In case it wasn't clear from the last two posts - we've made a special purchase on that Penn 320GT2 reel and the Ugly Stik BWC/AO2201 and have set them up as a rod and reel combo - including mono line! All for only $149.99!
Normally, the reel alone would go for about $100, while the rod would set you back another $80. But, we secured a special deal on these - just in time for prime time for the ocean and bay fishing!
We've also put together some lighter weight outfits, and have a wide assortment of freshwater and saltwater spinning setups - ready to spool up and get you out for the big holiday weekend!
Showing posts with label striper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label striper. Show all posts
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Flies In The Surf
Wow! Between getting ready for our Huge Fall Sale on August 27th and playing hooky and going fishing myself, I managed to get a bit behind in posting photos!
One of the great things about running Western Sport Shop is that we get to meet really talented anglers. Occasionally, we get lucky enough to have one work for us! Those of you who have been in the fly department in San Rafael have probably met Loren, who has worked for us the last couple summers. When Loren isn't answering questions or helping get folks rigged up right, he manages to do better than most folks when flyfishing the surf. Here are just a few photos we've seen of his adventures -
One of the great things about running Western Sport Shop is that we get to meet really talented anglers. Occasionally, we get lucky enough to have one work for us! Those of you who have been in the fly department in San Rafael have probably met Loren, who has worked for us the last couple summers. When Loren isn't answering questions or helping get folks rigged up right, he manages to do better than most folks when flyfishing the surf. Here are just a few photos we've seen of his adventures -
Friday, July 9, 2010
Fishing is Hot and Heating Up!
Starting with salmon, after a month of "fits and starts" both the ocean and the salmon are becoming more reliable with reports from party boats and private boaters of a fish and a half per rod on kings and (sadly) more then guys care to count on silvers/coho.
I spoke with one private boater who claimed to have caught and released 40-50 silvers between him self and two other skiffs. That said, I can't emphasize enough the importance of shaking those silvers off the hook without boating the fish as they have a notoriously poor ability to coagulate their blood which causes them to bleed out like hemophiliacs, even if they appear to swim off unscathed. That said, the top baits are 5.5" apex lures in "police car", and "watermelon", green R.S.K.s and clear F.B.R.s both baited with green or red size herring. Most action seems to be centered around dux and the N buoy.
Halibut has been a little tricky this year however in the last two weeks several reports spoke of 1-2 fish a rod in the 10-20lb range drifting live bait and a handfull of giant pacific halibut in the 30-50lb range that have wandered into the bay. Best spots are Red Rock,
Salmon and Halibut are great and very tasty, but the thing that gets me SUPER PUMPED is the striped bass action. Most creeks and sloughs in Marin and
The big boys (those stripers which have moved out into saltwater, feeding voraciously and reaching 25-45 lbs) are on the beaches, Fort Point, Elephant Rock, and Crissy Field, and demand real striper tackle - surf rods, 50-65lb braid, big Pencil Poppers, serious iron like 2-4oz Kastmasters or Hopkins. Here in Marin, look to Stinson Beach where they have already stuck a dozen fish in the 25-35lb class, or Muir Beach, where perch anglers find themselve alone and unable to keep the big stripers off their rigs.
The weather is looking pretty good for this weekend, so get out and enjoy!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Rig Right for Maximum Success!
Anyone up for a September to remember? I love years like these when there are more than enough surprises around every corner to compensate for any changes in our local fisheries. I talked to Chris "Flipper" Franks at the bait receiver this week about the halibut and striper bites, and he says "halibut is still strong in the main bay and up the coast", and that "the striper bite has picked up in the south bay and main bay."
The key is the bait. The same warm ocean waters that have brought us a great tuna season (and it looks like it will continue to produce through the rest of the month as well) has also brought big bait and lots of it. Anchovies have been hard to come by, but sardines in the 6-10" range are everywhere along with green mackrel and jack smelt.
I spoke with Captain Todd of the Blue Runner and he says he has never seen so much big bait around the San Francisco harbor. The key successfully fishing the halibut bite, is to modify your rigging to acommodate the big sardines. You will be fine if you are using a pre-tied halibut leader with treble and sliding bait hook. But, if you are using a single live bait hook, you will need to add a stinger hook trailing off the end. The stinger can either single or treble but needs to be big enough to acommodate these bigger baits. If you don't rig this way, all you'll see is scratched baits and short strikes. (Same goes for the stripers, so set your rigs appropriately.)
Our wild story of the week (month, or possibly the season...) comes from a halibut trip. Western Sport Shop long-time customer Ed Janowitz took his boat out on Labor Day with friend Bill Wells to target halibut. They were working through 17' of water on the Berkley Flats and had boated a pair of keeper halibut. Then, something slammed Bill's 8" sardine and took out 200 yrds of line before turning and running another 200 yrds in the opposite direction. With Bill on the fish and Ed at the helm they turned the boat and started to chase - just as Bill was almost out of line. Thinking it was a huge ray they were floored when it slashed across the surface and revealed it self to be the "holy grail" -- a 50" 44lb white sea bass! (Look for photos soon!)
The fish was so big Ed had trouble landing it in a huge teardrop Bodega style salmon net.
Several white sea bass have been reported in the area over the last two weeks but Ed and Bill's was by far the biggest landed. Several have been reported at the Alameda rock wall and Bonita Cove but no pictures were produced. All of them were reported to have been caught drifting jumbo size live sardines.
Striped Bass have been continuing in strong numbers. Anglers on the beaches are still catching stripers using Pencil Poppers (or the wooden Chesapeake poppers we've found!), Jigs, Kastmasters and Swimbaits at Stinson Beach and Ocean Beach both at dawn and dusk.
As for stripers in the bay, reports of fish caught on cut bait and bull heads at China Camp and Highway 37 are steady. Most report that they are catching fewer but bigger bass than they would normally expect this time of year. The ranger at Paradise Pier reports catches of both striper and halibut daily on swimbaits and jigs - it's best at dawn and dusk with slower fishing during the day. Western Sport Shop GM Tom Nelson reports steadily improving striper fishing on the Petaluma river with all of his fish coming on 4" Storm Swimbaits in blue shad, chartreuse shiner, pearl, and natural shad.
