June 27, 2009

I decided to take a day and check out how Lake Englebright trout fishing has been doing. Twenty five miles from my front door in Yuba City, what a beauty this lake is. I wish I could say the same about the Trout fishing. We saw lots of fish on the graph, but only managed to catch small, planter size Trout. I was dreaming of the 15 lb Brown Trout to pull my rod out of the downrigger clip, but I guess it wasn't my day...

June 23, 2009

Sorry for the lack of reports the past few weeks. This time between the middle of June and the first week in July is my off time. I use this time to regain my sanity after the Striper and Shad runs. Up at 3am and down at 9pm for a few months can really take a man down. I will continue to play hooky until this Sunday. I will start lake fishing for Trout at several lakes for about a month, until the summer run of Stripers begin to show. I have some availability left for the summer run, but the prime dates are filling up fast. For you guys that went out with me last year,you know what I am talking about. Last year, believe it or not, late August, early September was the best Striped Bass fishing I have ever experienced. Especially for the FLY FISHERMAN... Put it this way,the fish made my job really easy, I mean really easy...

Well, check back later this week and see what the wonderful lakes of Northern California have to offer this year. 

On another note, my website has become more and more popular over the last few months with lots of new readers. Is there anything you would like to see on my website, like map features, how to fish for specific fish, you get the picture. Drop me a comment on my contact page.

Check out a few pictures of last years summer run of Striped Bass...

June 3, 2009

SUMMER SHAD FISHING!!!

May 24, 2009

Today, Bob Boucke and I took one of my clients out in Bob's boat. We worked really hard for a couple of fish. It was not a good day on the water. We had lot's of short strikes and some missed opportunity's. We did manage to scape a few fish, but today the fish were far and few between...tomorrow is a new day...

                 ( Bob's Sacramento Pike Minnow on the fly rod...)

May 20, 2009

I took my good client Jeff Swisher out for a little Feather River Shad fishing this evening. We rocked them, boating somewhere between 40 and 50 fish. The bite is on!!!

May 18, 2009

Today has been like the last couple of days. Fish all over the place, but not many eaters. We did lose a very large Striper, but that's fishing. My group and I decided we'd had enough of the Stripers on the Sacramento River, so we packed up and headed to the Feather River. We hammered the evening American Shad bite, with at one point, we had five fish on at once. The Shad bite was on... I will be booking evening American Shad fishing trips through the month. Ranging from 1-3 pounds, these fish fight hard...  50-100 fish average on the evening bite. $200 for the whole boat, up to four customers. If you have kids or just want to have some plain fun, this is the trip for you. Trips run from 4:30 pm till sun down... Call for availability...

May 16, 2009

What a hot day!!! The fishing  sure slowed down today. Not sure if it's the heat or what???  We still managed to scrape our limits of some nice fish. We really worked hard to get the fish we got. I know some fish have spawned out and split, but there are still lots of fish in the system. I think with the water on the rise, the hot weather and water temps have temporally shut the bite off. Below is one of the fish of our six keepers we kept... 

May 11, 2009

 SPAWNING STRIPERS!

I took my buddy Robby out this afternoon to really see what I missed over the weekend. We both heard rumors of spawning fish and didn't believe it. We launched the boat at Ward's Landing on the Sacramento River and started heading north. We got just below the Colusa bridge and started drifting live minnows. Right off the bat, there were fish all over my fish graph. We drifted for a few minutes and hooked the first fish of the day.

As I was fighting this fish, my second rod goes down.... "Fish on!", Robby exclaimed, "double hook-up". The first two fish were the only two fish of the day. We had several short strikes on a few other drifts, but could not figure out why there were so many fish on the graph and no bites. The rumors are all so true, the fish are starting to spawn. Take a look at my fish finder below. These pictures are of spawning fish on a fish finder...

There were better views of spawning fish on the graph, but I was busy trying to catch them, not taking pictures. This still gives you an idea of what the graph looked like throughout the day...

Robby and I decided to head down river to possibly find some fish that were not spawning. We headed south of Ward's Landing, just below the launch. We dropped the trolling motor down and started fishing. Just like up river, we saw a tremendous amount of fish on the graph, but no bites. We went around a corner and started hearing a thumping sound hitting my trolling motor. The first few times I thought nothing of it, but after a dozen times or so, knowing we were in 10-12 feet of water I knew something was up. Robby said "I bet it's fish hitting the trolling motor". Well, he nailed it on the head. I stood up on the bow and looked over and sure enough, the spawning Stripers thought my trolling motor was a big hen. We must of had 300 fish hit my boat and trolling motor on the way down river. I am not talking 5 pound males, we are talking very large fish, well exceeding 30 pounds. I have never seen anything like it. What a day on the water.

