Over the Weekend

Last Fall my Wife and I made a trip up to Silver Lake for a picnic. Since she doesn't fish, we picnic and I drown a worm or two. The day was Sunday of Labor Day weekend, it was warm and sunny and we thought it would be good day to spend together. When we got there, there must have been 50 or more people and dogs swimming in the lake, partying, and generally making a lot of noise. We found a little spot in the shade and tried to enjoy ourselves. Fishing was impossible and after an hour or so of screaming, splashing, and people walking between you and the lake, we called it a day. There is a moral to this story.

Since it's started to get warm and Summer has begun, I've stopped fishing on weekends. I'd get to a spot early in the morning with one or two other dedicated fishermen and get in a half hour or so of fishing. Then the hord arrives. They walk right up next to you and fish in your "zone" so you have to limit where you cast. It's tough to be rude and tell them to go somewhere else, especially if you aren't a rude person. So I fish during the week because I can. A lot people still show up, but they are courteous and respect your space.

So this past weekend, I stayed home and worked on the back patio. I guess, when the house was built, the patio was screened. It was done with metal screen on the outside and the screen was held on with moulding. If you've ever had anything like this, you know that after a period of time, the moulding starts to pull away from the house and it takes the screen with it, which is now starting to rust, and causing gaps which let in bugs. We have a constant threat of West Nile Virus with mosquitos in our area, so a screened patio without holes is absolutely necessary.

A couple of weeks ago, we started to replace the screen. The old one was two pieces wrapped around the outside. One 6' on the top and one 3' below, held together with molding, stapled (looks like one of those hand staplers. Makes my hand hurt just looking at it.) to a 2x4 - 30" above the floor. Very up to code. NOT. To make it to code, we had to put a railing 36" high with balisters not more than 4" in between. The code says you can not have a ball 4" in diameter roll between the balisters.

We started the replacement.

A couple of views of the sections we have finished and a look toward our property and pond (no fish. Too shallow). Now screened on the inside with fiberglass screen and the screen is stapled and then the molding is added. We've completed 4 sections, one each weekend because we have to paint the outside where the old screen was and it takes a coat of Kilz and then a coat of the color. Four sections down 10 more to go.

With that said, tomorrow I'm off to the lake. Today I have errands in town and I plan to pick up a couple of the little yellow Rooster Tails that worked so good when Rich, Mark, and I went last week. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll let everyone know what I caught and where I ended up.

Till then, remember: "A bad day fishing is better than any day with West Nile Virus".

Shoreman

Outdoor Clothing

Welcome Gadabout Gaddis, David W, and RPWLAW to the blog. Thanks for stopping by. Just a quick note on RPWLAW, he's Mark's dad from the Power Bait challenge.

Since Mid-May I've had Outdoor Clothing on the blog under places to shop. I haven't written anything about them because I was contemplating getting something and wanted to see what it looked like before I said anything. Yesterday I got top and bottom thermals in the mail.

They're made from 60% cotton and 40% polyester. They feel real soft and should go a long way toward keeping this old body warm this Fall and Winter. If you need any socks, thermals, or even bike riding apparel, stop out at their site and check it out. I'm planning to be much warmer this winter. Maybe they can keep you warmer too.

Shoreman

The Power Bait Challenge

Well, here it is. We met at Red Lake 0700 as planned. Mark and I each put out our Power Baits. End of story. Shoreman got his butt kicked. The final tally was basic run of the mill Power Bait 4, Gulp Trout Dough, Zip. And no, there were no donuts. Might have worked better than Trout Dough. I can gracefully accept defeat. I have broad shoulders, I can take the heat.

Mark didn't gloat and I admire him for that. Although it would have been OK. His only comment was that he likes Basic Power Bait because it's cheaper. Apparently it works better too.

We did end up with a fist full of trout. Some where around twenty for the day between the three of us. Mark was fishing with a little yellow Rooster Tail, so I put a similar one I found buried in my tackle box. With it I did score my first Cutthroat (14"). The picture wasn't very good, so I'm not going to post it. We were moving between lakes and I wanted to get a quick snapshot.

