4th of July and FF Day

Went fishing on the 4^th with Ol Pops ( my Dad). IT was 104 degrees that day so we were in absolutely no mood for a lot of walking. So we hit spot #1 with the intention of finding some shade and vegetation and hopefully finding some panfish. My dad was also shooting for some catfish. Well, spot #1 was a complete failure except for finding shade. 

I walked a few yards out and found a spot with more shade and a small runoff dumping into the main canal (Lisbon). We had the bobbers out in the shaded part of the main canal and nothing. After a while I threw the bobber into the small feeder canal and right away it went under! Threw it in again but this time it was a quick snag. After rigging up again, I threw my line in and once again it went down but this time I pulled out a small blue gill. That kept on happening to both me and my dad but in all I only caught 2 small gills. Oh well, I avoided the skunk this time. I didn't get any pictures of them.

So this Saturday was one of two free fishing days in California. I took my buddy Luis out to explore some possible new fishing holes. I went looking for a spot I saw on google maps where there was a slough that dumps into a river. This slough was located out in the middle of nowhere.  Unfortunately google maps didn’t tell me that its on private property and that the guys who live there look a bit unfriendly. As soon as one guy saw us he started running our way which was interesting because I was already turning around. When he saw me turn around, he stopped and turned back. I guess he figured we were just trespassing on purpose. Oh well, funny times!

Anyway, we found an irrigation canal and a nice place to park so we threw in some lines there. Luis ended up catching the first kitty. A small 10 in kitty but the first catch nonetheless.  He also caught the second kitty but I caught the third, fourth and fifth. He caught the sixth and I caught the seventh and 8^th. In all we caught 8 kitties, but nothing too big at all but still a good time. 

I’m pretty happy that we both caught some kitties especially  since I am still attempting to get him hooked on fishing. I think getting him into a few cats is a good solid part of the formula. I will let you know when he gets his license!

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!

5/31/13 - Lisbon Slough

As I have told you guys, my desire is not only to learn to catch all types of fish, but to teach others to do the same! Take my buddy Luis. Luis loves to play video games, watch movies and anything else indoors. He isn't much into anything outdoors but I want to get him into fishing. We have been trout fishing before and he hooked into his first fish ever with me, but he still wasn't excited about the "waiting" part of fishing. That's why i decided to take him fishing for panfish; i figured having him focus on a bobber was better than staring at a rod tip. 


Anyway, We arrived at Lisbon Slough in Woodland at 6pm fishing for panfish. I decided to do some recon and search for a spot I had seen from the other side of my usual spot. 
A few weeks ago I saw a guy fishing that spot and so we set off on a mission to find it. Sure enough i found it and let me tell you, it as better than I thought it would be. As it turns out, beyond what my eye could see, there was a small creek feeding into the slough right at that spot. along with some nice vegetation, this spot was pretty much perfect! 

I set Luis' line up first and within the first five minutes he had his first take down. Unfortunately he missed it but I told him to toss it back in the same area and sure enough about a minute later and after a nice little fight (on light gear) he caught his first ever Largemouth Bass! He was super excited about catching the second fish of his life.

A bit later I started off with a Slip Bobber rig, A rig that some random guy at Black Butte Lake taught me to use. I wasn't sure if I was using it correctly but soon enough I learned. I tossed my line into the small feeder creek and let it drift into the main slough. This tactic proved to be a good one! A few minutes after using this tactic I hooked into a 13 in. Channel Cat. It swallowed up my bait and it took me a while to get the hook out so I didn't get a picture with it. A while later I hooked into my first crappie of the year and I put him on the stringer. I figured if I caught more I would take them home. 

I didn't end up catching anymore slabs but my next fish was a huge surprise! This small striper gobbled up my nightcrawler! I think i mentioned this in another post but even if many people have told me that a fish is in specific waters, I tend not to ignore them until I catch it myself. You guys wouldn't believe me... there are stripers in Lisbon Slough! haha

My Last fish was another Channel Cat. It was a bit smaller than the first one but it was still a nice little catch. 

We took off around 8:30. Even though the fish weren't too big, It was a good time fishing and my buddy had a good time. My buddy finished up the day wishing he had caught another fish and wanting to set plans to fish this week! Aside from that, we were successful because we caught 4 different types of fish at the same fishing hole! Well anyways, Thanks for reading and fish on folks!

Never Stop Learning

Last year I got an idea: I needed to learn how to catch largemouth bass! I didn’t know anything about catching largemouths. When I was a kid I had caught one with a worm but that was the only thing I knew about catching largemouth bass. That’s when I decided that I was going to learn to catch largemouths! I began my research. I researched types of bait and tackle. I researched types of waterways where I could find them. I researched their senses and what they were attracted to. I drove around and looked for places that had what my research was talking about. I looked for water with little or no movement. I looked for mossy ponds and canals, I looked for logs and objects in the water where they could hide. I searched for weeds and lily pads where they could hunt. I was a man obsessed with bucket mouths! 

One day on a random detour when a road that I frequent was under construction, I found what I believed to be a bass fishing hole. I would never be sure until I tried it out so I went. I rigged up my line with a Cotton Cordell fancy shad pattern crankbait and I took to the water. Cast after cast made me doubt my research until finally I felt weight at the end of the line. That was when I caught my first intentional bass. in fact, it was a smallmouth bass and I wondered the difference between  a largemouth and a smallmouth when all of a sudden, snap! I hooked into a largemouth!

That turned into an addiction to catching Largemouth bass and now, well, I catch Lunkers like this one!

