Michael Seewald's
fishing adventures
for the FIRST half of 2012.
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Clear Lake, N. California
June 24th to the 28th
6.24.2012 Sunday 6 p.m. till 8:30 p.m..
Water: 75 degrees in marina, 72 in main lake/ sunny, wind cold at
dusk.
Click photo to enlarge.
One of dozens I'd caught over a five day
period of fishing.
Valerie just finished having her 40th class
reunion, Ukiah, with a Friday and Saturday night event, and a golf gathering
this morning. We checked into Konocti Vista Casino, got the fisherman's
discount, $59 instead of $89, per Susan (and Alex honored it at front desk). The
room has micro, coffee maker, fridge, two queens and a TV.
I launched the aluminum boat, with the 15 hp
four stroke, and started fishing the marina, getting a three just before leaving
while talking to my mom on the iPhone. Took a picture of it on the phone too,
while still talking. This was on the n. side, as usual. I was using my new
Kopper's Live Target frog, a realistic looking bait although most of the time
they eat it through the junk.
Click photo to enlarge.
First bass of the trip caught while talking
to mom about my Croatia trip.
Took the photo with the iPhone while still talking to it. Funny, she heard the
splash of the bass hitting the water as it was thrown back in.
Went out of marina working plants and then
open water, where a 4 inhaled it with the 'toilet flush', just inhaled it and
swam off without exploding on it.
Click photo to enlarge.
Second bass, a bit larger, hit the frog in
open water, the toilet flushed on this one.
Went over to my honey hole and started working
it from the left side, a hundred yards from the point, where I'd gotten some
nice ones before. Nada over here, and I tossed my new Whopper Plopper a bit. The
grasses were not as bad as usual, but still fowled the lure up too much, so I
resorted back to the frog.
Click photo to enlarge.
I got the best one over at my honey hole,
in very shallow water.
Continued over to the honey hole 'proper',
where I expected to get into more than I did. The cheese was not formed, but
some grasses were in the pockets and along the outside of some tulles. I got my
best fish, at least a six, I did not have the scale, in very shallow water.
I continued to work the windy side, it's
usually windy, but did not get the ones I usually do, no hits. The wind picked
up, and it was cold. I decided to head back and worked the outside of the marina
again, getting one over four in thin water again, way back in the vegetation,
where I would not normally throw. Hit a duck with the frog, then it got exploded
on with the first twitch, if that. It was hard to get in, due to all the growth,
and it's head made me think it was close to a six in weight, but it was only
4.03, as I went and got the scale as it was so close now.
Click photo to enlarge.
This one I pulled out from the vegetation
in the background,
in the water you can barely see (at the top of my hat).
Click photo to enlarge.
Valerie took a shot and helped me unload
the boat. Here I can, and do, leave it overnight and recharge the battery at the
slips, convenient. TUL.
_____________________
Monday 6.25.'12
(Clear Lake con't.)
2 p.m.
To bed at 1:30 a.m., as fishing in early a.m. not planned, waiting for water to
heat for the frog bite.
Valerie and I breakfasted at the Cottage at 11
a.m.. Stopped at the old Tackle It and met the new owner Ted
Elliott, who bought it just a couple of months ago, previous owner has health
issues and can't manage it anymore. He has changed the name, it's now E-Ticket tackle,
and was very enthusiastic. Got two new Spro Popper frogs as it's my go to bait,
but with the Kopper's working so well I was re-thinking it. But still, needed
them and got a green one and a black one. He gave me 10% off, with out asking,
cool.
Stopped at
Clear Lake
Outdoorsand got some weedless hooks for fishing wacky rigged
Senkos, was getting low.
Back at the room overheard one fisherman
giving advice to another, and went out to 'overhear' better, and met Scott from
Bend Oregon out front, reported bite got tough lately, cold front. He did get
five over three this morning, two over on 'tulle island', with biggest over 4.
Baby brush hog, bass pattern. No reaction bites to speak of they said.
______
So I went out around 5 p.m. and threw the frog
on both sides of the marina, nada. Decided to try the Whopper Plopper on the way
out.. Did not have the scale so I called Valerie and she brought it to me at the
docks, it was a nice 4+. As she was walking back I tossed the lure from the end
of the docks, and whammo, a 3+ inhaled it. Wow, two bass on consecutive casts,
cool.
Click photo to enlarge.
The first of two nice ones on back to back
casts on the Whopper Plopper.
My second and third ever, the first was at the Delta a month and a half ago.
Click photo to enlarge.
Very next cast got this beauty on between
the docks in the Marina.
Click photo to enlarge.
As I worked the entrance to the Marina I
noticed how nice the storm looked, photographically.