We got most of the trout at Red Lake. Three at Caples (Rainbow and German Brown). all released). Nothing at Silver Lake and 3 (Rainbows, released) at Bear River.

That's it. Till next time, remember: "A day spent with your head hanging down in defeat is better than any day at work".

Shoreman

Red Lake and the Power Bait Challenge

Well, the Power Bait challenge didn't happen. Rich and Mark had too much fun (although they say you can't have too much fun) last night and Rich couldn't get Mark, remember he's 17, out of bed in time to make it up the hill for the Power Bait shootout. Looks like it will take place next Tuesday. Report to follow.

Stopped by Cooks Station for coffee and arrived at Red Lake at 7:45 am. There were already a couple of guys fishing. One was in the place I like to fish. Just as I got there, he was leaving. He had caught his limit and was going home. Cool. Said he'd been there since sunup.

Set out a slip sinker rig with Rainbow Candy and put a silver Kastmaster on my other rod. Second cast out I hooked a Brookie. This looks good. Few more casts and several changes of lures and nothing. Changed the Power Bait to chunky chartreuse, orange pulp, nothing. Reeled in that rod and fished with lures. Guy on the other end of the dam was fishing with nightcrawlers. He and his daughter took home a limit.

Changed back to silver Kastmaster (1/4 oz) and proceeded to pull in 4 more fish. Ended up with two at 11" and 3 at 10". Nice Brookies. Probably could have caught a bunch more, but left them for next time.

One last thing. Last Thursday, even though I stopped for coffee at Cooks Station, I only caught 3, not a limit (5). Found out the reason this morning. Seems the coffee I got on Thursday was decaf, therefore the difference in caffeine was the difference between 3 and 5 fish. That explains everything.

Till Tuesday, remember: "A bad day fishing is better than any day at work".

Shoreman

Kirkwood Lake

CORRECTION: Apparently Kirkwood Lake is in that little neck of Amador County, but actually sits in El Dorado County. So, it is on the DFG stock list and will be stocked next week (week of 6/21). That makes this lake a whole new ballgame.

I touched on this lake a while back. Today on the way back from Red Lake, I stopped, but didn't take any more pictures, because there are 2 on the June 2nd post. Any way, here is what I found. A fairly small lake as lakes go. There are 12 camping sites near the lake, it's first come, first served, no reservations, and a small area where you can park without paying a fee. Room enough for 6 or 7 vehicles. Beyond the campground, there are 2 or 3 houses (cabins).

I walked around the right side of the lake about a quarter mile and threw in a couple of lures. The lake is not listed on the DFG Stock/No Stock list, so all you'll get is natives if there are any fish in the lake. Rumor has it that there are Brookies. I didn't see anything.

Nice place to camp if you just want to paddle your canoe around the lake. Although, I did see a couple of young boys fishing a little beyond where I was.

That's it for this lake.

Shoreman

Bear River Reservoir Again

I fish here a lot because it's close to home (21 miles). Tomorrow I'm meeting a couple of friends from Sacramento at Caples Lake for the 1st annual Power Bait fish off. Hopefully it will be more than an annual thing, but we have to call it something. I'm a die hard Berkley Gulp Trout Dough person. Rich's son Mark (cool name, same as mine) is a plain old run of the mill Power Bait person. Do I sound biased? Fishing for shad a couple of weeks ago, a challange was made. Plain old run of the mill power bait would out fish Gulp. We'll see. I'll let you know tomorrow what happens.