 Lol But I haven’t arrived at a point of satisfaction yet. If after my first Largemouth or my first lunker or my first full stringer I would have just stopped learning then I would have limited myself to just a few bass, instead my intention is not only to learn one method but many methods, and not only to learn to catch one type of bass but all kinds. So heres the jist folks: NEVER STOP LEARNING! Never stop being a student. Never stop researching or asking others about their methods. Never become an expert and THAT is what will make you a great fisherman! 

This year my goal is to learn to catch me some Salmon! And catch them I will! Any tips on catching salmon?

Update: Sacramento River in West Sac

The place we were looking for is the levee discharge of the Sacramento River and I got a tip from one of my buddies that there were a lot of striper out here so we decided to set up a trip and check it out. I had never been there before so I had to research the place before I went there. I looked up directions, looked up the map and 3d map and we went out to check it out. A 30 minute drive got us there and by that time the sun was beginning to set. I figured it was perfect time to catch a big boy! 

Our only problem was that when we left woodland, it was nice and sunny, but when we got to sacramento, it was Extremely windy! We couldn’t even cast our lines because the wind would take them in a completely different direction! Nonetheless We kept trying to fish! My buddy eventually caught a 10 in. striper that he threw back but that was all the action we were able to get at that particular fishing hole. This doesn’t mean that I am ruling this place out, simply that I will postpone judgment until a later date.

In other news, this weekend I will be camping up at Black Butte Lake with my family and friends so I will let you guys know how it goes!

The Mighty Leviathan of Texas!

Imagine catching a 300lb plus leviathan with a bow! And imagine it taking you for a ride when the rope that hooked the giant alligator gar was also tied around your wrist! Sound like a movie scene? Well it wasn't. It happened in real life!  Read more about this guys amazing catch in this well-written article from Chorpus Christi Texas!

http://www.caller.com/news/2012/jun/16/gar-gantuan-feat-at-lake-corpus-christi/

As for me, I will be setting off to catch me one like this except smaller... and striped... tonight at the Sac River. Tonight I will be doing a bit of recon, but we will also be fishing the spot right away. I will let you guys know if I catch anything! Until then, break that bank, folks!!

Reconnaissance

 Good recon allowed my best friend to catch this monster blue cat outside of Williams, CA!

Reconnaissance is a huge part of fishing! And if you’re a bank fisherman then recon is a timely process that very well could pay off if you find the right place(s). Feel free to scout the spots where you see lots of fisherman but eventually you will learn to let go of those populated fishing holes and find those obscure spots where you will not be disturbed by tangled lines and pollution. Also, make sure that you are aware of the DFG regulations in various waters or on certain types of fish.To see these regulations click the "Check these out" tab or click HERE!

 If you’re anything like me, then you don’t just want to fish, you want to find “the spot!” Places where you can fish comfortably possibly set up a chair, enjoy a cold drink, have shade in the summer, and a place that the water won’t cover up completely during the fall. Most importantly you want a spot where you CATCH FISH! After all, that’s the point, right? You also want to make sure that you don’t just fish one “spot” but that you have several spots. That way if they are not biting at one place or if somebody is fishing your spot then you have other spots to fish. 

I figured the best way to attack this issue is through answering five simple questions.

What type of fish are you looking for?

This will tell you what kind of water you will be looking for. Different types of fish prefer different types of water. If it’s largemouth bass you’re looking for you don’t want to hit a fast flowing river. You will be looking for slow moving or still water. You would be looking for lakes, ponds, marshes or canals that are fed by flood waters of overflowing rivers. If you want king salmon, you more than likely aren’t going to be heading to your local pond or canal (although I have heard stories…), you will be heading to rivers and streams connected to rivers. You will be looking for dams and gravel riverbeds. And you will be making note of dams that would prevent the salmon from going further upstream.

Are the fish jumping?

If fish are jumping that might mean they are striking at baitfish or insects on top water. Then again they might be jumping for other reasons (experts, please educate me here). Nonetheless for me this has always been a good indicator of healthy fish activity but furthermore, it is simply an indicator of fish presence. Partially its just peace of mind (for me). If they’re jumping in that area, then that means they might be hanging around, waiting for my bait to lure them in!! 

You see any birds around?

There are expert fishermen and then there are the naturals! Cranes, hawks, eagles, or other birds are natural fishers who depend on fish to survive. Seeing these birds around feeding may be a good sign of fish activity. That could mean the presence of baitfish and/or regular size fish hanging around. If they are hanging around a specific area, then they know for a fact there are or will be fish in that area on which for them to feed.

You see any feeder fish around?

Ever look into the water and see little schools of minnows or other small fish swimming around in shallow water? Good sign! Fish eat smaller fish! If you have tons of small fish hanging around, you will more than likely have large fish around waiting to feed on them. Also, if you are catching small fish in an area, don’t give up, their mammoth brothers may be right behind them!

Are you in the right season?

Just because you are not catching anything at a specific spot doesn’t mean you aren’t in the right spot. Just because you aren’t having luck salmon fishing at a gravel bed during the heat of the summer, doesn’t mean you won’t catch tons of salmon there during Fall. I fish a spot on the River that right now is running a bit slow. Last summer I was catching limits of striper within the first couple of hours. Now during the striper run, I can’t imagine what it will be like but I’m sure it will be great! 

That’s it from me for now! Experts, let me know if you approve of these tips and beginners, let me know if these tips worked for you! Until then, fish on and break that bank, folks!!