Wanted to keep this on the low, and a fellow
came out and asked what I was tossing. Told him I'd been getting 'em pretty good
on the frog, which was true. Did not let him know what else I'd been getting
them on.
Click photo to enlarge.
Slough bass, 3 plus pounds, caught at 7:20
pm.
between these the following two photos.
Click photo to enlarge.
Partly taking shelter here! Got a three
pounder in this slough, on a frog, on the right side
Click photo to enlarge.
Slough, looking east, outwards to the lake.
You can see it was a
bit stormy out, but wind protected here. On the lake: whitecaps, got a bit wet
getting back to Konocti.
Worked the outside area for about an hour,
nada. Wind was bad, it was cloudy and cold. I went to the first slough on the
right, for wind protection. Threw the W.P. some more, nada. Worked my way back,
and saw a nice spot for the frog, tossed it and instantly bass on, a 3+ TUL.
Continued to the dog leg and then towards the end, nada more. Left about 8:30 so
we could get dinner at TNT Mexican before it closed. We did, and the shrimp
fajitas ($16) and carnitas taco (6) hit the spot. Got to bed at 12:30, planning
on 5:30 a.m. session.
Tuesday 6.26.'12
(Clear Lake con't.)
Air in a.m., 40 degrees. Water 65.
1.30 p.m.
Got up at 5:30 as planned, loaded up the boat
and worked the marina. The three other guys had there boats here still, and two
boats were at the ramp, leaving. I tried the marina for five, frog and W.P.,
nada.
Headed to tulle point but stopped at the first
one instead, worked it with the W/P and frog, then hit the actual Tulle Point
with the same, for the same results. Not much wind yet, and pretty clear skies.
About 8:30, after heading to the cove just
past where Gator got his 8, I was thinking 'wow, it really is dead in the a.m.
when a sixer at the W.P., right at the boat. I got to see her come up and take
it down. Landed her pretty quick, used the new self-timer on my iPhone and got
some good shots.
Click photo to enlarge.
Sixer finally came at 8:30, after 2.5 hours
of nada.
Click photo to enlarge.
'NEW HONEY HOLE" Just east of 'Gator
Alley'
Another cast or two and another ate the W.P, a
3-8, cool. Starting to heat up, figuratively and literally. Water now up to
67.5. Saw a nice spot in the shade under some trees and picked up the
frog. Textbook spot, and textbook hit, TUL. A 3#. Went and tossed it at the next
spot, another 3-5. Tossed it back to where I got the first one, it got hung up,
but one hit it and got it loose, but got off in the grasses.
Click photo to enlarge.
Most at this point came out of the shadows.
Click photo to enlarge.
Most out of shadows, but not this one. Next
to tulles, outside edge. Nice one.
Worked it some more, towards 'Gator alley' and
then tossed it back along the outside tulles, a 3-5 flushed it. Too cool. Worked
the alley proper and tossed it to the open side, along the weed bed and got
another 4! Ended up with 6 on the frog when Valerie called and said we had to go
to lunch.
Click photo to enlarge.
Number six on the frog came at
11:30, in open water side of Gator Alley.
Just got back and posted these updates, the
boat it charging and only brought the poles and tackle box in, left the big
tackle and all in the boat, since it's daytime and can be seen by everyone. Left
Valerie at Renee's, the lunch place, and she's meeting with classmates and
chatting. I'm going to take a nap after working on a couple of the photos and
posting too. Oh yeah, bought some tape for my thumb, as I've got 'bass thumb'
something bad after taking all these pics.
Evening session...6.26
Fished from 6 p.m. till 9:30 p.m., and got three
very nice frog fish. A 4-8 at 6 p.m. in the marina in my new green Spro popper,
also a 4-10 at 8 p.m. and a 4-12 at 9:10 p.m..
Click photo to enlarge.
First one tonight came on the corner, in the marina,
on my new green Spro Popper.
Click photo to enlarge.
Second one came on the left side of the marina exit,
and the last one came even further down, near the end of the first major point.
Second one came on the left side of the marina
exit, where it narrows and the trees are. On the point where it narrows. Worked
the entire way out, and the shallow water on the outside left. Waves were up,
and then remembered the slough on the left, not far away. It would be easy to
reach, the waves are a dash smaller. But decided to work the outside, had to use
the #4 strength, out of 5, to stay put. The tulles there have quite a bit of
grass, and the corner held a nice one that came out of it for the frog, and put
up a great fight. Went 4 3/4 on the scale, TUL. Worked it bit further north, and
then decided to back up a bit and work the slough, get out of the wind.
Worked all the way back, threw the WP some, but
only one small hit at the beginning. Got to the dog leg and remembered why I did
not get anything last time, the water there is 10 degree cooler for some reason,
and bass don't like cold water, so I was out of there. Was 9 p.m., and getting
dark, but decided to work the outside some more and did.