I had a chance to talk our fly department staff saltwater experts, John Quigley and Lauren Elliot who spent almost 12 hours chasing stripers on the fly in San Pablo bay (for only one hook up, a 10-12 lber lost at the boat.... Ah well, it is fishing, not necessarily catching.) Quigley tells me that he believes that the bay is holding a higher quality striper fishery this year but that the overall numbers especially juveniles are way down and that the bigger fish appear to be avoiding the shallow shoreline areas. It will be interesting to see how the fall striper run plays out.
As far as I can see, the hot bites not to miss are the tuna, and the elusive white sea bass. The tuna are good to go any time the swells and wind will allow it. Best bets being to listen to the weather radio to time your run, then troll plain cedar plugs and 4" zucchini tuna clones or feathers and then back it up with live sardines and swimbaits. Unlike the "in the Bay" baits, the shorter trolling lures seem to be the ticket right now on the tuna. Anglers have done will with the shorter plugs and feathers.
Best bet for the white seabass is to drift big 10" sardines on a 3-way swivel rig and a 9/0 circle hook. Don't get me wrong when I say the whites are hot - you will be fishing for one fish but that one fish may be your only shot at these awesome creatures inside the San Francisco Bay for several years.
As a final note - I strongly encourage catch and release on these things - especially the big females. I know they are unbelievable on the table but those are the fish for the next generation. Good Luck!
Joe @ WSS
The key is the bait. The same warm ocean waters that have brought us a great tuna season (and it looks like it will continue to produce through the rest of the month as well) has also brought big bait and lots of it. Anchovies have been hard to come by, but sardines in the 6-10" range are everywhere along with green mackrel and jack smelt.
I spoke with Captain Todd of the Blue Runner and he says he has never seen so much big bait around the San Francisco harbor. The key successfully fishing the halibut bite, is to modify your rigging to acommodate the big sardines. You will be fine if you are using a pre-tied halibut leader with treble and sliding bait hook. But, if you are using a single live bait hook, you will need to add a stinger hook trailing off the end. The stinger can either single or treble but needs to be big enough to acommodate these bigger baits. If you don't rig this way, all you'll see is scratched baits and short strikes. (Same goes for the stripers, so set your rigs appropriately.)
Our wild story of the week (month, or possibly the season...) comes from a halibut trip. Western Sport Shop long-time customer Ed Janowitz took his boat out on Labor Day with friend Bill Wells to target halibut. They were working through 17' of water on the Berkley Flats and had boated a pair of keeper halibut. Then, something slammed Bill's 8" sardine and took out 200 yrds of line before turning and running another 200 yrds in the opposite direction. With Bill on the fish and Ed at the helm they turned the boat and started to chase - just as Bill was almost out of line. Thinking it was a huge ray they were floored when it slashed across the surface and revealed it self to be the "holy grail" -- a 50" 44lb white sea bass! (Look for photos soon!)
The fish was so big Ed had trouble landing it in a huge teardrop Bodega style salmon net.
Several white sea bass have been reported in the area over the last two weeks but Ed and Bill's was by far the biggest landed. Several have been reported at the Alameda rock wall and Bonita Cove but no pictures were produced. All of them were reported to have been caught drifting jumbo size live sardines.
As for stripers in the bay, reports of fish caught on cut bait and bull heads at China Camp and Highway 37 are steady. Most report that they are catching fewer but bigger bass than they would normally expect this time of year. The ranger at Paradise Pier reports catches of both striper and halibut daily on swimbaits and jigs - it's best at dawn and dusk with slower fishing during the day. Western Sport Shop GM Tom Nelson reports steadily improving striper fishing on the Petaluma river with all of his fish coming on 4" Storm Swimbaits in blue shad, chartreuse shiner, pearl, and natural shad.
I had a chance to talk our fly department staff saltwater experts, John Quigley and Lauren Elliot who spent almost 12 hours chasing stripers on the fly in San Pablo bay (for only one hook up, a 10-12 lber lost at the boat.... Ah well, it is fishing, not necessarily catching.) Quigley tells me that he believes that the bay is holding a higher quality striper fishery this year but that the overall numbers especially juveniles are way down and that the bigger fish appear to be avoiding the shallow shoreline areas. It will be interesting to see how the fall striper run plays out.
As far as I can see, the hot bites not to miss are the tuna, and the elusive white sea bass. The tuna are good to go any time the swells and wind will allow it. Best bets being to listen to the weather radio to time your run, then troll plain cedar plugs and 4" zucchini tuna clones or feathers and then back it up with live sardines and swimbaits. Unlike the "in the Bay" baits, the shorter trolling lures seem to be the ticket right now on the tuna. Anglers have done will with the shorter plugs and feathers.
Best bet for the white seabass is to drift big 10" sardines on a 3-way swivel rig and a 9/0 circle hook. Don't get me wrong when I say the whites are hot - you will be fishing for one fish but that one fish may be your only shot at these awesome creatures inside the San Francisco Bay for several years.
As a final note - I strongly encourage catch and release on these things - especially the big females. I know they are unbelievable on the table but those are the fish for the next generation. Good Luck!
Joe @ WSS
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Dog Days of Summer...?
So much for that!
If the bites we have going this month are the dog days, then I want a dog house and a big bone to chew on because I have never seen so many crazy bites happening all at once.
July tides have kicked off an epic halibut bite at Point Bonita with anglers reporting fast limits of jumbo flatties up to 45 lbs on live bait, frozen jumbo herring, and jigs. Even with heavy fishing pressure these fish just won't give up.
HALIBUT TECHNIQUES:
I have heard reports of guys throwing live jack smelt from 8 to 10 inches long ( the smelt can be caught on a sz 14 Sabiki rig) and live sardines (which also can be caught using the same Sabiki rig) 6 to 8 inches long with a slip sinker and a 50lb mono leader (about 3-4 ft long) as close to the back of the surf as safely possible and sticking flatties up to 30lbs (and stripers up to 25lbs!) The smaller boat folks who have stayed in the bay are also clobbering the flatties in places like Crissy Field, Angel Island, and Alcatraz. Inside the bay, catch reports are running up to 35lbs with good numbers of fish in the 20lb class. Top technique is drifting live bait, the bigger the better.