Back to Bear River. Got my usual cup of coffee at Cooks Station and hit the road. Got to the lake about 7:45 am. Parked out on the dam and set out a slip sinker rig with Orange Pulp. Put a silver Panther Martin on my other pole. 3rd cast produced a small (about 9") Rainbow. Carefully released it back into the lake. A few more casts didn't produce anything so I switched to another lure. Went through the usual spectrum until I got to a silver Kastmaster. Caught 2 on that and then nothing afterward. Noticed the fish were feeding on the surface, so I switched the slip sinker for a slip bobber rig and put Rainbow Candy on. Now this is a little tricky using floating power bait on a floating rig. Put a tiny split shot just above the hook, about 3 inches, to hold the Power Bait down. Worked. I had trout hitting the Power Bait left and right. You know how trout are. Mouth it and spit it out. Mouth it and spit it out until they break it up enough so it comes off the hook. Would never hold it long enough to set the hook. Went through 5 or 6 times of rebaiting and then they just disappeared. Were probably full. So that's the total for today. 3 caught and released. Don't know what happened to coffee vs limit. One of those days.

Did stop at the resort to find out what happened with the derby over the weekend. Even though DFG planted the lake last week, they still wouldn't allow the resort to put in any "contract" fish. Fish they buy from a supplier of sorts for the derby. Many of which are trophy size in the 5,6,7 pound range. So, the winner was a 3 1/2 pounder. $1000.00 for a 3 1/2 pound fish. Not a bad weekends work.

The other thing I wanted to touch on is fishing off the dam where you can see the fish as they follow your lure and refuse to bite. Need I say more.

Till next time, remember: "A bad day fishing is better than any day at work".

Shoreman

American River - Shad - and OH CRAP

I went to Sacramento yesterday with the intention of shad fishing most of the day. I got to Harrington Access about 9:00am. Just thought I'd try it again since I'm not sure I'll get to shad fish any more this year. There were several guys fishing, both with spinning gear and fly rods. No body was catching anything. Fished for a little while and decided to go to the El Manto access on the other side closer to Sunrise. Nice place with a high bank and deep pools, although not a place you'd want to fall in. Lot of swirls, eddies, and whirlpools. OK for fish, not good for humans. Did find a good spot where I could just put my jig in and just jig it. Didn't have to cast out and reel in, cast out and reel in etc. Caught one.

I did run into a young man named Eric (a died hard Bass fisherman) who had caught a shad, but didn't know what it was. So we got that straightened out. He caught it on a lure he bought yesterday morning at Walmart. It was similar to a Little Cleo and had a coloration similar to firetiger. I made sure he knew we were in a barbless area and had him smash the barbs.

After a while of not catching anything else, I decided to go to Rossmoor where I caught the six back on June 6th. When I started the truck, a light on the dashboard lit up. It said "Low Coolant" Better get it looked at. Fortunately I was only a few miles from the GMC dealer in Folsom where I get my vehicles serviced. So I shot over there and had them take a look. Thought I'd get my oil changed while I was there, since it was due. Put a little coolant in, change the oil, and I'm back to the river. WRONG. Several hours later and a new water pump (big $$$$$), my day was ruined. With one fish caught and the day ruined, I headed home.

Maybe I'll get another shot at shad this year. Maybe not. We'll just have to see.

Till next time, remember: "A bad day fishing is better than getting a new water pump in your truck".

Shoreman

New Followers

I wanted to welcome a couple of new followers to my blog. I've been off line for several days as Shoreman's wife has been updating the computer. Being an Senior IT Tech, she's got all the knowledge that Shoreman doesn't. She put in a 500 Gig external hard drive and re-imaged everything else. I have no idea what that means except everything works faster. So now I'm back.

Welcome, JB, Wolfy, Mark, Catfishchic, and Kenny54. Hope you all enjoy the posts. If I missed anybody, my apologies.

Shoreman

Friday

I really wanted to run down to Sacramento and do some Shad fishing today, but it's already 11:00 am and I still have 900 things to do, so it looks like I'll have to pass.

I got a really nice comment from Dave at Detroit Sports and More Blog on the Blog Catalogue. Thanks Dave. It makes all this worth while. I added a link to Dave's blog on my blogroll. Stop by and say hi. There's a lot more than fishing on his blog.

The weekend is here and since I'll still have 800 or so things to do, I don't think I'll be fishing until next week. Next week the DFG will be planting Union Valley Reservoir, Ice House, and Loon Lake off Highway 50. Caples, again, and Silver Lake off Highway 88.

