Finished all of my "honey-do's" and still had two hours left of my day off. So, off to the ranch to pattern my new Beretta AL391 12 ga shotgun for the final time before the wild turkey spring season opened this Saturday, March 28th.
Started at 25 yds. I'm using the Winchester Dbl X Mag turkey loads this season - they are a 12 gauge load that give 1125 fps with 2 oz #5 shot
Results:
# 1) 25 yds resulted in 165 pellets in the red zone with 147 outside of the zone. All pellets were in a 16" circle.
# 2) 30 yds. produced 84 pellets in the red zone with 187 pellets still in a 16" circle. Remaining 37 pellets were still in a 30" circle.
If you missed one of our four clinics over the last month, we'll be happy to help with any quick questions you have before you head out. Make sure you are completely camo'd up, can position yourself comfortably in an appropriate area and know your distances.
As always - Let's be Safe! Don't forget the bug spray. Remember 4:00 Pm is the latest shoot time in CA. Take a buddy or a youth on your hunt. Best of luck!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Joe's Bass Report - Cold Front Tactics
Nicasio Reservoir got pretty darn tough with this post frontal, cold windy weather we are having. But, some anglers got them anyways, by adjusting and targeting areas of rip/rap that are both out of the wind and in receive direct sunshine. The best examples of this are almost always on stretches of road where there is water on both sides.
When the wind blasts any stretch of rip/rap directly the windy side gets blown out, and the protected side develops a windless pocket about as wide as the height of the rip/rap. This lack of wind keeps the water on the lee side much clearer and calmer than on the windy side. This in turn allows for deeper penetration of sunlight and the warmth that comes with it.
As an added bonus, rip/rap rock structure holds warmth very well and is a natural fish magnet especialy in the winter when the big females need to incubate their eggs.
Since the cold winds only chill the water on the surface, and the wind blows the colder water away from the rip/rap, it makes these areas even better, from the fish's perspective.
(Compare this to the windy side which becomes an accumulation point for the cold surface water as it's blown into the rip/rap and trapped.)
Many bass anglers assume that the best baits (due to the poor conditions) are either soft plastics, senkos, or other small finesse baits. Although these baits can work, fishing long stretches of rip rap is almost impossible to do efficiently with finesse-type baits. Since many of the biggest females who move into these warmer areas are not in actively feeding mode, my choice is to use reaction baits - Speed Traps and Chatterbaits like the Boogie Bait to be specific.
Marin County Bass Club - Jig Fishing Demo
Reminder! Tomorrow night is the meeting of the Marin County Bass Club at the San Rafael store. I will be giving an in-depth seminar on jig fishing starting at 7:30pm and lasting till about 8:30 I will cover everything you ever wanted to know about jigs. The talk is free and open to the public, so come on down and learn some serious skills!
When the wind blasts any stretch of rip/rap directly the windy side gets blown out, and the protected side develops a windless pocket about as wide as the height of the rip/rap. This lack of wind keeps the water on the lee side much clearer and calmer than on the windy side. This in turn allows for deeper penetration of sunlight and the warmth that comes with it.
As an added bonus, rip/rap rock structure holds warmth very well and is a natural fish magnet especialy in the winter when the big females need to incubate their eggs.
Since the cold winds only chill the water on the surface, and the wind blows the colder water away from the rip/rap, it makes these areas even better, from the fish's perspective.
(Compare this to the windy side which becomes an accumulation point for the cold surface water as it's blown into the rip/rap and trapped.)
Many bass anglers assume that the best baits (due to the poor conditions) are either soft plastics, senkos, or other small finesse baits. Although these baits can work, fishing long stretches of rip rap is almost impossible to do efficiently with finesse-type baits. Since many of the biggest females who move into these warmer areas are not in actively feeding mode, my choice is to use reaction baits - Speed Traps and Chatterbaits like the Boogie Bait to be specific.