Last week local striper guru Tommy Glasser fished with one of our tackle guys here at the San Rafael Shop, Sean Daugherty. They reported fast afternoon action at Bonita and on the North Bar, but found a honey hole at Angel Island when they made a quick stop on their way home with a big concentration of "cookie cutter" 20lb flatties.
Several former commercial fishermen in Bolinas report that they have been able to catch a three fish limit of flatties in less than an hour at dozens of spots from Stinson Beach to Point Reyes and just beyond. These guys use use big frozen herring and live bait when they can catch it but they're doing just as well on jigs and plastics coated with either Pro-cure "'but juice" or Pro-cure sardine oil. They are enjoying a whole lot of water to themselves so if you find yourself starting to get crowded in at point bonita or at the beaches, head north.
Also while Tomales Bay can only handle so many boats before it gets hammered down, the flatties are kicking butt there as well. WSS G.M. Tom Nelson's son Wes Nelson is an expert on Tomales and he and his dad along with "Frank the Tomales Guru" have been catching limits of halibut in the 15-20lb class on almost every trip.
As great as the live bait/frozen bait drift fishing is. The striped bass surf bite is the best I have ever seen. Six or seven big schools of BIG stripers are haunting the coast line from Monterey to Pt. Reyes with Ocean Beach and Half Moon Bay being the epicenter of an incredible natural event.
Picture this - massive schools of sardines in the 5-8 inch size are being pushed up against the beaches and surf by huge stripers, huge halibut that are acting like stripers and chasing bait, a sprinkling of giant white sea bass (up to 52lbs), body surfing sea lions, and get this, DOLPHINS! Well...actually they are porpises, but none the less they are less than 30' from shore!
Even if you don't fish you have to see this, it's like watching a live performance of "Planet Earth"!
The good news is that they are all eating sardines and not stripers and halibut, but the bad news is that the white sea bass are not biting and appear to be just kind of hanging around (maybe preparing to spawn?)
The best bets for gear are Pencil Poppers in chrome with a blue back or white with a red head, silver or silver/blue kastmasters in the 2-4 oz range, hevier Hopkins spoons (~3 oz) in hammered chrome, SPRO hair jigs (2-3 oz sizes) in all white or white with either a black, blue, or green back. My absolute favorite would have to be an 8" Cheasapeake Bay Pencil Popper in pink/white, black scale, and yellow bunker unless it's really windy, in which case I like the River2Sea Dumbbell POP200 in deep blue.
If that is still not enough for you, Albacore in the 25-30lb class are on the bite with reports of fish anywhere from 38 miles out of Sausalito to 15 miles off Fort Bragg and Monterey. Best tactics have been to find albacore with surface trolled unpainted Cedar Plugs (various sizes) and and Tuna Clones in "Mexican Flag." Once you locate the schools, you can then bring them up with live bait, and it's on.
Most boats report that once they bring the fish up it's not just fast action, but the fish are blasting jigs, swimbaits, plastics, and even flies like 6" deceivers or clousers in white/chartreuse, white/green, or white/blue.
But what I think is the coolest thing going on right now, is the appearance of thresher sharks. The same water that brought in the tuna and larger schools of sardines, has also brought us hundreds of threshers. I have heard several reports of large thresher sharks just kind of cruising under the surfcace with their long sickle like tail jutting up into the air, whipping from side to side as they swim by.
These sharks are so prolific at the moment (and again I have lived here my whole life and have only seen two) that some guys have begun to target them. The usual man to thresher shark encounter in this area involves a salmon fisherman trolling big sardine baits and hooking into a juvenile that quickly breaks the line, not by strengh, but by slicing up the line with their big long tail. They use this tail to rip through schools of bait, doing damage to whatever is in front of them with a similar posture to a scorpion, then returning and eating whichever bait fish were stunned or injunred by the whipping tail - not unlike king salmon who use the same basic attck, but use their open toothy mouths.
Some thresher sharks have been landed but this is rare and they are typicaly quite small. Anglers who are targeting them now have found that the best way to get one of these critters is by trolling a big marlin or wahoo type plug or Magnum Rapala on a 5'-8' wire leader made of 90lb sevenstrand on the same kind of high capacity trolling outfit you would use when searching for albacore.
So far, the biggest landed in the bay was 35lbs and it took a jumbo trolled herring just off Alcatraz. The same boat reported losing one that they believed to be over 100lbs just off Yellow Bluff that same day. In the ocean, I know of one fish over 80lbs taken on a Magnum Rapala near Duxbury Reef and another that was released after being measured against the boat. That fish is the largest reported so far, having a body of about 8ft for a total of 14 ft with its tail. These amazing sharks are often described as the best eating of all sharks.
(ed note - fishing for sharks has obvious inherent dangers, both in the catch and handling of these fish. We recommend you fish with an experienced angler or research the topic thoroughly before attempting this.)
If all of this stuff is to intense and you want to take it easy, try fishing with Berkely Gulp Sand Sorms, 2-3 inch Curly Tail Grubs in smoke, rootbeer, motor oil, white, or chartreuse, or simply soak live sand crabs at Stinson Beach for big redtail perch and barred surf perch. Some of these have run so big that they have been caught on 8" striper plugs.
Freshwater fishing is not quite as hot as salt but there are fish to be caught.
Bon Tempe will kick out trout on Power Bait and Power Nuggets or pink Berkley Gulp Worms. The effective tactics have changed since spring, of course - you need to tie leaders that are 3-4 ft long and use a 3/4oz eggsinker so as to get the bait out as far and deep as possible. Try to fish the steepest banks you can find or near the outflow pump when it is activated and pumping water up from Alpine Lake.