This last week, the DFG planted Lower Sardine Lake in Sierra County. This reminded me of a humorous situation that occurred some years ago. I was camping with some friends and we decided to go to Sardine Lake. Back then, and I don't know how it is now, but the road to Upper Sardine Lake (this is a beautiful high mountain lake) from Lower Sardine lake was 4 wheel drive and almost straight up. It was one of those roads that you had to get a run at it, keep going or you'll have to turn around and go back down. OK, so I told my friend, you go first and don't forget that you have to stop when you get to the top because it goes over and down to the lake really fast.

Off he went, got to the top, saw the girl that was sunbathing without her top and almost
drove into the lake. We laughed about that for years.

Well, till next time remember: "A bad day fishing is worth it, especially if you see a girl sunbathing without her top".

Shoreman

Bear River Reservoir This Morning

I wanted to give Bear River a try this morning before the derby this weekend. I've had these Rapala Clackin' Rap lures and thought this would be a good time to get them wet. I stopped by for my usual cup of coffee at Cooks Station and on I went. Got to the lake about 8:00am and was I surpirsed. The last time I was there, the lake was still about 15 feet from the top. This morning the water was about 6 feet from the top and running out the spillway.

DFG was supposed to stock the lake this week ( which they dod on Tuesday), but I just wanted to try the Rapala's. The gate was open so I drove over to the second dam and parked. I walked just a short distance to a good flat spot and tied on the lure. Twenty or thirty casts didn't produce anything, so I put a Kastmaster on my other rod. That's the 7' Ugly Stik and 6 lb line and started casting. I was yacking with a guy standing on the dam while I was casting and bam. Hooked a fish. Felt like a small stocker and he spit the hook. Goes to show what happens when you're not paying attention.

So I decided, since I wasn't fishing the Rapala, I'd go over to the other dam where I usually fish, and fish there. The corner was packed with debris, so I walked out to the middle of the dam. There was a rock I could stand on and fished from there. I stuck out a slip sinker rig with orange Power Bait and casted out the silver Kastmaster I had on the other rod. Nothing happened so I tried gold. Still nothing so I tried Panther Martin in silver. Nothing. Tried PM in gold, nothing. Switched the Power Bait to Rainbow. Meanwhile I checked with the other people fishing and they weren't catching anything either. Thought maybe that one bump on the other side was going to be it. Tried the bronze Kastmaster that worked on Tuesday at Caples and landed the first of five Rainbows. A little different dynamic fishing 6 feet off the water and over a three foot concrete wall. Just tighten your line and whip the fish over the wall. Could be a problem with a large fish, but these were stockers in the 9 to 11 inch range. Then the next problem occurred. My stringer has a rope attached, but it's only a couple of feet long. Fortunately I carry rope in the truck for tying down loads and such.

OK, so now I had the first one on the stringer. Back out with the Kastmaster. Nothing. What the heck? So my logic told me if bronze Kastmaster worked, put on a bronze/red Little Cleo. That was the one they wanted. The next four came Bam, Bam, Bam, Bam. With that, the stringer had five and that's all they'll let you have in one day. Packed up and spent the next half hour explaining to the folks next to me, how I did it and about this blog.

So, this weekend is the Bear River Reservoir Derby I mentioned in the post June 2nd. Now that the DFG is stocking again, maybe they might stock some big ones for the derby too.

Till my next foray, remember: "A bad day fishing is better than any day at work".

I changed the way I took the picture so you wouldn't think I was showing you the same picture over and over.

Shoreman

Red and Caples Lake This Morning

As soon as I turned on to Highway 88, the sign was flashing, letting me know that there was a delay East of Kirkwood Ski Resort that could last as much as an hour. Well, Red Lake and Caples Lake are both East of Kirkwood and that was where I was headed.