Was 2/3rds of the way to the point when the frog
got swirled on, and I slowed it down but kept working it, and she hit five
seconds later. Was the biggest one of the night, going just under 5. Worked it
to the very end of the point, but could barely see, it was 9:30. Called it a
night, hooked up the front running light and went in. (The back one needs wire
re-connect).
Wednesday 6.27.'12
(Clear Lake con't.)
Water by end of the day -75.
Slept in and hit the water at 11:30, after
breakfasting at the Casino's restaurant. Wind was calm but out of the east,
strange. Usually out of the north-west.
Went to the left out of the marina and worked the
tulle line I'd worked last night. Got one first cast which came off after a few
seconds, on the green Spro popper. A while later had a small one hit it, did not
stick. Decided to put the Live Target black frog back on, and about 1:30 got a
nice 4# in the cove towards the honey hole point towards Lakeport. Then got
another one, a 3, about 1/2 hour later.
Took a break around 3 p.m., and went back out at
7. The wind was not as bad. Worked the same stretch after getting a 3 on the W.P
at the marina entrance area. That was it, no hits along the tulles, except for a
2 that I did not see hit it, and brought it in before I knew it was on, so used
to fighting these bigger fish it hardly registered. At that point the wind had
picked up and the #4 setting would not move me forward into it, so slid back
along working it one more time, nada. Got to marina entrance about 9 p.m. and
worked my way in, and around the whole marina, finishing at 9:30. TUL.
Click photo to enlarge.
This one went four pounds and ate the Live Target
black frog
Thursday 6.28.'12
(Clear Lake con't.)
Water 75.
Got on water by 8:30 a.m, and decided to work the
first cove shallows to the right of Konocti, (Lands end Slough?). Tossed the WP
most of the time, and some frog around the stand-up poles, for nada. Then the
tulles at the point, nada there too. Went to the new honey hole area, where two
other boats were close to the area, but not in the far corner, and I got a three
out of the shadows.
Then went back to Gator's alley and got a three off the spot I'd gotten a four
the day before, at the 'floating plant island', on the windy side. Went out to the entrance and threw the WP and sure enough, had a
4 hit it as I worked it erratically this time, just before heading in for lunch,
at 10:45.
Went back out at 12:30, after having breakfast
with Valerie at the Casino, and went to the area outside of 'Gator's alley', and
worked the entire grass cpve, which filled it fairly well. Worked the boat into
the deep back, tossing the frog over the green plants onto the back
section of grasses (brown colored, grows to the top and creates a canopy). Was surprised
I got nada, as I'd gotten a 4 and a 3 around the patch of green plants in the
middle, over the past two days. Oh well.
I then worked my way into the slough, ended up
landing two of the five hits, one a four and one a two, fought all of them. The
hard ones to land were in the back of the docks, and after hooking them up had
to work them over the ropes, letting them fall off.
Click photo to enlarge.
This one came out and hit from the grass in
background.
Then I went to the slough close to the Konocti
casino, worked my way in and got a four in the far corner, before the dog leg
left. This one came on a longer pause as I said hi to a sheriff cruising by.
Worked the green 'peas' for nada, and then back out for nada.
Click photo to enlarge.
This one came on a longer pause as I said hi to a
sheriff cruising by.
Was 5:30 at that
point, time to go eat at Bigg's 155 and head to Carmel as I had a class the
teach the next morning. Next week I'll continue this fishing adventure over on
the Delta.
(NOTE 7.10.12- Go to July- Dec. reports for that part, it's now up).
El Capitan
6.15.2012 Friday.
Started boulder bay, looked great, some busters out deeper, nada on topwater.
Went back to deep trees, worked S.Spook, nada.
Worked further back, then about 10 a.m., got some
action, worked to virgin area back in shallows, at current depth honey hole
before going right to real shallow area, and lost a six at the boat on my new S.
Spook 'Bleeding Shad'- stock hooks were problem. Then lost a three on it next
cast, then changed hooks.
Went to far back and got a two on a fluke, then
had three big blow ups on the Spro Green/yellow popper frog, then lost the frog
as repair failed and it sunk, no like tied on w/ test!
California Delta
WesternBass Spring Rally
5.4-9.2012 Wed.
Water 65-66-67 in far back of Sycamore Slough mid-day.
5.4.'12
Got here with my aluminum boat last night at 11 pm. Slept in
the van at the Pilot on Hwy 12, just North of Lodi. Up at 5.30 am (already
getting light), grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Subway, and a Footlong for lunch
and dinner.
Got to Tower Park Marina about 6 am, first one here. Launched, and came back as
wind came up immed. and was freezing. Put on 100 mph jacket, TUL, kept it on
till 2 pm, took off for nap in wind protect spot at that time.