Just because the Stripers begin to spawn, it does not mean the fishing is over. Sometimes, the best bite of the year is after or before the spawning cycle. Remember, just because a few wads are spawning, there are plenty of fish in the sea. I guess, in this instance, the river. 

May 5, 2009

Sorry for the lack of reports... I have really been down and out this past week not felling that great. I should be back in the saddle by the end of the week....

April 19, 2009

The Sacramento River has been producing some quality fishing for the past week. Today was another fine example. We hit the water early this morning in anticipation that there were going to be lots of people fishing. Surprising enough, the boat pressure was light, and we had a great day. All the fish were males, ranging from 5 to 10 pounds. It should not be long until the larger females head upstream...

April 17, 2009

What another good day of fishing on the Sacramento River. With the Stripers spread out from all the boat pressure, it was a bit harder to find fish in good concentrations. Overall a great day with some great company...

ASSEMBLY BILL AB 1253 WILL DESTROY OUR FISHERY

" Background. Assemblywoman Jean Fuller, (R) Bakersfield, introduced AB 1253 to take gamefish status away from California’s striped bass. AB 1253 will remove all protections that striped bass currently enjoy and will allow unlimited harvest in all waters, fresh or salt, throughout the entire state. Even commercial harvest of striped bass will be legal if this bill becomes law."

Help me stop this bill!!! This bitch is going to destroy our fishery. Below are two links to sign up to oppose the bill.

First link is for businesses www.saveourstripers.org/

Second link is for fisherman. Write a letter to the committee

www.calsport.org/3-31-09a.htm

We need all the help we can get to stop this bill. Take the five minutes, and do your part...

April 2, 2009

Well, I can tell you with confidence the Stripers are in the river system now. Ken Thompson and myself went out on the Sacramento river for an afternoon trip today, and found the fish. The fish are moving fast. Nothing too large, but still fun. Below is a school size fish we caught drifting live minnows. I think one week from today, it will be red hot out there.

March 29, 2009

This morning Bob Boucke and I decided to fish for a couple hours, before the massive north wind sweeps the Sacramento valley. We launched the boat on the Sacramento River and headed to the Grimes area. We dropped anchor, baited our hooks with pile worms and ghost shrimp, and waited. Ten minutes in, my rod goes down. First fish of the day. 46 1/2"

Not even another ten minutes later, Bob's rod goes down. This fish is taking line fast and is most likely oversize. Well after a 25 min epic battle with this prehistoric beast , Boucke get's the fish to the boat. 68 1/2"

Well, they can't all be legal. We had a two hour gap from the wind, and we made the best out of what we had. Two fish, two hours...

March 28, 2009

What a beautiful day on the water. We had a clear sky, a little breeze, and lot's of Sturgeon around, but the fish were to busy jumping and not eating.  We must have seen 75 Sturgeon jump and roll around in the area  we were fishing. We did have two Sturgeon on, but both decided they were going to spit the hook. Marc, one of my clients today, bagged this beautiful Striper below. At least my guys got to go home with some meat... 

March 20, 2009

Well, the Feather River has turned on. Thursday and today we hooked fish well over 20lbs on the fly rods. The water is a bit low, but has a great color. The fish are bright and full of bait. Check out this beautiful male in the mid-twenty class caught on a white and chartreuse clouser ...

Check out what was inside this beauty. Lumprey Eels. The picture below show a few digested eels that were inside this fish when I cleaned him.

March 7, 2009

With the Sacramento river flowing from all the recent rain, our options were slim on where to fish today, because all the ramps in my area are full of water and trees. We decided to give Verona a chance because some monster Sturgeon have been caught here recently.  With the river on the drop, my expectations were not high, but we gave it hell anyway.  Needles to say, the Sturgeon bite was off, but we did manage to scrounge and nice Striper. I did see lots of fish on the fish graph, but with the water so dirty, you have to put the bait on their nose. I am sure when the water clears a bit, the Striper action will be on...

