Calaveras 2/12/07 - Solo Jungle Part Deux
http://www.lonestarsharkers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=13040#13040After yesterday's fun-filled quick trip to Cali, I was anxious to get back after it. The weekly forecast was predicting a cold front to arrive Tuesday Morning and really chill the air by Wednesday. Today was in the mid 60's, fairly calm breeze...I couldn't pass it up! Unfortunately, I couldn't get anyone else to venture out so I was flying solo.
I couldn't get out of work too early, so it would be a short trip. A 30 minute drive to the lake, 1 hour and 15 minutes of fishing, and a 30 minute drive home - call me crazy, but it was worth it!
Because of where we fished just yesterday, I decided to let those fish have a break and try out a few new reed beds. I went to the opposite side of the lake, just past the gravel road, and parked at the first picnic area to launch. It is right next to a nice group of reeds with plenty of holes and pockets to find fish.
The first 15-20 minutes I spent doing nothing more than scouting. I found a few nice holes, one of which had a fish on it that I believe was fanning the bottom to create a bed (usually done by the males). Because of the chop on the water, my kayak was making a good bit of noise and I couldn't get the fish to stay in one area when I was close. I snapped this pic...and missed it, but it gives you an idea of what kind of cover we've been looking for when targeting these guys. The fish was sitting in that 5 gallon bucket sized hole just to the left of the black strap on my kayak.
After I spooked a few fish, I decided I'd better get to work because I knew they were in the area. The choppy water made it a challenge because I couldn't keep the yak quiet. The only way to do it was to run right over a bunch of thick reeds to get in an area where the waves wouldn't hit the yak. In doing so, I would create a lot of commotion...and just had to hope the fish returned to their areas. I didn't have a hit for the first few minutes, moved a bit, and finally had a hit and miss! Seemed like a decent fish, but hard to tell...we'll never know, and that's what keeps us coming back for more.
The sun gradually started to sink lower and my light was waning. As the sun sank deeper, I started seeing a LOT more activity in the shallow swamp of reeds.
Shortly after I snapped that pic, I dropped the pumpkinseed worm in just the right hole and hooked up! As soon as I did, the bass did a head shake right at the surface and must've spooked it's mate or neighbor! As soon as this fish broke the surface, another bass of equal size went skyrocketing into the air about 4', right next to the yak! Hilarious! This was a chunky bass...not very lengthy but quite stout, and put up a nice fight amongst the maze of grass:
As I went to lip it and get a better pic, it flopped out...oh well.
Right back to work I went, and in the same general area I hooked up on another fish - about the same length, but a good bit chunkier. This may have been the fish that just went airborne, as it was in the same spot and put on quite a show while on the hook!
After releasing that one, I dropped a a few times in the same area and figured all of the noise had scared off anything within 25ft or so...so I moved along. As I was paddling into an opening, I saw a large bass, dead. She was still pretty fresh, and pretty big...over 5lbs, 6lbs+ with bloating! You can see the size compared to my paddle blade.
I then stumbled into a really shallow area that was loaded with fish...but I couldn't get to them before they ran from me. I'd drop a lure and see 2 or 3 V-wakes taking off in the other direction...too shallow and I was pitching too close to 'em.
I then loaded up the yak in the truck, and headed to a different spot. I'm pretty sure I had one solid fish right off the bat, but missed it. I only got to hit 2 or 3 pockets before it was just too dark to see what I was doing. My headlamp was only drawing bugs...but I did get a few more cool pics:
I didn't plan to fish past dark, so I loaded up and was on the road by 6:55 or so...
So, in closing, 2 more decent bass, a few misses, and another couple of hours of experience. I can't complain!
SQ