Click photos to enlarge
First one came on a spinnerbait, then I
got two or
three on the suspending rapala jerkbait.
Right off got fish at end of slough on the chart./white
spinnerbait. Then one on the 2 1/4 Rapala susp. jerkbait, got two. Worked the
South Mokelumne River,
towards Sycamore Slough, and then down the slough.
Got a nice one at the end by the sunken trees on the spinner,
worked it again and got another, about 2 lbs. Very windy from 6.30 on. Had lunch
(first half of the Subway sandwich) at 11, after fishing the tulle islands and
flats around them, for nada on topwater. Took nap on main slough back towards
Tower, from 2 to 3.30. Started up fishing the frog, got a nice blow up right
away, giving me hope of a topwater, but that was it. At 5 was back in Sycamore
Slough, working my favorite "6 pounders point' area, nada on spook. Finished day
at 7 pm, went to Tower Park and am using their free WiFi. TUL. Paid $11, to sec.
guard for launch. Need to find a charger for my battery, forgot mine.
5.5.'12
Tournament day. Went to Wal-Mart and got a battery charger for the battery, and
got some hay-fever at Pilot, sinus starting to run. Slept so-so, and got up at
4.45 am, grabbed the same breakfast and lunch, and headed the 1.25 hours over to
Russo's Marina on Bethel Island. When I arrived, right at 5 am on the dot, I met
'BassaNova' Marty, and ObiHub, but nobody else was there. About 6 everyone
showed up, and Tunaman said the Austrian guy and myself could go with Cooch,
cool!
But upon thinking about it, Terry Smith, with the Bass Cat,
said his cousin Bob, who had a Ranger, could take someone out too, they had both
made the run down from B&W. So, since I've been out with Cooch twice, I gave the
other guy Cooch's backseat solo, and opted to join Bob, a gentleman whom
had shoulder surgery recently and may leave early with pain, but that was ok,
I'd take my chance and not get crowded.
Terry drew Dave, a ex-professional that had quit for family
reasons about 10 years ago. Bob said his shoulder was doing ok, he expected to
'tough it out', and that he'd cashed a check in every tourney last year- wow, a
semi-pro. Right off the bat I thought it turned out to be a blessing to have
blessed the other guy. I could learn something new, maybe. We were off over very
'heavy seas', about 3' breaker in Franks, we hit every one, then headed south,
stopping once we went to an area with calmer water. Bob pulled out a white and
chartreuse chatterbait:
As I wrote about it over on the Texas Fishing
Forum:
"We pulled up in about 6' of water, and he reeled
that chatterbait in as fast as he could,7:1 reel, with a twitch on
it about every three seconds that never slowed the bait, only made
it 'hop'. He got two fish the first five minutes, then busted off a
big one- blew my mind you could fish it that way. He super glued the
front skirt on, and then put a fluke on, upside down, so it would
cause more of a jump when twitched, and glued it on too.
Oh, to reel that fast and not have it ski across the surface you
need a 1/2 oz one, if not slightly heavier.
He did not use a trailer.
By noon I had got two, one on a red shallow diving crankbait, known as a
SpeedTrap, the other on a white suspending Rapala crankbait over at Five
Fingers, both shorts. Right after getting the one on the SpeedTrap I went to
take a leak, and I learned not to lean against the ladder on the back of the
boat. When reaching into the water to retrieve my sun glove, which surprisingly
was somehow floating by down by my stream of piss at the time, I went
underwater- head first-as the aluminum bar is actually the top of a folding
ladder, which releases with about 1 lb of pressure, sending me headfirst in the
nice, warm water- NOT!
Bob instantly rushed to the back to help save my life, not knowing if I could
swim (which I could), but I instantly bobbed up and stood up in the mud, depth
at only 5' deep at the time, and at the same time instantly started to climb
back up this now extended ladder (works good to get out by the way), and also at
that time I got to see my automatic life preserver pop open, in very LARGE
sections, scaring the heck out of me. I was up and out in about 1.4 seconds!
(I'd just wondered the day before if the vest would still work, being two or
three years old without re-charging yet- worked fine).
Then, another 1.4 seconds later, I had my iPhone out of my back pocket (which
usually put in some place on my own boat, just in case of a situation like this,
which was a first, hopefully a last
), and Bob got the dry towel I'd excitedly requested and I dried it off as best
I could.
NOTE 5.12.'12 : After the tourney, at
Tunaman's after party, he mentioned to dry it in rice, drawing the moisture out.
I tried that starting the next day, when I heard it mentioned again, and after a
week it took it in to a place back here in Encinitas, and the guy took it apart,
replaced the battery, and now it works, in the same condition w/ all pics and
apps and contacts, etc.,TUL!