Smallmouth Bass are also there but you have to work for them. For best results, target steep shorelines at dawn with topwater baits like the Ima Skimmer or jerk baits like the Lucky Craft Pointer 100 in Ghost Minnow. Once the sun is up you either drop shot 4.5" finesse worms, or you fish a 1/2-3/4 oz Jig Monster Chaos football head jig with a double tail grub trailer slowly on deep water points. Best colors are green pumpkin watermelon, P.B.J., bludgeon, hell hound, and cold water craw.
You can take the same approach to Alpine Lake for smallies and largemouth, but also try throwing 5-6 inch senkos rigged wacky in watermelon w/black flake, or green pumpkin w/black flake. Kent Lake can be fished in this same manor as well but the bite should be a whole lot better. At Kent, add swimbaits and crank baits to your arsenal. Look for wood cover that is still submerged especialy if it spans across shallow and deep water.
With all three lakes it pays to keep moving. The harder you have to work to get to the good spots the better those spots will be. While you will find that once the sun is on the water the reaction bite (i.e. - topwater, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and swimbaits) will mostly shut down, and the majority of bites will come on jigs and plastics, there is an exception: wind.
When the afternoon wind gets going and it lasts for more than a few minutes than no matter how much direct sunlight hits the water, the surface chop makes it impossible for birds to hunt fish and the bass go on the bite with confidence. best baits for afternoon wind are spinnerbaits, either 3/8 or 1/2 oz with tandem blades, or double willow blades like the Hildenbrandt blade series or Persuader. Whites or white chartreuse or good but the Hildenbrandt in bluegill, or alewife are even better. Nicasio is pretty tough (and low) right now but after the Marin Bass Club Derby there on Sunday there will be a full report.
Names of Note: I wanted to give some credit here to Jeff Russell who is fishing a junior pro tournament this week, we wish him good luck. Jigmonster pro Chris "Flipper" Franks garnered some serious ink with a big article in the Marin Independant Journal about himself and his pro bass career.
Marin IJ Photo
Finally, a huge thanks and vote of respect goes out to the park rangers who acted when I complained to them about poaching and other abuses reported and encountered at Lake Nicasio - they followed through by reporting to the Marin County Sheriff and vigorously enforcing the law and regulations, ensuring a fair and quality fishing experience for those who follow the rules. Thanks a lot guys! I am proud have such standup rangers out here, we are lucky we have you.
If the bites we have going this month are the dog days, then I want a dog house and a big bone to chew on because I have never seen so many crazy bites happening all at once.
July tides have kicked off an epic halibut bite at Point Bonita with anglers reporting fast limits of jumbo flatties up to 45 lbs on live bait, frozen jumbo herring, and jigs. Even with heavy fishing pressure these fish just won't give up.
HALIBUT TECHNIQUES:
I have heard reports of guys throwing live jack smelt from 8 to 10 inches long ( the smelt can be caught on a sz 14 Sabiki rig) and live sardines (which also can be caught using the same Sabiki rig) 6 to 8 inches long with a slip sinker and a 50lb mono leader (about 3-4 ft long) as close to the back of the surf as safely possible and sticking flatties up to 30lbs (and stripers up to 25lbs!) The smaller boat folks who have stayed in the bay are also clobbering the flatties in places like Crissy Field, Angel Island, and Alcatraz. Inside the bay, catch reports are running up to 35lbs with good numbers of fish in the 20lb class. Top technique is drifting live bait, the bigger the better.
Last week local striper guru Tommy Glasser fished with one of our tackle guys here at the San Rafael Shop, Sean Daugherty. They reported fast afternoon action at Bonita and on the North Bar, but found a honey hole at Angel Island when they made a quick stop on their way home with a big concentration of "cookie cutter" 20lb flatties.
Several former commercial fishermen in Bolinas report that they have been able to catch a three fish limit of flatties in less than an hour at dozens of spots from Stinson Beach to Point Reyes and just beyond. These guys use use big frozen herring and live bait when they can catch it but they're doing just as well on jigs and plastics coated with either Pro-cure "'but juice" or Pro-cure sardine oil. They are enjoying a whole lot of water to themselves so if you find yourself starting to get crowded in at point bonita or at the beaches, head north.
Also while Tomales Bay can only handle so many boats before it gets hammered down, the flatties are kicking butt there as well. WSS G.M. Tom Nelson's son Wes Nelson is an expert on Tomales and he and his dad along with "Frank the Tomales Guru" have been catching limits of halibut in the 15-20lb class on almost every trip.
As great as the live bait/frozen bait drift fishing is. The striped bass surf bite is the best I have ever seen. Six or seven big schools of BIG stripers are haunting the coast line from Monterey to Pt. Reyes with Ocean Beach and Half Moon Bay being the epicenter of an incredible natural event.
Picture this - massive schools of sardines in the 5-8 inch size are being pushed up against the beaches and surf by huge stripers, huge halibut that are acting like stripers and chasing bait, a sprinkling of giant white sea bass (up to 52lbs), body surfing sea lions, and get this, DOLPHINS! Well...actually they are porpises, but none the less they are less than 30' from shore!
Even if you don't fish you have to see this, it's like watching a live performance of "Planet Earth"!
The good news is that they are all eating sardines and not stripers and halibut, but the bad news is that the white sea bass are not biting and appear to be just kind of hanging around (maybe preparing to spawn?)
The best bets for gear are Pencil Poppers in chrome with a blue back or white with a red head, silver or silver/blue kastmasters in the 2-4 oz range, hevier Hopkins spoons (~3 oz) in hammered chrome, SPRO hair jigs (2-3 oz sizes) in all white or white with either a black, blue, or green back. My absolute favorite would have to be an 8" Cheasapeake Bay Pencil Popper in pink/white, black scale, and yellow bunker unless it's really windy, in which case I like the River2Sea Dumbbell POP200 in deep blue.
If that is still not enough for you, Albacore in the 25-30lb class are on the bite with reports of fish anywhere from 38 miles out of Sausalito to 15 miles off Fort Bragg and Monterey. Best tactics have been to find albacore with surface trolled unpainted Cedar Plugs (various sizes) and and Tuna Clones in "Mexican Flag." Once you locate the schools, you can then bring them up with live bait, and it's on.