March 18, 2009

Check out these two beautiful fish my friend Rob Reimers and his nephew Nathan caught Saturday night around the Colusa area. Do I need to say more? THE FISH ARE HERE!!! He let us use them at Sunday's Johnson's Bait and Tackle Striper/Sturgeon seminar, to show people how to clean a Sturgeon. Thank you for all who came and supported us. I will continue to fish for Sturgeon through this month, then switch over to Striped Bass in April. With good water flows, this year should be phenominal...

January 24, 2009

Today,  Bob Boucke and I went out on our first Striper Fly Fishing trip of the new year. With the river on the rise from the rain in the past few days, we were not sure what we would get into. We launched Bob's boat at Verona, the mouth of the Feather River, where it meets the Sacramento River. We were not sure what direction we wanted to start, so we headed up river. We started fishing at the first bend above the launch. Ten casts and Bob hooked up with this beauty:

June 26, 2009

Today we were going to fish the San Francisco Bay for some Halibut and Stripers. We decided to wait until Sunday because there was a small craft advisory and west winds topping 30 mph. Not a good idea in a 22' Jet boat... We weren't going to let a good fishing day go to waste, so we thought we would give the Sacramento River a chance. We wen't home, changed gear and headed out. We launched the boat at Ward's Landing, 6 miles below Colusa. We headed up river about 20 miles and began fly fishing. We caught 25-30 fish, but all small ones. Still a fun time. Below are a few pictures of today's catches...   

What a let down when you realize you have a  Sacramento Pike Minnow on and not a fat Striper. We must have caught a dozen around this size. What a great take these fish have, but very poor fighters after they know they're hooked...

June 8, 2009

I took Rick and Trevor, a grandpa/grandson team out Shad fishing today to see if we could put Trevor on his first fish ever. Needless to say, we got it done, LOL. The day started off a bit slow, but it turned out to be a great trip. Taking a young man out fishing to catch his first fish is a very special thing to me. I wish I would of taken a picture of Rick, Trevor's grandpa's, expression. What a cool thing. It was a really special day. Well, Trevor has some "braggin rights" when he heads back to Arizona. Below are a few pictures of the days adventures.

 ( We lost about five fish before T's first one hit the net)

May 30, 2009

SHAD TIME!!!!!  What a great day on the Feather River for some American Shad... Lot's of action, lot's of fish. Here are a few pictures of today's fishing.

                                                  ( SHAD)

May 23, 2009

Besides knowing where the fish are and not being able to get there because my jet impeller cracked for the second time in a month, overall a good day on the water. Last night, I saw some fish spawning around the same area my impeller broke, luckily. We pounded that sand bar and pulled about a dozen fish out, up to 14 pounds. You sure need to weed through the little ones to get a keeper size Striper. Its still more fun than not catching fish at all...

May 19, 2009

I had a few fly fishermen on the boat today. Most of the time, we do great on the fly bite, but not today...it was a minnow bite. A few guides ripped the Stripers on minnows, while we were begging for a few fish on the fly. I guess it wasn't our day. Any day on the water, is better than any day at work! I suppose...

May 17, 2009

Another tough day on the water. The fish are just not being aggressive eaters. I am seeing lots of fish on the graph, just not a lot of action. Hopefully tomorrow is a new day. Below is picture of a few of today's fish...

May 13, 2009

What a great afternoon on the Sacramento River. I knew the minnow bite was going to turn on, especially after that wad of fish Robby and I saw Monday. We just needed them to stop spawning and start eating. We launched the boat at Ward's Landing and headed south. We put the trolling motor down at the same bend we saw fish spawning a few days back, and started fishing. One minute in, fish on. I told myself it was going to be a good day. Well, within the first hour we had at least twenty fish to the boat, all legal fish, all  ranging from 18" to 30"... After the third hour, we had four minnows left out of 5 1/2 dozen and were truly tired of catching fish. I would have to rank this as one of my top three fishing trips of the year. We really did not hammer down on any large females, as a matter of fact, all the fish were males. Needless to say, it was still a blast. If every trip was like this, I would be a rich man...

                                           ( First Striper ever)  

May 9, 2009

Well, I canceled with my clients for this weekend because both the Feather and Sacramento Rivers were so muddy from the recent rains. I did take this opportunity to fish some water that I do not spend much time on. We launched the boat at Boyd's pump on the Feather River and headed down stream.  The river was very muddy, and the fly bite was off. We did manage to pull a few fish, but nothing to talk about. Give both rivers until mid next week and the action will be back on. We just need the rivers to stabilize. I did see a few boats doing well on cut bait. Not my style...Sit and wait, no thank you... I like finding the fish. Like I said, I am sure mid next week it will be all on again...

