Caples 11/01/2009

Went out to Caples off HWY 88 to see what all the hoopla was over. Well, met our good friend Mark there at 0815 and it was fish on city to down right boredom when we didn't get bit in 5 minutes. Yes, it was one of those days of just catching and releasing. Caught browns, bows, and brookies. It was such an awesome day for only being able to fish 4 hours due to real life commitements. Between the three of us, we managed over seventy fish easily and it looked like one of them days where they would never stop biting. Nothing of major size, most ran from 12 inches to the largest brown around 16 inches. Bruisers were cruising by, but only two showed interest and both escaped to grow even bigger. Talking about 5 plus pounders.

What worked, rainbow power bait and power worm and power egg combos. Flies were slow for my son Mark, but he tore them up using a power worm on the fly rod. Best lure was the usual 1/4 oz Kastmaster, and no it wasn't the gold one. Let's just say it was froggy like. Best overall aresenal was no doubt the rainbow power bait. Get up there while you can. The winter storms should be closing it down in 45 days (guessing). Good luck out there and be safe.

Lower Bear

After our Saturday trip to Red and Caples. My son Mark and I decided to try Lower Bear. Another hot day for Sept. standards, but comfortable. Arriving at 2 PM we set up camp and it was instant hookup on the good 'ol rainbow powerbait. Caught some on a gold 1/4 oz. Kastmaster. But bait was far better for action. Even the old power worm and eggs trick worked. Fish ranged from 8-12 inches. Pretty much your basic planters. All bows and the action perrty much stayed consistent with a few dry spells.

Well all of this complaining about the heat. Looks like fall is finally arriving here. Temps are downright cold now, and day temps only in the 70's to 80's. Just love the fall. Great fishing and great weather. Get out there and tear 'em up before the snow comes.

Last Of The Heat In The Sierra's?

Ok, met our good friend Mark up at Red Lake for some brook action. Well, we caught some, but it wasn't the fast pace action I was expecting. The weather was unsually warm for 7800 feet in late Sept. Had me looking for a shady spot to sit. Back to fishing. What worked was an array of lures from Kastmasters in 1/4- 1/8 oz. Colors were silver or gold. Spoons such as Cleos produced and of course the old trusty roostertail. Keeping 4 brookies we headed back up to Caples. Hunkered down in our spot and proceeded to catch lots of bows. Best thing here was rainbow powerbait. Lures did produce, but you had to work hard at it. The bait was getting slammed as fast as you could cast out at times. Catching and releasing about 20 bows, and having to keep 6 bleeders we called it a day. It sure was great fishing and company with Mark.

Stripers and Fishing In General

Ok, for the last week or so I have been sticking close to the house. Been fishing the Sacramento River Well, it is summer and catching isn't red hot. But the weather has been and the fihsing has been great with friends. Starting off with Isleton. I have managed a couple of nice fish out of there. First with a nice 7-8 pound striper caught with a bloodworm on an incoming tide around 23:00. Of course we caught plenty of shakers and small cats also.

Talk about cats. Made another brief night trip out and managed to hook into a nice 7 pound channel with bloodworms. Actually I was trying for stripers again, but not complaining at all about the nice cat. If you want the cats, we use chicken liver. And buy the fresh stuff. Don't let that old tale of old and stinky performs better. At least not for them feisty channel cats. Of course the other baits works for cats, especially clams. You can catch all the smaller cats with clams in the delta all day and night long.

Let's take a brief note on Hood. Been fishing here and yet to see any large stripers hooked. But you sure can see and them jumping from time to time. Especially at sundown, but them stubborn boogers aren't biting. We have tried bloodworms, pileworms, and an assortment of lures. Still yet to hook into a legal one. But the shaker action is almost non-stop. Oh! You may use anchovies also if you just want to bit for the cheapest bait.

Talk about bait. It is hard for me to believe that a dozen bloodworms cost $12. Yes! It really does. Pretty soon you'll need a good paying job to fish effectively with bait. LOL Until next time, get bit soon.

American River Stripers

Oh boy, I have been busy. Forgot I had this blog. Been slamming the American River hard for the stripers. Not fast and furious action, but pulling out keepers here and there. Largest so far landed was 24 inches. Bigger ones lost and bigger ones seen. Big I mean like 10 plus pounders. As of late, the flows are above 5000 CFS for the most part. Fluctuating between 4100-5500 CFS. This has definitely but a strain on the bite. I don't care what people say, yes you can still catch them. But not as good as when the flows are lower and more stable. These stripers have so much more water to hide in and pockets are everywhere they might hide. Best section of the river right now is definitely the section below Ancil Hoffman. Goodluck and enjoy. I sure do.

American River Shad Update

Well, the flows on the American has been high and fast at 5,000 CFS. The weather was warm to hot, now we're having a slight cooling trend to the mid 80's. It looks like the shad fishing is starting to die off. There is no use going before 19:30. Yeah, you might catch some, but the bite has been consistent between 20:00- right til dusk. You'll most likely end up with 10 hard fighters on your line. You'll miss and lose about just as many. It's still fun fishing for them, but don't expect no hardcore non-stop action. I think it's about over, but who really knows. It's all up to the shad. Enjoy them while you can. Oh! Almost all females looked like they have spawned out. The stripers aren't even slamming them at dusk like they used to. Time to gear up for some topwater striper action and maybe a few steelies here and there.

Hopefully, I'll be slamming some high sierra trout soon. Good fishing and be safe.

American River

Shad and more shad. Ever since they have raised the flows and with the heat, shad fishing has been awesome to good. Have gone out 3 times in the week and hooked at least over 10. With the best evening being over 20. Heck! Just catching over 5 is awesome to me. These little boogers can fight! Heard a rumor that someone hooked into a 7 pounder that almost spooled him. That's big compared to the usual 2-3 pounds on average. If you have never done shad fishing, try it at least once or until you hook one. You just might become a shad addict.

First off, start small with trout gear. 4 pound test is plenty big and use a medium light to light rod. Get some 1/16 ounce jigheads. Buy some 1 inch pink or champagne grubs. Cast out and let her drift in the current. The bites are usually very subtle. Watch your line, if it stops, twitches, set the hook! Fish on! Now just enjoy the ride.