(inside joke for RS'rs) Never leave fish to find fish. More on that later.
Met up with a buddy at 7am at the take out. Sprinkled most of the drive to the river so was wondering what the weather's plans for us were.
Good news is the rain stopped when I got to the take out so started getting gear ready for the shuttle. It was warmer than I anticipated and the wind was next to nothing.
Splashed the boats around 0730 and my buddy instantly hooked up. Figured that may be a good sign. I got a few swipes on a fluke, but fish really weren't having it. Changed to a senko and again, didn't feel the love. About an hour in, picked up a swim bait on one of my jigs and it was game on. Pretty much catching fish back to back in the pool and really didn't want to leave but we had miles of river in front of us so pushed off.
Sun was out, skies were clear and it got warm.
Kept catching fish on the magic swim bait - but I believe it was the color that attracted them - California Craw. First time I threw it and watching the bait swim made me believe! The red flakes in the bait were like high beams in the water - especially when the sun hit it. Lost count at 15 fish. Leon said you're on fire so I pulled out another swim bait and a custom jig I poured and handed it to Leon. Almost instant hookup and my buddy believed too!
After harassing the fish for the next hour, the clouds came in with some wind. You could feel the cold front coming in with the wind. Time to put on another layer. The cold didn't affect the fish, they just kept on biting. We'd hit a place and catch 2-3-4 out of the hole before we had to move on to make the take out.
Then it rained. And poured. It was a warm rain, so really couldn't complain. Was too busy harassing the fish to put on my rain pants but did have a light rain jacket on. We both got soaked but it was a warm rain, and we were catching fish. We both were comfortable and had 3 more miles of river to float.
I caught fish in area's of that river that I've never caught fish before. Size dropped in the shallow area's, but in the deeper areas, the fish were fat, big, and fought well. At one point, my buddy said "I need to start carrying a net".
I've fished that river for over 20 years and although caught bigger fish in the past, never had a day like yesterday. On the shuttle back to my Jeep, my buddy and I were giggling like little kids. Truly a numbers day with a good share of decent fish.
During the rain, I didn't pull out my camera, but here's some pix of the smallies with a bonus fish.
On the shuttle to the take out, I realized I was starving. Didn't even eat my lunch during the float. Never crossed my mind. A day to remember.
Met up with a buddy at 7am at the take out. Sprinkled most of the drive to the river so was wondering what the weather's plans for us were.
Good news is the rain stopped when I got to the take out so started getting gear ready for the shuttle. It was warmer than I anticipated and the wind was next to nothing.
Splashed the boats around 0730 and my buddy instantly hooked up. Figured that may be a good sign. I got a few swipes on a fluke, but fish really weren't having it. Changed to a senko and again, didn't feel the love. About an hour in, picked up a swim bait on one of my jigs and it was game on. Pretty much catching fish back to back in the pool and really didn't want to leave but we had miles of river in front of us so pushed off.
Sun was out, skies were clear and it got warm.
Kept catching fish on the magic swim bait - but I believe it was the color that attracted them - California Craw. First time I threw it and watching the bait swim made me believe! The red flakes in the bait were like high beams in the water - especially when the sun hit it. Lost count at 15 fish. Leon said you're on fire so I pulled out another swim bait and a custom jig I poured and handed it to Leon. Almost instant hookup and my buddy believed too!
After harassing the fish for the next hour, the clouds came in with some wind. You could feel the cold front coming in with the wind. Time to put on another layer. The cold didn't affect the fish, they just kept on biting. We'd hit a place and catch 2-3-4 out of the hole before we had to move on to make the take out.
Then it rained. And poured. It was a warm rain, so really couldn't complain. Was too busy harassing the fish to put on my rain pants but did have a light rain jacket on. We both got soaked but it was a warm rain, and we were catching fish. We both were comfortable and had 3 more miles of river to float.
I caught fish in area's of that river that I've never caught fish before. Size dropped in the shallow area's, but in the deeper areas, the fish were fat, big, and fought well. At one point, my buddy said "I need to start carrying a net".
I've fished that river for over 20 years and although caught bigger fish in the past, never had a day like yesterday. On the shuttle back to my Jeep, my buddy and I were giggling like little kids. Truly a numbers day with a good share of decent fish.
During the rain, I didn't pull out my camera, but here's some pix of the smallies with a bonus fish.
On the shuttle to the take out, I realized I was starving. Didn't even eat my lunch during the float. Never crossed my mind. A day to remember.