After getting situated to go back and change the wet clothes, the air at 20-30
mph guests was cold, I'd had two jackets and a shirt on, BUT his gas cable
broke, stranding us! Not good, and then his phone would not get reception to
reach his cousin, whom we seen a half hour earlier nearby. Towing in these windy
conditions was said to be hazardous, and although Bob said he could call Vessel
Assist, he chose no to. When we finally got a hold of Terry an hour later, via
text messages that seemed to somehow work, he tracked us down. He was nice
enough to run me back for a change of clothes; it's scary sitting soaking wet in
cold windy conditions on the water, as ones body heat slowly gets sucked away!
His backseater Dave and I changed places, and Terry rode the
rough waves across Franks the best he could. I changed into warm and dry shirt,
pants, jackets, socks and shoes, underwear, the works. All kept in the van just
in case, but also as I was traveling. We motored back along the inside wall,
which was good as his Bass Cat does not ride smooth over the rough water, ouch,
but at about 2 mph, so it took an hour more.
When we reached Bob's boat Dave and I traded places again,
and I continued to fish the shoreline while Bob idled along. Mostly fishing the
SpeedTrap, and the spinnerbait and chatterbait, but for me no luck. Quite a bit
with the Plopper too, and Bob decided to give me one- cool! Bob said he
and Dave got about five while I was gone, wow.
So we motored all the way back, another 1.5 hours, from
Mildred's under idle speed at 3 mph, getting back at 4.30 instead of 3 as
planned!
Anyway, when we got back Terry took Bob back to B&W in his boat, over the rough
'seas', where he could get his trailer and pick up his boat back at Russo's.
We I got to Tunaman's house I found out Cooch won biggest
fish 'Big Nut', and 'Top Nut' for getting the two heaviest fish overall. So he
won my $1,000 photo-art donation of choice for it!
Tunaman and his wonderful wife Mona put out a heck of a spread- carne asada to
die for.
Click on photo to enlarge.
Cooch
won the Seewald original with big fish. Here was the one
he got for taking my out the year before, just for some 'fun fishing'. As he
gets $400 a day I figured I should bless him with something, and this piece runs
$1,500. He has a big heart, he deserves more.
'Birdman' (maybe Wolfman on WB?) and his wife Hope voted me 'NumbNut' and
decided I should have won something, so they gave me a 'Flipping the Bird' bird,
black w/ black wings, which I showed off to my friends the Olichney's over in
Davis, and then left it on there coffee table, so I did not get to use it over
the next couple of days I still fished, bummer.
I left the party at about 6, tired, and with call to the wife
and using other folks GPS found out where the Olichney's new home was located,
and stayed there that night.
Saw friends: Brian Day, Marty
'BassaNova', Gary "Obi-Hub" Collins, Andy 'Cooch' Cuccia, 'Tunaman' Roger
Nelson, Birdman and his wife Hope, new folks; 'Bruised Lee' Leung, ex-tourney
guy Dave, Terry Smith, my boater Bob w/ the Ranger, and Austrian (I think) guy,
and Tunaman's wife Mona.
5.6.'12
Sunday, took the day off, went to Dixon Calvary Chapel, met the pastor Greg
again, and his daughter too, and found out she went to our church in Carlsbad,
cool. Hung with the Olichney's that night, slept well.
5.7.'12
Monday
Sunny, slight winds. Water 65
Slept in, till about 8 am, and chatted with John and Joanne,
and left to the Delta at around 10.30, getting on the water over at Tower Marina
at about noon. Fished White slough after stopping at a couple of likely places,
got two REALLY nice blow-ups on my new River2Sea rear-prop bait on a long flat
point. No sticky, darn.
Click photo to enlarge
A 4+ on my new River2Sea Dahlberg 'Whopper Plopper'
130
Worked the Devil's Island marina and got my first frog fish
of the season, a one pound toughie. Continued towards my three Island honey hole
and fished the tulle islands before them, with frogs, Plopper, and the
Suspending jerkbait, for nada, then at dark the thee islands, all three for nada
till my last cast on the middle island, back area (away from the wind and deep
side) on the River2Sea Dahlberg 'Whopper Plopper' 130 , and got a ferocious hit
with the slash pattern, landing one that went 4-8 TUL!
Got back to the ramp by 9.05, hardly any light out, BUT there
still was some, amazing. It's dark in S.D. by 7.30, love the northern waters for
that.
Up at 7 am, breakfasted with the Olichney's, then headed out
about 9.30. Got to Tower Marina and worked the South Mokelumne River, very
little wind. Found some nice clear water, about three feet, 2.5 feet clearer
that four days earlier, weird. Started getting them on the d/s purple worm, then
the 7" Pumpkin w/ red-black flake Senko.
Click photo to enlarge.