So I stopped at Cooks Station and got the usual cup of coffee and stuck in the ear buds of my MP3 (book on MP3, makes the drive easier) and off I went. I could have stopped at Bear River, or maybe Silver Lake, or even Kirkwood Lake, but I’m a glutton for punishment. I love waiting for Cal Trans to let us lowly fishermen through so we can ply our skills trying to catch those beautiful Brookies, Cutthroat, or Rainbows that inhabit the two lakes mentioned above.

As it turned out, Cal Trans was holding traffic at Carson Pass just above Red Lake. I asked the sign lady how long, and she said it wouldn’t be very long. Turned out to be about 20 minutes. Little enough sacrifice for Brookies and Cutthroats. 45 minutes after arriving at Red Lake and NOTHING. No runs, hits, or errors. I’ve been spending too much time watching baseball lately.

I got back into the truck and headed back through the Cal Trans area (another 20 minute wait) and went back to Caples Lake. Since they’ve (the DFG) been stocking the hell out of the lake, chances were good I’d catch something. So I started with the usual. Rainbow Power Bait (Gulp Trout Dough) on my slip sinker rig and PM silver on my big rod. Again NOTHING. I said to myself, “This can’t be happening. I stopped for coffee at Cooks Station, I should be catching a limit”. Changed to PM gold. NOTHING. Tried Sonic Rooster Tail in red, white, and yellow. NOTHING. Now it’s been ¾ of an hour and nothing on the Power Bait either. Changed to American Pie (red, white, and blue Power Bait). Used to work here.

Changed the big rod to Kastmaster in silver. Third cast got bumped. OK, this is encouraging. Second cast after that reeled in a Rainbow about 10”. OK, now things are starting to look up. Few more casts, then changed to gold Kastmaster. Bam, another one. Few more casts without anything, changed to burgundy/bronze Little Cleo. Bam, another one. Couple more casts, Bam another one. Now I had 4 on the stringer. Tried silver Kastmaster again. Got one to the shore and he got off. Then tried gold, nothing. Orange Kastmaster, nothing. Little Cleo in firetiger, nothing. Little Cleo in silver/blue, nothing. OK, what happened? Then I looked in my tackle box and found a new Kastmaster (still in the package) in a bronze color. Hum? Clipped it on and the second cast, Bam. Trout number 5. I had also changed the Power Bait to Orange Pulp with no results. They were not going to bite on Power Bait, no matter what.

During all the NOTHINGs, I did get three bumps. Don’t know if they were fish or sticks. A lot of wood floating in the lake. I did catch one two feet long. Threw it back, wasn’t big enough to keep. A stick, not a fish. So here is the picture of today’s catch.










I also took a picture of Kirkwood Ski Resort for those of you that don't live in the great bankrupt state of California. I think if you double click on the picture, you can get it to fill your screen and get a good look.












Well, that's it for today. I'm planning on Bear River Reservoir on Thursday and the American River for Shad on Friday.

Until next time, remember: "A bad day fishing is better than any day at work".

Shoreman

Shad in the American Friday

First thing, I'd like to welcome Dick to the blog. Thanks for stopping by.

My first stop after coming down the hill was Fisherman's Warehouse. After I had given the jar of Gulp Rainbow Candy to the two gentlemen at Caples on Tuesday, I went into my gear bag to get another jar and guess what, I didn't have another jar. So I stopped at Fisherman's and picked up a couple of replacements. I also wanted to pick up some more pink jigs which were out of stock. So off to the river.

Got there at 2:00pm. All the guys say that the bite doesn't start until 4:30 or 5:00. I've never been one to adhere to "fish in the early morning or late afternoon". I tend to fish any time of the day or what ever time of the day I can.

I put the little pink jig (see the picture on the post dated 6/1/2009) and began casting. Wasn't long until I got the first bump. OK, this was good since I had the whole river to myself. Well, with the exception of the firemen that were burning the field down stream a ways. A controlled burn. Made the air nice and smoky since I was up wind from the burn. Kind of like a burn day where I live, so I felt right at home. .