Most boats report that once they bring the fish up it's not just fast action, but the fish are blasting jigs, swimbaits, plastics, and even flies like 6" deceivers or clousers in white/chartreuse, white/green, or white/blue.
But what I think is the coolest thing going on right now, is the appearance of thresher sharks. The same water that brought in the tuna and larger schools of sardines, has also brought us hundreds of threshers. I have heard several reports of large thresher sharks just kind of cruising under the surfcace with their long sickle like tail jutting up into the air, whipping from side to side as they swim by.
These sharks are so prolific at the moment (and again I have lived here my whole life and have only seen two) that some guys have begun to target them. The usual man to thresher shark encounter in this area involves a salmon fisherman trolling big sardine baits and hooking into a juvenile that quickly breaks the line, not by strengh, but by slicing up the line with their big long tail. They use this tail to rip through schools of bait, doing damage to whatever is in front of them with a similar posture to a scorpion, then returning and eating whichever bait fish were stunned or injunred by the whipping tail - not unlike king salmon who use the same basic attck, but use their open toothy mouths.
Some thresher sharks have been landed but this is rare and they are typicaly quite small. Anglers who are targeting them now have found that the best way to get one of these critters is by trolling a big marlin or wahoo type plug or Magnum Rapala on a 5'-8' wire leader made of 90lb sevenstrand on the same kind of high capacity trolling outfit you would use when searching for albacore.
So far, the biggest landed in the bay was 35lbs and it took a jumbo trolled herring just off Alcatraz. The same boat reported losing one that they believed to be over 100lbs just off Yellow Bluff that same day. In the ocean, I know of one fish over 80lbs taken on a Magnum Rapala near Duxbury Reef and another that was released after being measured against the boat. That fish is the largest reported so far, having a body of about 8ft for a total of 14 ft with its tail. These amazing sharks are often described as the best eating of all sharks.
(ed note - fishing for sharks has obvious inherent dangers, both in the catch and handling of these fish. We recommend you fish with an experienced angler or research the topic thoroughly before attempting this.)
If all of this stuff is to intense and you want to take it easy, try fishing with Berkely Gulp Sand Sorms, 2-3 inch Curly Tail Grubs in smoke, rootbeer, motor oil, white, or chartreuse, or simply soak live sand crabs at Stinson Beach for big redtail perch and barred surf perch. Some of these have run so big that they have been caught on 8" striper plugs.
Freshwater fishing is not quite as hot as salt but there are fish to be caught.
Bon Tempe will kick out trout on Power Bait and Power Nuggets or pink Berkley Gulp Worms. The effective tactics have changed since spring, of course - you need to tie leaders that are 3-4 ft long and use a 3/4oz eggsinker so as to get the bait out as far and deep as possible. Try to fish the steepest banks you can find or near the outflow pump when it is activated and pumping water up from Alpine Lake.
Smallmouth Bass are also there but you have to work for them. For best results, target steep shorelines at dawn with topwater baits like the Ima Skimmer or jerk baits like the Lucky Craft Pointer 100 in Ghost Minnow. Once the sun is up you either drop shot 4.5" finesse worms, or you fish a 1/2-3/4 oz Jig Monster Chaos football head jig with a double tail grub trailer slowly on deep water points. Best colors are green pumpkin watermelon, P.B.J., bludgeon, hell hound, and cold water craw.
You can take the same approach to Alpine Lake for smallies and largemouth, but also try throwing 5-6 inch senkos rigged wacky in watermelon w/black flake, or green pumpkin w/black flake. Kent Lake can be fished in this same manor as well but the bite should be a whole lot better. At Kent, add swimbaits and crank baits to your arsenal. Look for wood cover that is still submerged especialy if it spans across shallow and deep water.
With all three lakes it pays to keep moving. The harder you have to work to get to the good spots the better those spots will be. While you will find that once the sun is on the water the reaction bite (i.e. - topwater, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and swimbaits) will mostly shut down, and the majority of bites will come on jigs and plastics, there is an exception: wind.
When the afternoon wind gets going and it lasts for more than a few minutes than no matter how much direct sunlight hits the water, the surface chop makes it impossible for birds to hunt fish and the bass go on the bite with confidence. best baits for afternoon wind are spinnerbaits, either 3/8 or 1/2 oz with tandem blades, or double willow blades like the Hildenbrandt blade series or Persuader. Whites or white chartreuse or good but the Hildenbrandt in bluegill, or alewife are even better. Nicasio is pretty tough (and low) right now but after the Marin Bass Club Derby there on Sunday there will be a full report.
Names of Note: I wanted to give some credit here to Jeff Russell who is fishing a junior pro tournament this week, we wish him good luck. Jigmonster pro Chris "Flipper" Franks garnered some serious ink with a big article in the Marin Independant Journal about himself and his pro bass career.
Marin IJ Photo
Finally, a huge thanks and vote of respect goes out to the park rangers who acted when I complained to them about poaching and other abuses reported and encountered at Lake Nicasio - they followed through by reporting to the Marin County Sheriff and vigorously enforcing the law and regulations, ensuring a fair and quality fishing experience for those who follow the rules. Thanks a lot guys! I am proud have such standup rangers out here, we are lucky we have you.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Spring Fishing Bonanza!
Bay And Ocean Report
Surf striper action has begun with a bang, as several large schools of big stripers are working their way up the coast starting in Monterey where surf casters report hot action during the low light hours on big surface poppers like the 7" Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper in white with a red head, or 8" Chesapeak Bay Custom Poppers in pink bait fish and black back bait fish. When the sun is out, it's time to break out the iron - 3 to 4oz Kastmasters, Micky Jigs, and Sumo . These fish are on the move too, as reports are beginning to come in to Pacifica and Ocean Beach as well. Also several surf casters are reporting to their amazement that white sea bass are appaerently schooling up with the bass or at least near them and several have been landed.
