1st Fish of the Year!

Got up circa 9:30.

Helped dad out in the house and w/ the KIA, plus had to buy a small padlock for the bike from the 0.99 cent store.
Finally got out there and was going to bike the road.

A farm worker stopped by in his truck and asked if I had 4WD. I said, "Yeah, but I don't know how to use it!" So he takes a look at the stick and says to use 4H (I guess 4L is for really slow and/or steep). So I wade into the mud and I'm praying I don't tip over into the water and mud or get stuck, but finally get through to the parking lot.

I get the bike out, and read all the signs below:

I bike down the immediate trail to the right and see this sign:

So I then turn around (after some exploring) and do the loop back and then around. Again, I'm met with the same sign as above, so I call the hotline phone # fr/ the sign and the lady doesn't really have any idea whether or not I can fish and where I can, but says I should follow whatever the signs say. [I had issue because the DFW (formerly the DFG) has a rule that the Salinas River can be fished during this time until March 7.]

So I turn around and head toward the ocean, stopping at the bike rack (as there was no bike access allowed past this point.

I walk maybe 20 yards and decide it's not worth it.

So I head back to Sally's bridge (after getting back through the mud again) and bag this guy at 3 o'clock.

                                      

He didn't take a long time to bring in. As you know, the river's bottom has some junk on the bottom, so you're used to getting a little snagged on the bottom. As a habit, you always set the hook when something doesn't feel right or you think you might be snagged just in case it really is a fish. So I set the hook, and something was pulling on the line!

I wish I had a picture of my lure in his mouth, because he just engulfed that thing! The head of the lure was just behind the front part of his mouth, and the hook was so far back I had a little trouble getting my pliers back to remove the hook. I stayed 'til ~ 4:00 and then left for home.

2 days later I filleted my first striper!

It was different from the many trout I'd gutted because with trout, you just have to gut them and that's it, but w/ Striper, you have to fillet the meat and have some good fillet knives. (Thanks to Jer for the great fishing CutCo knife!)

We're planning on heading out to kayak the river as I've heard some pretty good things from the kayakers!

Hopefully more posts coming with pictures of more fish!

Biggest Stiped Bass Thus Far...

Finally decided to check out the main reservoir after getting a great fishing report fr/ Roger @ the Hollister Bait and Tackle shop. He gave us the what's up and a spot where he said, "I'd go." There's probably a conflict of interest between his sportsmanship as a seller of fishing paraphernalia and wanting us to do well and his personal feelings as a fisherman and his personal fishing spots.
We checked out a spot off the 152 (horrible, foul-smelling, and full of line-grabbing "seaweed" that wouldn't let go), and afterward got to the spot. The bro picked up a 24 incher at about 6:00, then I hooked up w/ mine at 7:30. 

First Solo Fishing Outing

So I went on my first solo fishing out to the Forebay (much to the, er, chagrin, of the parents), and came back with this!

I was out there from 4:00 to 11:00, and got 2 bites and 2 fish on. The first is seen above, and the second came off due to a faulty hook that was disfigured due to the fish above, which I failed to replace (bummer!).

He fought well. The way we set up is with the sliding weight holder on the main line (10 lb. test), snap swivel, 15 lb. leader, and size 1 or 2 hook. 

Definitely ready for more this summer!

Fishing and Ethics - not the most common dilemma...

So yesterday was Veterans Day, and my bro and I took off for the San Luis Reservoir area to do some legit fishing. We found a sweet spot by the Delta-Mendota, but a sign saying otherwise was posted, and we deemed it necessary to go across the highway, seeing another legit spot. After we check out the spot, he sees the same exact sign, but this one had fallen off. Technically, we could have said that we "hadn't seen it," but yeah, we decided against it.

So we go to another stretch, and after getting minimal bites, we move on to another section of the Delta-Mendota. I caught a sweet Striper, but after measuring, was only 17.35496 inches...after finding this we were def. tempted to take it since it was so close to the required 18 inches, but let him go. There were certainly times when we wanted to take that baby home, as that was the only real potential keeper that we got. Oh well...there will be plenty of fish out there in the years to come, and it's not worth the fine to cheat even a little bit...
: ]

(Record-Setting) Overnight Fishing Trip in the Forebay

5-28 to 5-29, 2010.
Just got back fr/ an overnight all-night fishing trip to the Forebay.

The Catch: 3 Catfish: 12", 14", 32.5" (~11lbs., 2oz.)
2 Striped Bass: 2 ~20"ers

Showed up ~8:30 at night on a full moon. Costs $20 for an overnight pass...guess it's worth it. Mr. J. gave us the heads up (but stood us up :[), and yet gave us a good spot - the "big rock with pole holders drilled in."

I got to "play" my first fish in my life. The first was a 32.5" "monster" (for us) catfish. This was at 1:00 a.m., and was the first fish caught by us (me and my bro). We were waiting and praying while everyone else was pulling them in. But yeah, Got the bite (he was nibbling), and trying to decide (and pray) when to set the hook. Finally got a solid pull and set it. Got some help from our neighbor out there 'Berto because the line got tangled.

Got to "play" the striper as well, giving the fish just enough slack to take out line and not put too much stress on the line/knots, while tiring out the fish. The striper was physically exhausted (this was in the morning) and I could tell it was spent. Plus it is MUCH funner and prolongs the catch and feeling when you play the fish.

Glory2God!

Fishing Stories

Just got back fr/ the biggest action we've ever had in the CA aqueducts.
Totals: 6 Catfish [1 a monster (to us)]
4 Stripers (8-10 inch, 13, 13 1/4, and a 16)
The total weights and sizes will be measured tomorrow.

1) We stop by a random ditch and start fishing. We say we're going to leave at 7:00. Bro get's a striper (13 inch) at 10 til 7. Then he goes, "Now we just need to catch a catfish and then we'll know this is a good spot." *Bam* He gets a catfish.
2) Netting the striper off bank: I get a striper, and as he gets to the bank, Jr. tries to net him as he comes off the hook and somehow traps him against the bank. He wasn't a keeper (16"), but still, it was amazing that Jr. netted him. Good net job Jr.!
3) Jr. gets a bite, tries to set the hook, and then thinks he lost him. He doesn't feel any weight on the line. Then he reels in the line and on the end is a (tiny) 8-inch striped bass! That was a pretty funny incident...
4) Finally, at 1:00 a.m. we decide to call it quits. At ~1:20 I have my bad to the aqueduct and am putting stuff away in the car. Jr. is putting his pole away (putting the hook against the pole ring) when we both hear line go out from a reel. I think that it's him putting his pole away and ask him, "Was that you dude?" He replies, "No!"
He later states that since my drag was already set pretty tight that the fish was probably a big one. So, I pick up the rod, set the hook when I feel him there, and start reeling in. At first I didn't feel anything there, but later research suggests that he was swimming toward me with the bait in his mouth.
Anyway, Jr. sees him flash in dad's old-school headlight (that he took to Rainier) and knows he's a big one. He turns out to be 22.25 inches long and weighs 3 lbs. 8oz. Sweet!!!

Definitely going any spare day that we get!

That is all!
Glory 2 God!
G2G

Striper Pics

Here are some pics of the striped bass I caught in the CA aqueducts!

1st striped bass

yeah, last night (the 29th) i caught my first striper off of the CA aqueducts. pic(s) coming!