Marin County Bass Club - Jig Fishing Demo
Reminder! Tomorrow night is the meeting of the Marin County Bass Club at the San Rafael store. I will be giving an in-depth seminar on jig fishing starting at 7:30pm and lasting till about 8:30 I will cover everything you ever wanted to know about jigs. The talk is free and open to the public, so come on down and learn some serious skills!
Talking Turkey One More Time!
Last weekend was another great clinic for Spring Turkey Hunters! Turkeys -- watch out... Season Opens on March 28th!
Curt Wilson from Zink's Calls gave an "All Star" clinic covering the behavior of the Boss Tom, with special attention on how he keeps an eye on the hens.
A good group of hunters in the clinic had good questions and gave great feedback. Thanks again Curt! - We all have learned a lot in each of the seminars, but no one has had the detail about these stages. (And if you want to hear the short version, drop by the San Rafael store and speak with me - I'll be happy to give you more details.)
We first brought in the Zink calls back during duck season, and we'd heard very good things about their turkey slates and diaphragm calls. We had a chance to demo a number of them, and they have grown to be one of our favorite calls - as an added bonus, the slates come with the Zink Turkey Hunting DVD!
Next and final preseason clinic for the 2009 Turkey Season is at our Santa Rosa store on March 14. Tory Giorgi of Bass 'N Boars is the guest speaker. He has a great sense of the local areas and gives excellent advice. To reserve a spot, call 707-542-4432 - this is the last prep clinic before the spring turkey hunting season opens!
Curt Wilson from Zink's Calls gave an "All Star" clinic covering the behavior of the Boss Tom, with special attention on how he keeps an eye on the hens.
A good group of hunters in the clinic had good questions and gave great feedback. Thanks again Curt! - We all have learned a lot in each of the seminars, but no one has had the detail about these stages. (And if you want to hear the short version, drop by the San Rafael store and speak with me - I'll be happy to give you more details.)
We first brought in the Zink calls back during duck season, and we'd heard very good things about their turkey slates and diaphragm calls. We had a chance to demo a number of them, and they have grown to be one of our favorite calls - as an added bonus, the slates come with the Zink Turkey Hunting DVD!
Next and final preseason clinic for the 2009 Turkey Season is at our Santa Rosa store on March 14. Tory Giorgi of Bass 'N Boars is the guest speaker. He has a great sense of the local areas and gives excellent advice. To reserve a spot, call 707-542-4432 - this is the last prep clinic before the spring turkey hunting season opens!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Bass Bite Heats Up
This week the hot bite has been big pre-spawn largemouth. Even with lake levels having risen as many as seven feet in some areas, the water clarity is still good and the fish are still biting.
Lake Nicasio produced over 25 fish between 2 and 6 lbs for one of my regular customers over the course of 4 or 5 days. He reports a couple big ones caught on spinnerbait. But, almost all the rest were caught on a green neon Robo-X Pitching Craw rigged on a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook and red 1/4 oz Brass and Glass setup.
Another local - Kelly Oward - stuck a chunky fish just under 5 lbs on a full size Brush Hog in green pumpkin w/black and purple flake. That bait was also rigged on 1/4oz Brass and Glass, but with a 5/0 EWG hook.
More exciting are reports that Alpine Lake in the Marin Watershed had the start of a great pre-spawn bite earlier this week - joining the ranks of Kent Lake and Nicasio Reservoir as we head into spring. Then, with three verified fish caught in the 9 to 11 lb range, it jumped to the top of the board as a "best bet!" All three of those fish were caught on Booyah Boogie Baits - a "chatterbait" style which has been a lesser known technique to most anglers.
Phoenix Lake also chimed in with a pair of 4 1/2 lbers caught on Chrome Rat-L-Traps and 8 more 1/2 - 1 1/2 pooud fish fooled with wacky rigged 4" Senkos.
Local bass pro and Team Jigmonster tournament angler Chris "Flipper" Franks caught almost 11lbs of smallies for a top-10 finish last weekend at the Lake Berryessa tournament. He had a great time doing it - culling all day and catching over 30 fish on the Jigmonster Chaos series football head jig alone. Flipper says the brown and purple PBJ jig was the hot bait and the only bait they wanted.