Striper fishing in the bay has been a different story, with reports of sporadic "hit or miss" fishing from Sausalito to Buck's Landing, but Red Rock has been a bright spot fishing well on the north and south side depending on the tide. Hair raisers, Swimbaits, Rat-L-Traps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, and Lucky Craft Pointer 128s in Auorora Black or American Shad.
Live bait is still unavailable, but trollers are doing very well for Halibut along South Hampton Shoal, Berkley Flats, Outer Richmond Harbor and off Paradise Park. Best bets are either herring behind a dodger, or herring in a rotary salmon killer rigged to a rotary flasher. If you want to catch jacksmelt on a sabiki rig, or buy shiners, you can drift the Marin Islands and the main bay the same way you drift anchoveys. Another method is the "power drift" (moving the boat just fast enough to make your line enter the water diagonaly) with a hootchie rig over frozen anchoveys or plastic worm tails.
Freshwater Report
One month since the state ban on stocking trout in Bon Tempe was lifted, the lake has been stocked twice and anglers are reporting limits on Power Bait, 1/4oz Kastmasters , and 1/4oz Panther Martin spinners. Bon tempe has yet to produce a big trout eating bass for the guys who throw big trout swimbaits like the Storm BBZ-1 or Hud, but now that the trout are back it's only a matter of time.
Stafford Lake is producing bass in the 3/4 to 2lb range on Senkos, drop-shotted worms, and down sized spinnerbaits, but some of the regulars are getting better quality fish with frogs, flipping jigs, swim jiga, big cranks, big c-rigs and swim baits.
Look for an improving bite on early morning top water as well as an improving bite on windy afternoon spinnerbait, and swim jig fishing aswell.
Kent Lake is still fishing great and the top baits are 6" Senkos, Football head jigs, and Swim jigs. Look for an improving early morning bite on big walking baits and wake baits.
Lake Berryessa is still a play ground for guys who want numbers of bass and a shot for a big one on top. Best baits are the drop shott, the football head jig, the Zara Super Spook, and the 6" Hud.
Last but not least, a quick congratulations for Jeffrey Russel who won a very stingy derby at the Marin County Bass Club Tournament held at Stafford Lake last month. And also to Chris "Flipper" Franks for sticking a monster bass on Lake Berryessa during his last tourney there.
FREE Topwater Techniques and Jig Fishing Clinics -
June 17th and 18th
If you want to reliably catch largemouth bass, you need to be on top of your techniques. It's surprising to meet so many anglers who have great results when their main (or only) technique is producing, but suddenly start catching zip when conditions and seasons change. Of course, one of the things I love to do is share these other ways of fishing with anglers who want to learn. My goal is to have you catching quality fish year round.
Two of the most needed skills you need right now are Effectively Fishing Topwater Baits and Jig Fishing.
On Wednesday, June 17th I will be giving a free Topwater clinic at the Western Sport Shop in San Rafael. The clinic will start at 6:30 and go about an hour.
(Map to location shown below)
View Larger Map
On Thusday June 18th I will be giving a free clinic on jig fishing at Santa Rosa store starting at 6:00pm .
(Map to location shown below)
View Larger Map
Both clinics are free and open to the public. Please try to attend one or the other and your results will benefit!
Surf striper action has begun with a bang, as several large schools of big stripers are working their way up the coast starting in Monterey where surf casters report hot action during the low light hours on big surface poppers like the 7" Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper in white with a red head, or 8" Chesapeak Bay Custom Poppers in pink bait fish and black back bait fish. When the sun is out, it's time to break out the iron - 3 to 4oz Kastmasters, Micky Jigs, and Sumo . These fish are on the move too, as reports are beginning to come in to Pacifica and Ocean Beach as well. Also several surf casters are reporting to their amazement that white sea bass are appaerently schooling up with the bass or at least near them and several have been landed.
Striper fishing in the bay has been a different story, with reports of sporadic "hit or miss" fishing from Sausalito to Buck's Landing, but Red Rock has been a bright spot fishing well on the north and south side depending on the tide. Hair raisers, Swimbaits, Rat-L-Traps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, and Lucky Craft Pointer 128s in Auorora Black or American Shad.
Live bait is still unavailable, but trollers are doing very well for Halibut along South Hampton Shoal, Berkley Flats, Outer Richmond Harbor and off Paradise Park. Best bets are either herring behind a dodger, or herring in a rotary salmon killer rigged to a rotary flasher. If you want to catch jacksmelt on a sabiki rig, or buy shiners, you can drift the Marin Islands and the main bay the same way you drift anchoveys. Another method is the "power drift" (moving the boat just fast enough to make your line enter the water diagonaly) with a hootchie rig over frozen anchoveys or plastic worm tails.
Freshwater Report
One month since the state ban on stocking trout in Bon Tempe was lifted, the lake has been stocked twice and anglers are reporting limits on Power Bait, 1/4oz Kastmasters , and 1/4oz Panther Martin spinners. Bon tempe has yet to produce a big trout eating bass for the guys who throw big trout swimbaits like the Storm BBZ-1 or Hud, but now that the trout are back it's only a matter of time.
Stafford Lake is producing bass in the 3/4 to 2lb range on Senkos, drop-shotted worms, and down sized spinnerbaits, but some of the regulars are getting better quality fish with frogs, flipping jigs, swim jiga, big cranks, big c-rigs and swim baits.
Look for an improving bite on early morning top water as well as an improving bite on windy afternoon spinnerbait, and swim jig fishing aswell.
Kent Lake is still fishing great and the top baits are 6" Senkos, Football head jigs, and Swim jigs. Look for an improving early morning bite on big walking baits and wake baits.
Lake Berryessa is still a play ground for guys who want numbers of bass and a shot for a big one on top. Best baits are the drop shott, the football head jig, the Zara Super Spook, and the 6" Hud.
Last but not least, a quick congratulations for Jeffrey Russel who won a very stingy derby at the Marin County Bass Club Tournament held at Stafford Lake last month. And also to Chris "Flipper" Franks for sticking a monster bass on Lake Berryessa during his last tourney there.