Drop shot action on the South Mokelumne River
They really liked the Senko. Was pre-fishing for John O., who
was to join me at 5 pm, after his work- hopefully. About 5.30 he called, as I
was going to call him, he'd just got his license at Wal-Mart, and was headed
over. At 6.30 he called, needing gas in Rio Vista, so we went out at about 7.
Cool, we had till 9.
Click photo to enlarge.
Beautiful day on the South Mokelumne River,
'Stitched photo'.
Met a couple from Ukiah, a very small town where my wife Valerie is from, and they had
a hard time flooding their 25 hp four stroke. They offered me a Corona beer,
while they waited the half hour needed and I waited for John. After they left
(stripper fishing, catch and release) John arrived and we went to the 'pipe',
where I'd seen more than one 3 pounder and I'd gotten two hits and one fish
already. It was a much faster incoming tide now, and we fished it for about 1/2
hour, he did pretty good on the trolling motor, even though the top indicator
was broken too. I got one more on the Senko, he missed two hits from lack of
reeling down and setting hard, oh well. I tossed some Plopper, and the frog, for
nada, as we worked back towards the point. He'd wanted to takes some home, so he
took three 2 pounder for fish tacos, reporting last night they were delish!
Back off the water at 9 again, went to return the battery charger at Wal-Mart,
and drove back to San Diego, taking a two hour nap about two hours before
reaching the Grapevine, from 1 to 3 a.m.. Had to get through L.A. before heavy
traffic, and as it was I got to LAX at about 6.30, traffic very good, and got
home at 8.30. TUL.
Lake Hodges
North San Diego County, CA
4.25.2012 Wed.
Water 68.
Solo- 7 total.
Overcast/rainy almost, most of day. Storm in am and pm, except from 2-4,
pretty sunny.
On water 6.50 am till 7.30, took break from 2 till 3.40,
Larry let me through the 'Quagga mussel check' about 6.30 am, went directly to
the dam, to the trees on right side, and worked to the buoy lines, started
working the Punker and the S. Spook at 7 am, nada.
Went across to the south side and worked that side heading east, nice drop
off wall, expected a lunker. About 8.15 I had a big one hit it about 200 yards
down, but she missed. Worked it three or four more times, making it slow and
injured looking, then let it die. Five seconds later it was engulfed, I waited a
second and reeled down, she headed to deep water taking line- OH YEAH. I got her
to the boat and swung her in about 15 seconds later, not knowing how big she
was, never let her jump. She went 6-1 on Punker at 8.30 on left wall by dam, no
cell phone, so I set up to keep her on a stringer -I was going to keep it on
till getting pic on camera in van. After getting it through her gills and
throwing her over she took off and took the string out of my hand- ummm good job
Seewald! Next time hold it VERY HARD.
Worked that whole shore, about 1/4 mile, but no more hits. Worked the dock
area w/ the frog and the 2.5" susp. jerkbait I'd found and been killing 'em on
by the shallows by dock, got one, and worked some bed fish for an hour as I
headed by the solo pier towards the 'Calumet' corner.
Took a break as the sun was out and the feel was not what I was hoping for
(overcast all day). A storm /rain was predicted for the evening, so I took a
break and recharged trolling motor batteries at electrical box by docks, per
Crystal, and made a run to Calumet to drop off Photo workshop fliers, then
stopped at a Sports Authority for some gear. Took a 1/2 hour nap in the van and
hooked up and re-launched.
At 4 I was back on the water and found a biggie bed fish by 'dry ramp' as I
stared working the shallows. Gave up about a 1/2 hour into it, they both stared
at everything I threw, neither one attempting to move the baits. Got a few on
the jerk bait and then one on a buzzbait, back towards the solo pier, then went
to sunken docks and had blowup on Punker. Worked to narrows for nada, winds were
very strong, blowing me along at breakneck speed.
At 7 I went to other side of narrows and worked the east side heading north
and had a 5 go airborn on the Punker. Be back time was 7.20 so at 7.25 headed
back and left.
San Diego Bay
4.21.2012 Wed.
Water 64.
First light Christian fishing group from
sdFish.
Lake Hodges
North San Diego County, CA
4.18.2012 Wed.
Water 64.
Solo- 35 total. Blue skies.
Got there 7 am. Fished the first stretch on left in the narrows, topwater
for nada. Found two bed fish on the point and got them after an hour
of trying. One on a suspending Rapala shad jerkbait. Started to work the
way back to the docks and got three more working the jerkbait normally,
two 2's and a 3+.
Took a break at 11 a.m., leaving boat at
docks, to drop off photo workshop fliers at Calumet and then went and
joined a friend in town at Phong Trong Vietnamese restaurant. Got back and
took a 1 hr nap, back on the water at 4 and fished till 7.20. Got so many
bass, mostly 6" though, some on back to back casts working the docks and
shore headed north, to the dock towards the corner. Then went across to
the sunken docks and got some more.