Jigmonster Lures in San Rafael -
At the San Rafael store, we've just received our first batch of these custom Jigmonster Chaos series football head jigs, as well as the Jigmonster Mayhem flipping jigs (our Santa Rosa store getting theirs this next week).
Marin County Bass Club Meeting -
On wednesday 03/11/09 at 7:00pm the Marin County Bass Club will be meeting at Western Sport Shop in San Rafael their regular monthly meeting. I will be giving an in-depth seminar on jig fishing starting at 7:30pm and lasting till about 8:30 I will cover everything you ever wanted to know about jigs. The talk is free and open to the public, so head on down and learn some serious skills!
Lake Nicasio produced over 25 fish between 2 and 6 lbs for one of my regular customers over the course of 4 or 5 days. He reports a couple big ones caught on spinnerbait. But, almost all the rest were caught on a green neon Robo-X Pitching Craw rigged on a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook and red 1/4 oz Brass and Glass setup.
Another local - Kelly Oward - stuck a chunky fish just under 5 lbs on a full size Brush Hog in green pumpkin w/black and purple flake. That bait was also rigged on 1/4oz Brass and Glass, but with a 5/0 EWG hook.
More exciting are reports that Alpine Lake in the Marin Watershed had the start of a great pre-spawn bite earlier this week - joining the ranks of Kent Lake and Nicasio Reservoir as we head into spring. Then, with three verified fish caught in the 9 to 11 lb range, it jumped to the top of the board as a "best bet!" All three of those fish were caught on Booyah Boogie Baits - a "chatterbait" style which has been a lesser known technique to most anglers.
Phoenix Lake also chimed in with a pair of 4 1/2 lbers caught on Chrome Rat-L-Traps and 8 more 1/2 - 1 1/2 pooud fish fooled with wacky rigged 4" Senkos.
Local bass pro and Team Jigmonster tournament angler Chris "Flipper" Franks caught almost 11lbs of smallies for a top-10 finish last weekend at the Lake Berryessa tournament. He had a great time doing it - culling all day and catching over 30 fish on the Jigmonster Chaos series football head jig alone. Flipper says the brown and purple PBJ jig was the hot bait and the only bait they wanted.
Jigmonster Lures in San Rafael -
At the San Rafael store, we've just received our first batch of these custom Jigmonster Chaos series football head jigs, as well as the Jigmonster Mayhem flipping jigs (our Santa Rosa store getting theirs this next week).
Marin County Bass Club Meeting -
On wednesday 03/11/09 at 7:00pm the Marin County Bass Club will be meeting at Western Sport Shop in San Rafael their regular monthly meeting. I will be giving an in-depth seminar on jig fishing starting at 7:30pm and lasting till about 8:30 I will cover everything you ever wanted to know about jigs. The talk is free and open to the public, so head on down and learn some serious skills!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
FREE Fly Tying Clinic - Saturday - Santa Rosa!
Santa Rosa - 707-542-4432
Saturday, March 14 - 10:30 AM
Instructor - Carlo Bongio
Beginning Fly Tying
An introduction to tying your own flies. All materials provided.
Saturday, March 14 - 10:30 AM
Instructor - Carlo Bongio
Beginning Fly Tying
An introduction to tying your own flies. All materials provided.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Spring Cleaning in the All Departments
Every day brings us a little closer to the spring seasons - it's always great to see some weeks of rain after such a dry fall and winter. Those fat, wet drops hitting the hills mean prime early season conditions, in addition to banking a bit of much-needed water.
Like the rising levels in the reservoirs, our back room is starting to fill up with the first shipments of spring gear. New reels from Shimano, rod & reel outfits, specialty hooks and lures have all started arriving and we're getting things out onto the floor as quickly as we can.
This means that there are more than a few bargains to be found on the sales floor as we make room for new stuff. The next few weeks is a great time to take advantage of our "Pre-Spring Cleaning!"
Plus, the California State Sales Tax changes on April 1st. We'd rather see you put that extra percentage into flies, lures, line or gear!