FREE Topwater Techniques and Jig Fishing Clinics -
June 17th and 18th
If you want to reliably catch largemouth bass, you need to be on top of your techniques. It's surprising to meet so many anglers who have great results when their main (or only) technique is producing, but suddenly start catching zip when conditions and seasons change. Of course, one of the things I love to do is share these other ways of fishing with anglers who want to learn. My goal is to have you catching quality fish year round.
Two of the most needed skills you need right now are Effectively Fishing Topwater Baits and Jig Fishing.
On Wednesday, June 17th I will be giving a free Topwater clinic at the Western Sport Shop in San Rafael. The clinic will start at 6:30 and go about an hour.
(Map to location shown below)
View Larger Map
On Thusday June 18th I will be giving a free clinic on jig fishing at Santa Rosa store starting at 6:00pm .
(Map to location shown below)
View Larger Map
Both clinics are free and open to the public. Please try to attend one or the other and your results will benefit!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Fishing Update
Well, we're about two months into the spring bass bite, and even though things like cold fronts, emerging plant growth, and fishing pressure require us to shift tactics, The bite is still hot.
Look for bass to become more and more skittish due to how close they are to actually spawning. The key to targeting these fish is to use lite line (6-8lb test) and throw small plastics like finesse worms, tubes, beavers, lizards and Senkos either weightless, near weightless, or on a drop shot rig.
Now is the time you need to stalk the bank (and beds) like a hunter keeping both your shadow aswell as your thud thud thud foot steps from the bass' awareness.
If that sounds like Fishing Ninja - Part 5: The Stalking or if you want to leave the fish alone when they are spawning, just remember that these fish spawn in waves based loosely around the full moons of march, april, and may. This time of the year offers you the choice of prespawn, spawn, and post spawn fishing
On another note the first waves of post spawn smallmouth bass are entering their regular summer feeding routines so they can be targeted at both Bon Tempe and lake Alpine using reaction baits like SpeedTraps, Lucky Craft Pointers, and topwater Hula Poppers or Chuggers
For those of you who are ready for a change of pace the striper bite is heating up like I have not seen in quite a while with baits like Rat-L-Traps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, Swimbaits (new Storm Swimbaits have finally arrived!), and Hair Raisers (leadhead bucktail dressed jigs).
With willing stripers spread from Richardson Bay to Elephant rock, and more at Paradise Park, Mcnear's Pier China Camp and behind Home Depot just to name a few. You can even get some top water fishing on Zara Spooks and Pencil Poppers (if you have a healthy heart) at dusk and dawn in places like Corte Madera Creek and Mcnear's beach
Oh, and before I forget , yes they are getting limits of legal size halibut trolling San Pablo bay with traditional salmon trolling gear with a few small modifications ie speed, weight etc. It's just a quick bit of re-rigging, and we'd be happy to run you through it down at the shop.
Look for bass to become more and more skittish due to how close they are to actually spawning. The key to targeting these fish is to use lite line (6-8lb test) and throw small plastics like finesse worms, tubes, beavers, lizards and Senkos either weightless, near weightless, or on a drop shot rig.
Now is the time you need to stalk the bank (and beds) like a hunter keeping both your shadow aswell as your thud thud thud foot steps from the bass' awareness.
If that sounds like Fishing Ninja - Part 5: The Stalking or if you want to leave the fish alone when they are spawning, just remember that these fish spawn in waves based loosely around the full moons of march, april, and may. This time of the year offers you the choice of prespawn, spawn, and post spawn fishing
On another note the first waves of post spawn smallmouth bass are entering their regular summer feeding routines so they can be targeted at both Bon Tempe and lake Alpine using reaction baits like SpeedTraps, Lucky Craft Pointers, and topwater Hula Poppers or Chuggers
For those of you who are ready for a change of pace the striper bite is heating up like I have not seen in quite a while with baits like Rat-L-Traps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, Swimbaits (new Storm Swimbaits have finally arrived!), and Hair Raisers (leadhead bucktail dressed jigs).
With willing stripers spread from Richardson Bay to Elephant rock, and more at Paradise Park, Mcnear's Pier China Camp and behind Home Depot just to name a few. You can even get some top water fishing on Zara Spooks and Pencil Poppers (if you have a healthy heart) at dusk and dawn in places like Corte Madera Creek and Mcnear's beach
Oh, and before I forget , yes they are getting limits of legal size halibut trolling San Pablo bay with traditional salmon trolling gear with a few small modifications ie speed, weight etc. It's just a quick bit of re-rigging, and we'd be happy to run you through it down at the shop.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Stop Wishing - GO Fishing!
"and then it was on!..."
Spring rolls in with a bang!! Almost out of nowhere, everyone is getting hammered with fishing options -- take your pick, but make a choice and GO! It is good. Now.
Striped bass are ripping up bait and artificials like cut anchovey or jigs, rip baits like the Rapalas, Rat-L-traps and soft-bodied Storm and Calcutta swimbaits, at places like China Camp, in the San Rafael area around Home Depot, and further north near Bahia and the Petaluma river just to name a few. It may be early to tell, and it could shut off just as quickly, but folks are catching them similar to the wholesale SLAMMING we were seeing four years ago.
Almost right on schedule, anglers have been nailing the start of the spring halibut in the South Bay and up in San Pablo Bay. Best options have been trolling plugs, jigs, swimbaits, and frozen anchovies, or by drifting live shiners or jack smelt on soft tides. The success hasn't been limited to the boaters either - bank fishing has produced as well with success using with striper lures like Rat-L-Traps, jigs, and swimbaits. These are not huge fish yet, but sticking a limit of keeper size halibut is not uncommon.
Sturgeon to 75" are nailing shrimp and herring from Paradise to Buck's Landing and in the South Bay from Coyote Pt to the Oakland airport.
Whew! let me catch my breath. Ok, thanks!
Trout fishing
Kent Lake and Alpine Lake have continued to kick out monster Rainbow Trout on spinners and live bait. Even Bon Tempe is has been producing with reports of holdovers to 20" and great smallmouth action with best bets being Powerbait and live nightcrawlers.