The left was the first one I got to shore. A little hard trying to take a picture and reeling in the fish. Another hand or two would have been good. If you double click on the picture I think you can get a full screen shot and see the fish. He got off before I could get him out of the water. We have to use barbless hook in this stretch of the river, so you really have to pay attention. The second one I got out of the water, snapped a shot and got him back in the water. Then I decided it was time for lunch and went to weinie dog (Der Weinerschnitzel) for a couple of hot dogs and a drink.

When I got back, I brought my net with me. Anything to try and get better pictures. This one was about 16" and maybe 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. I didn't take the time to measure or weigh, I wanted to get it back in the water. All total, I landed 6 and missed 4. One I hooked shot straight out into the river about 200 yards, jumped, and spit the hook. All in all a pretty good day even though the bite, for me, stopped about 4:30 and I stayed until 6:00. I got one hit during that time.

Well, that was the second shot at shad. I'll probably get down a couple more times before the run is over. See what happens then. Next week the high mountain lakes.

Until next time, remember: "A bad day fishing is better than any day at work".

Shoreman

Things are a changin'

Just a quick update. On the post yesterday, I said that Bear River Reservoir was not on the plant list. Today I checked again, as I was posting on the Sniffer about Ice House Reservoir, and lo and behold, not only is Bear River Reservoir (Lower) on the stock list, but it is being stocked next week along with the rest of the group. Hot fishing on the Highway 88 corridor. Happy fishing days are here again.

Shoreman

A new blog to check out

Since I'm not going fishing today, I went in search of blogs that have fishermen or fisherwomen that use spin casting equipment. I came across the Dahlquist Fishing Blog. Mark is outside Minneapolis Minnesota and is an avid German Brown fisherman. Stop by, check out his blog, and say Hi. He's got some great pictures.

Shoreman

Trout Plants

Just in case you aren't following then DFG plant site, here is a list of the plant this week and next week. Get you rods warmed up.

This week they stocked Caples again. You know it's good by my post Yesterday.

Next week: Caples again, Silver Lake, Red Lake (love those Brookies), and for the "close to Pine Grove" folks, Lake Tabeaud. All those good High Sierra Lakes along Highway 88. Only Bear River Reservoir, being on the no stock list, is not. Boo.

Going to have to try Tabeaud again.

Shoreman

Bear River Reservoir June Fishing Derby

According to the letter I received this morning, the Derby will be on June 13th & 14th. Unfortunately the DFG is not issuing any private stocking permits, so there will not be any fish stocked for this derby and as mentioned previously, Bear River is on the DFG "no stock" list.

Same hours as last year. Starts 6:00am on Saturday (registration begins Friday 6/12 at 4:00pm)

Prize money is as follows:
1st place $1000.00
2nd place $500.00
3rd place $300.00
4th place $200.00

Prizes will be for Rainbow or German Brown. Official rules and regulations can be obtained at the resort, call 209-295-4868, or email at bearriver@suredial.net.

Good luck to those participating.

Till next time, remember: "A bad day fishing is better than any day at work".

Shoreman

Rebirth of Caples Lake

First, I’d like to welcome Kenny 54 to the blog.

It was a great start to the morning. I just turned left on Highway 88 and the sign said “Construction at Kirkwood. 1 hour delays”. As a lot of you know, Caples lake and Red lake are past Kirkwood. I really wanted to try Caples Lake. All the comments on the Sniffer were raving about the catches at Caples. So, while deciding if I wanted to chance the trip, I stopped at Cooks Station for my usual cup of coffee.

OK, I went anyway. I couldn’t help myself. As it turns out, I didn’t find any construction and made it to Caples by about 7:45 am. I rode past the spillway just to see how the lake looked. It was full. OK, that’s a good sign. Made a U-turn and parked below the spillway and walked over to the sandy side of the lake. They’ve got a string of bright orange bumpers strung across the lake in front of the gates. I went past them about 100 yards and set up on a little point.