All Flies - 30% OFF! This Fly Sale will end soon - right now, there are a ton of great patterns and styles. We're simply overstocked on certain sizes. Now is a great time to stock up on all fly patterns in stock!
Discontinued Fly Rods - Serious discounts on rods with cosmetic changes or model changes for 2009. There are still a number of Sage, Winston, Scott and Redington fly rods which fish fine, but have changed for this year. All rods come with a full factory warranty.
Selected Fly Lines - 30% OFF! Spey and traditional lines with packaging changes or other differences - look for the display in the store.
Spring Cleaning "HALF OFF!" Stuff -- Selected Umpqua leader and tippet, all kinds of various tying materials and selected Tiemco Hook styles at half off.
All items are subject to prior sale. Strictly limited to stock on hand. That sort of stuff. So, don't wait - get on down to the store near you and take advantage of these deals (and more!)
Like the rising levels in the reservoirs, our back room is starting to fill up with the first shipments of spring gear. New reels from Shimano, rod & reel outfits, specialty hooks and lures have all started arriving and we're getting things out onto the floor as quickly as we can.
This means that there are more than a few bargains to be found on the sales floor as we make room for new stuff. The next few weeks is a great time to take advantage of our "Pre-Spring Cleaning!"
Plus, the California State Sales Tax changes on April 1st. We'd rather see you put that extra percentage into flies, lures, line or gear!
All Flies - 30% OFF! This Fly Sale will end soon - right now, there are a ton of great patterns and styles. We're simply overstocked on certain sizes. Now is a great time to stock up on all fly patterns in stock!
Discontinued Fly Rods - Serious discounts on rods with cosmetic changes or model changes for 2009. There are still a number of Sage, Winston, Scott and Redington fly rods which fish fine, but have changed for this year. All rods come with a full factory warranty.
Selected Fly Lines - 30% OFF! Spey and traditional lines with packaging changes or other differences - look for the display in the store.
Spring Cleaning "HALF OFF!" Stuff -- Selected Umpqua leader and tippet, all kinds of various tying materials and selected Tiemco Hook styles at half off.
All items are subject to prior sale. Strictly limited to stock on hand. That sort of stuff. So, don't wait - get on down to the store near you and take advantage of these deals (and more!)
Turkey Seminars - Reserve Your Spot!
Big Thanks go out to Tony Giorgi of BASS' N BOAR Guide Service. Tony gave Saturday's A to Z on Spring Turkey Hunting clinic up at the Santa Rosa store. He covered a wide range of necessary tips and special tricks to a good group of interested customers. We learned a lot as well - it's great to get practical feedback from another person who is as crazy about spring birds as we are.
There is hope for those of you who missed that clinic - Tony will be back at the Santa Rosa store for another A to Z on Spring Turkey Hunting presentation on Saturday March 14 at 10AM.
But, don't volunteer to do all your Saturday chores the week before, because the San Rafael store will be hosting Curt Wilson of Zink calls this Saturday, March 7th at 10 am. Curt is one of the most successful hunters we know, with excellent calling techniques.
There is no charge for either of these seminars, but the way they are starting to fill up, there may not be room for everyone - best to call the store to reserve your spot. (And, hey, it's ok if you want to go to both!)
Get your calls out there's only 27 days left till the opener. Have you patterned your chokes this season. Lots of new ammo out there this year.
There is hope for those of you who missed that clinic - Tony will be back at the Santa Rosa store for another A to Z on Spring Turkey Hunting presentation on Saturday March 14 at 10AM.
But, don't volunteer to do all your Saturday chores the week before, because the San Rafael store will be hosting Curt Wilson of Zink calls this Saturday, March 7th at 10 am. Curt is one of the most successful hunters we know, with excellent calling techniques.
There is no charge for either of these seminars, but the way they are starting to fill up, there may not be room for everyone - best to call the store to reserve your spot. (And, hey, it's ok if you want to go to both!)
Get your calls out there's only 27 days left till the opener. Have you patterned your chokes this season. Lots of new ammo out there this year.
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