Lake Hodges
North San Diego County, CA
4.11.2012 Wed.
Water 64.
Solo- 18 total. Raining all morning, and then on and off
till noon.
Got there 6 am, not open yet. Fished corner for some explosions on frog,
Super Spook. Went to cove past construction site, got seven on Sups. Crank
bait, two off bed. One bed fish w/ d/s Senko.
Went to dam, started getting S.Spook
fish, got two w/ 3 blowup, went across and got another, went to new
walkway by Escondido cove, nada on top, about 6 hit narrows, got three on
Spook, two 3-8 and a 4-8, and a 2. Trolling motor batteries died, went to
sunken docks and got three more, lost a nice one. Back to ramp at 7 pm.
Sutherland Lake
East of Ramona, CA
4.6.201
Was sunny after sunrise (isn't it always? I mean no
clouds).
From 5.50 am till 8.30 a.m..
1 on a Lunker Punker, about 5.8-6lbs.
Was freezing, glad I had my 100 mph
jacket, wool hat and gloves, as I put them all on within 1 minute of
getting out of the car. Lots of nice shoreline so I decided to throw the
Punker instead of launching the tube and fishing w/ Paul O. whom just
bought one and has been out twice now, once at Sutherland a week ago and
got 8 off the rocks on the narrows, across from the ramp.
I worked the docks, to the left of them,
and then the narrows, where I got this nice one in the shadows, took line
out actually (25# test). Once the sun hit the water I did not get any
more.
Click photo to enlarge.
Lunker on the Lunker Punker.
Click photo to enlarge.
Sutherland lake lakescape, fog and kayak.
Murrieta Hot Springs pond
Murrieta Hot Springs, CA
4.3.2012
Was sunny all afternoon.
Me 9, Mike 8.
$1 for the winner of the 'biggest bass' tourney.
I got the largest, a 1-7, he a 1-0 largest.
Mike drove, and we got there around 3.30
p.m. after stopping at Subway. Fished till 8.30, but bite died at 7.30,
when it was basically completely dark out (like it usually does).
Bite tough at first, neither did too
well. Mike got a 1.0 on a d/s fluke, and had three before my first. I
tossed a Senko at first, and a C/R around the canoe, which was torn up and
1/2 re-modeled (planks gone, dirt and rock there now). Then tossed the
suspending Rapala ghost crankbait, all for nada.
About an hour and a half into it I tied
on a Huddlebug (20# braid on spinner w/ 8# fluoro leader) and lost one 'in
the corner' right away, give it slack. Got another one at the island, the
back side next to a plank of wood and tulles, a 4 oz, was 'in the game'.
Got a 1# or larger on the front side of it, next to a swan that was laying
eggs- cool. The fish hit the 'bug' on the fall, but she fell off on the
rocks below my feet and bounced back in before I could weigh her.
Continued to the west and got another by the lake condo in shallow water.
Worked the small pond landing a 1-7 on
second cast, on 'waterfall hole', subtle and saw line going to middle of
pond. Got another in that area, a 1-1, and then a 1-0 and a 14 oz, four in
an hour.
Got darker and went and tied on a small
popper I'd found there last year, and got two dinks, then it died at 7.30.
Discovery Pond
San Marcos, San Diego County, California.
4.2.2012
From 6 pm till 7.30. Gentle winds and sunny.
Solo, 1 -2.3# on the new Super Spook in bone white. Nada on spinnerbait,
c/r.
Click photo to enlarge.
First bass on my replacement Super Spook, TUL.
El Capitan
San Diego County, California.
3.30.2012
Water 66 in shallows in a.m., ended up at 69 by late afternoon. Gentle west
winds started at 11 a.m. and sunny all day.
Mike C. and I, Mike 2 bass (d.s.) 1 bluegill (crankbait), me 4 bass (3
dropshot, bed-fish on Senko) and 1 trout (on found 3.5" suspending Rapala
crankbait).
Brought my Skeeter, the Answered
Prayer, and Met Mike at the ramp. Was going to head out at 6.30 but he
was an hour late, so I just worked the area w/ topwater for nada. We
headed to the back and started at the last cove on the right, which is
almost gone now due to water being so low. We tossed topwater but the sun
was always hitting everywhere, and no takers. Worked back to the 5'
shallows on the far right side, where we've been getting into a lot of two
pounder lately, and today was no different. I got the stripe off the boat
with 1-8 on d/s, 5" Roboworm in Margarita Mutilator w/ a chartreuse tail.