Set out a slip sinker rig with Berkley gulp Trout Dough in Rainbow Candy. Put a silver Kastmaster on my bigger rod and started casting. Second cast, hooked one and lost it. Fourth cast, hooked one and lost it. Another good sign. About that time the line on the other rod went tight. Grabbed it and set the hook. A 9” rainbow went on the stringer. Changed the big rod to silver Panther Martin. About the 3rd cast, hooked and landed a 13” Brookie. On the stringer. Put on a red Sonic Rooster Tail and put another 13” Brookie on the stringer. Then a white Sonic Rooster Tail and put another 13” Brookie on the stringer. At that point I had 4 on the stringer and didn’t want to catch another that I HAD to keep, so I reeled in the small rod. Funny thing happened on the way to the shore. The power bait had come off and as I reeled in the rig, two fish hit the sinker.

The I put on a burgundy/red Little Cleo and caught and released one. Put on a silver/blue Little Cleo. Caught and released one. Put the silver Kastmaster back on and caught and released one. Then all of a sudden, they quit biting. That was around 8:45am. So, I decided to put the power bait back out and in less than 5 minutes, I had another 9” Rainbow for the stringer.

Since I had my 5 limit, I packed up and headed out. On the way, I stopped to talk to a couple of gentlemen that I had seen fishing on the other side of the lake who were now on my side. They hadn’t caught anything, so I left the rest of my Rainbow Gulp with them. Hope they caught something.

On the drive back I stopped by Kirkwood Lake. It’s just below the ski area. Since I already had a limit, I didn’t fish, but took a couple of shots for everyone to see. Maybe next time before it gets too crowded with campers.

Oh yeh, one other thing, I managed to get by the construction before they got set up. Until next time, which is just behind this one.

Shoreman

Shad and the American River Sunday

I'm back from Los Angeles. Couldn't get my Brother out to a lake and going up to Big Bear, where his boat is, was pretty much not an option. You'd have to have your boat in the water by 6:00 am on a holiday weekend or you'd have to wait a long time and park miles away. So we passed on that. One thing we did do is go to the Orange County Swap Meet. I ran into a guy named Joe Ortega who owns a company called Jerkit Lures. The lures are a soft bait with a jig head like the picture below. The difference is the design, as it is with all soft baits. Supposed to be good for Bass, Trout, and most everything else. Well see. If they work, I'll publish name and address if anyone wants to explore them. Don't want to sent you in a bad direction.

Took a trip to Sacramento yesterday for the Granddaughter’s birthday lunch. Since I was there, I hooked up with some new friends to do some shad fishing while Shoreman’s wife went to the book store.

Rich and I’ve email back and forth for a week or so and he was able to meet me at the river. He brought along his Son, Mark. The access this time was Rossmoor off Coloma Road, off Sunrise. Very convenient because I was lunching at Applebee’s on Sunrise just above Coloma Rd.

I met Rich at the parking lot and we went to the spot where he’s been catching shad on almost a nightly basis. What I discovered was, that shad don’t bite on what they used to. That being shad darts. Since all I brought was shad darts, I didn’t catch any, but Rich and Mark did. While I was there, Mark caught one and lost one on a little 1/16 oz pink jig head with a trailing pink soft bait. I put one on my line, but with 6 lb test, I couldn’t get it out very far. Rich caught his on a small silver Kastmaster.





This is that little pink jig







Needless to say, since all I brought was my 6 lb test and shad darts, Which used to work, Shoreman was unprepared. This morning I got an email from Rich, after I left he caught 5 and missed a bunch. Mark caught 20 and missed as many or more. So my diagnosis is that one, 4 lb test on my rod is needed, two always take your tackle box, and three, hang around until the bite really starts. This I plan to do when Rich and I meet on Friday afternoon for some more shad fishing.

In the mean time I’m planning a trip up Highway 88 tomorrow, amid the thunder, lightning, and hail to do some fishing at Caples Lake and possibly Red Lake. Want to see how Caples is doing since they stocked a bunch before Memorial Day and are stocking again this week.

That's it for today. I need to go over to OBS and see what going on there. Till next time, remember: "A bad day fishing is better than any day at work".

Shoreman