April 25-26, 2009

Well, this weekend was a bit slower than it has been on the Sacramento River. Not because the fish aren't there , because the water keeps changing its levels. Anytime there is a change, the bite is off for a couple of days. I had one of my favorite clients and two of his guys from Huston, Texas for the weekend. We caught fish, but it definitely was not like it has been. Lets hope the water stabilizes for a couple of days...  

A beautiful keeper size male...

                                   (The two Texans and Steve)

April 18, 2009

Surprising  enough the boat pressure was light on the Sacramento River today. We had another superb 20 plus fish day. My clients had had enough around 9:45 am, so we called it a day with some beautiful limits. Not often do you get tired of catching fish...  What a great week of fishing.

April 16, 2009

Today,  I took Dan Bacher (Fish Sniffer magazine) and Bob Boucke (Johnson's Bait and Tackle) out fishing for Striped bass on the Sacramento River. I was going to take a few days off and go look for a place to get married with my fiancee Aimee, but things did not work out. Thank GOD... I am only kidding. We had the best fishing day of the year. I lost count after 30 fish, but we must of hit around the mid forties by the end of the day. All legal size fish, all around 5-10 pounds. What a day on the water. I will say it again, what a day...

                               

April 12, 2009

What a great Easter Sunday. Very little boat pressure and some nice fishing. The morning started off a bit slow, but we managed to find a school of Stripers. It was not fast-action like yesterday, but we did manage to pull off some beautiful limits. I think it will take a few days for the Sacramento River to turn back on the way it has been. The water is rising, and there is a bunch of small debris in the water. Overall, another great trip.

This little school-sized Striper took two minnows, in one bite, we thought we had a double hook-up... LOL

April 11, 2009

What a great day on the water. We caught our limits and some before lunch. The Sacramento river is in perfect shape for drifting minnows now. Lot's of fish, lot's of action. If you now what to look for, the fishing can not get much better than this. Time to clean the boat and get ready for another trip tomorrow. 

 April 4, 2009

The fish are in!!!!! I do not have much time to write a full report, but I figured I would post a picture of George Bivert, one of my clients today, showing off his limit of school size Stripers...  

February 23, 2009

Thank you rain GODS. It's looking like we have gotten the rain we needed to have some good Spring fishing this year. The Sturgeon action is hot now, with lots of fish being taken between Knights Landing and Colusa. Ghost shrimp and pile worms are the ticket to success. I will start fishing hard around the 1st of March for these monster beasts, after the river levels out following all of this rain. I am sure we are in the clear for the Spring, but I know we need a lot more rain before Summertime. I know it feels good to see the rivers flowing again, and all that good stuff, but the reality is, we are in deep SHIT if the rain stops. Hold on tight, it could be a long one... Check out the pictures of Lake Shasta before the rain.

February 17, 2009

Saturday March 14th, Johnson's Bait & Tackle in Yuba City will have their yearly Striper/Sturgeon seminar. Free BBQ lunch, casting pond, the works. I will have a segment this year on Fly fishing for Stripers, which will take place after lunch. I am going to hit all the basics you need to know to be a successful Striper fly fisherman. Mark it on your calendar. Check out www.johnsonsbait.com for more details...

February 6, 2009

You would think with thousands of 1/4 lb Steelhead smelt being dumped in the Feather,  you would bang a few fish. I guessed wrong. Two fish on and two fish off. Not even a boil around the ramp after the Fish and Game dumped this full truck.... Where are the STRIPERS  ????????????????

February 3, 2009

It's almost STRIPER TIME!!!!!  In the next few weeks the Feather River should be showing some good Striper fishing. Starting this Friday, I will be on the water chasing these very large, early run fish. Time to get the gear ready... 

With the Feather River so low this year, it should be interesting to see how the fish will react to the low flows. The Department of Fish and Game should be dumping their first round of Steelhead smelt anytime now. It does not take long for the fish to realize the over abundance of tasty bait washing down from the Feather. 

Time will only tell what will happen this year. My guess is, the fishing will be fast and brief on the Feather. Staying on top of the fish is going to be crucial. Check back in and see what happens...