, I caught trout but I didn’t think they were all that great, especially when comparing them to bass and striper. But when I started fly fishing I realized the fight that they had within them when they are fighting on a fly rod. For the first time, I came to enjoy and appreciate trout.

Josh Rickard says, “One of the best reasons to fish trout are the places they thrive in,” and I completely agree with him. I have been to some beautiful places looking for trout and when I find them, it makes the entire experience even better. You know what’s even better? I have so many more beautiful places that I will discover while searching for these beautiful fish. 

In conclusion, I’m just one year into fly fishing and I know the future will bring me many more adventures, fly rod in hand. I will see beautiful places, catch more fish and enjoy every minute of this sport that we love.  This post is dedicated to fly fishing and all of my fellow fly fishers!