For those who want to relax and fish for planter trout San Pablo reservoir is kicking out huge brood stock trout up to 12lbs or more on Powerbait fished from the bank. Lafayette reservoir seems to have been given all the planters that were banned elswhere because that lake is brimming with 2-3lb trout and everyone is getting them. The trollers, the bankies... anyone and everyone who can manage to get a hook or lure in the water!
Carp and Panfish
Euro-style carp fishing is off the hook as well with Nicasio reservoir and Clearlake leading the charge. Both areas have been kicking out fish from 5-25 lbs for anglers using corn, meal worms and boilies.
For the more sophisticated approach - fly fishermen interested in stalking these "golden bonefish", Nicasio offers plenty of shots at schools of tailing fish. Nope. I'm serious! We've had a number of excited fly anglers who have rushed back to the store to stock back up on black or olive bead-headed wooly buggers after snapping off some larger fish. We've also seen some home made "bread flys" and attractive white panfish poppers.
Take the KIDS!! If you want to get these little versions of yourselves out and on fish before their micro- attention span falters........what was I saying? oh right... Your kids can have a field day at Phoenix Lake - where after a long winter, the bluegills have moved up and will readily attack a red worm under a bobber for all to see.
Bass Report - Wow, I've never made it this far without talking about bass fishing... But, I can stand it no longer.
Right now, Alpine, Nicasio, and Kent Lakes in Marin County will offer you the best shot of the year to stick a new personal best. Best bets are jigs in darker craw colors, 5-6" Senko plastic worms (watermelon with black flake or green pumpkin with black flake), Chatterbaits like the Boogie Bait in chartreuse, chartreuse white, or natural colors, and the drop-shotted Roboworm in purple or green.
You can find males in the shallows and flats killing everything that moves and the bigger females in the deeper areas closest to males. Swim jigs, spinnerbaits and swimbaits slow-rolled through these staging areas will draw strikes, but if you want a tougher challenge that will produce bigger fish, know that these larger bass will be using wood cover as well. So if you find a flat covered in males look for the nearest tree in deeper water.
Big Congrats to Andy Mercado for winning the first Marin Bass Club derby at Phoenix Lake with 5lb 7oz bass, and to Ryan Gilliflan for "best set" with four good fish from 2-3.5 lbs. I will be posting the date of our next derby shortly and it will be at Lake Alpine.
See ya at the shop!
Spring rolls in with a bang!! Almost out of nowhere, everyone is getting hammered with fishing options -- take your pick, but make a choice and GO! It is good. Now.
Striped bass are ripping up bait and artificials like cut anchovey or jigs, rip baits like the Rapalas, Rat-L-traps and soft-bodied Storm and Calcutta swimbaits, at places like China Camp, in the San Rafael area around Home Depot, and further north near Bahia and the Petaluma river just to name a few. It may be early to tell, and it could shut off just as quickly, but folks are catching them similar to the wholesale SLAMMING we were seeing four years ago.
Almost right on schedule, anglers have been nailing the start of the spring halibut in the South Bay and up in San Pablo Bay. Best options have been trolling plugs, jigs, swimbaits, and frozen anchovies, or by drifting live shiners or jack smelt on soft tides. The success hasn't been limited to the boaters either - bank fishing has produced as well with success using with striper lures like Rat-L-Traps, jigs, and swimbaits. These are not huge fish yet, but sticking a limit of keeper size halibut is not uncommon.
Sturgeon to 75" are nailing shrimp and herring from Paradise to Buck's Landing and in the South Bay from Coyote Pt to the Oakland airport.
Whew! let me catch my breath. Ok, thanks!
Trout fishing
Kent Lake and Alpine Lake have continued to kick out monster Rainbow Trout on spinners and live bait. Even Bon Tempe is has been producing with reports of holdovers to 20" and great smallmouth action with best bets being Powerbait and live nightcrawlers.
For those who want to relax and fish for planter trout San Pablo reservoir is kicking out huge brood stock trout up to 12lbs or more on Powerbait fished from the bank. Lafayette reservoir seems to have been given all the planters that were banned elswhere because that lake is brimming with 2-3lb trout and everyone is getting them. The trollers, the bankies... anyone and everyone who can manage to get a hook or lure in the water!
Carp and Panfish
Euro-style carp fishing is off the hook as well with Nicasio reservoir and Clearlake leading the charge. Both areas have been kicking out fish from 5-25 lbs for anglers using corn, meal worms and boilies.
For the more sophisticated approach - fly fishermen interested in stalking these "golden bonefish", Nicasio offers plenty of shots at schools of tailing fish. Nope. I'm serious! We've had a number of excited fly anglers who have rushed back to the store to stock back up on black or olive bead-headed wooly buggers after snapping off some larger fish. We've also seen some home made "bread flys" and attractive white panfish poppers.
Take the KIDS!! If you want to get these little versions of yourselves out and on fish before their micro- attention span falters........what was I saying? oh right... Your kids can have a field day at Phoenix Lake - where after a long winter, the bluegills have moved up and will readily attack a red worm under a bobber for all to see.
Bass Report - Wow, I've never made it this far without talking about bass fishing... But, I can stand it no longer.
Right now, Alpine, Nicasio, and Kent Lakes in Marin County will offer you the best shot of the year to stick a new personal best. Best bets are jigs in darker craw colors, 5-6" Senko plastic worms (watermelon with black flake or green pumpkin with black flake), Chatterbaits like the Boogie Bait in chartreuse, chartreuse white, or natural colors, and the drop-shotted Roboworm in purple or green.
You can find males in the shallows and flats killing everything that moves and the bigger females in the deeper areas closest to males. Swim jigs, spinnerbaits and swimbaits slow-rolled through these staging areas will draw strikes, but if you want a tougher challenge that will produce bigger fish, know that these larger bass will be using wood cover as well. So if you find a flat covered in males look for the nearest tree in deeper water.
Big Congrats to Andy Mercado for winning the first Marin Bass Club derby at Phoenix Lake with 5lb 7oz bass, and to Ryan Gilliflan for "best set" with four good fish from 2-3.5 lbs. I will be posting the date of our next derby shortly and it will be at Lake Alpine.See ya at the shop!
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