Mike got the next two on a light colored worm, d/s, and then I got a 2-3
on my chartreuse tailed one again. Lost an even bigger one near a solo
tree in the middle of the area, and we worked back to the far back by 2
pm, where Mike got a bluegill and I got another bass.
Click photos to enlarge.
My first two of the day, both fell for the Roboworm.
Dropped him off at dock at 2 pm and I
worked the area bed-fishing. Got the male right off the bat, in a small
cove just S. of the ramp, set up on a giant boulder twice the size
of my boat. Got the female to got twice in about 15 minutes, and both time
she threw the 6" pumpkin Senko when she jumped, looked to be about 3-8,
but a lot of bigger girls hung off the boulder. Worked to the back towards
dusk, soon as the shadows hit, throwing my new Super Spook, bone color,
for nada. Half way back noticed a lure on a bush, and it was a nice
suspending Rapala 'Husky Jerk' crankbait, a sign from the Lord. Tied it on
and used it a bit later, getting a trout (surprise, forgot they had
stocked it before) and lost another fish, looked to be another trout, two
cast later. Worked the east shore back and past the ramp w/ the Spook, for
nada.
Click photo to enlarge.
Caught 1 trout (on found 3" susp. Rapala 'Husky
Jerk' crankbait) over in Launch Ramp Cove. Had another, on and off, right
at the boat two cast later, looked to be another trout.
Ran into Vince O. at the ramp and found
out he'd been there since 11, got skunked, not like him at all. He said
he's had a tough time of it the last month and a half, getting to go out
every other Friday.
El Capitan
San Diego County, California.
3.16.2012
Water 65 in shallows by late afternoon. Gentle west
winds and sunny for me, heard overcast in the morning.
Solo, one hit on small white fluke in back.
Had a nice sale lately and wanted to
celebrate so I went out solo. got to the lake around 1 pm and went right
to the trees. Started w/ Punker in the wind on the trees outside, and
rigged for the C/R, T/R brush-hog,various spooks style (regular S.Spook
exploded last trip out, read next report), Senko, etc..
Click photo to enlarge.
Beautiful day on the water, the Lord
and I. / iPhone and Panoramic 360 app.
Met DonZeedless (Paul said his real name
is
Worked the 2 to 5' shallows on the back right side,
first time for that area in a while.
El Capitan
San Diego County, California.
3.12.2012
Water 58 deep, 65 in shallows by late afternoon.
Gentle west winds and sunny all day, .
Me one 1# on Pumpkin Senko in back, Paul O. -6 on d/s mostly, some on WW
4" Senko style, Rick S. nada.
Picked up Rick S. (bro) at 7-11 by
tackle store and then w met Paul at the 7-11, his boat, at 9:30. Paul
forgot to put the drain plug in and we ran the bilge pump for over 10
minutes, fished the side while waiting, then blasted to shallow. Started
fishing the back trees just 200 yards from our new 'honey hole' from the
week before, but one guy motored past us and fished it first, another came
up just as we finally got there and also fished it, not takers on the
spinner-baits that Paul and Rick were tossing (Paul still a virgin on
them), while I tossed the T/R worm and then a crawdad plastic for nada.
Click photo to enlarge.
Paul's 3-5 on a light purple d/s.
At 12:15 Paul got a dink on a d/s in far
back, while four other boats back there flipped Senkos on bushes and
picked some up to. We picked that whole area apart all afternoon, Paul
getting three more and lost a nice one in late afternoon as we worked out
way out, and I tied on live bait (6" Pumpkin Senko) and got one first
cast, a 1 pounder, along the exit route narrows. Paul got a 2-8 at the
honey hole on his d/s, then a 3-5 while we worked the channel towards
deeper water. He ended up with six, and I got one blow up on my new
topwater, here:
Click photos to enlarge.
My new Reaction Strike XW 110
was not as easy to walk the dog as advertised
(wants to dive under quite a bit), but cast a mile and has a nice deep
rattle sound from the ball bearing. You can see them in this bait, which I
got along with a white/green backed one. Occy from RA sold them, only $5
ea. for quantity plus $5 shipping, got three.
Click photo to enlarge.
On the down side, my borrowed Super Spook of 16 months bit the dust
towards the end of the day, BUMMER! As I wrote for the fishboards:
"...Well, I finally lost my 'borrowed' Super
Spook (friend Derek loaned it to me at the CA Delta 16 months ago). It
exploded in half after rocketing back at me at 90 mph from dislodging it
out of a tree some 30 yards away, smashing into the seat pedestal under my
butt. Of course I did not see it actually explode, I'd turned and hoped
I'd not be impaled by this thing as it came my way.
This after getting hundreds of bass up to 9 lbs (and one over 10 that got
away on the Delta last fall, and up to 8's on Fork, even some last year
down in Mexico on it).
So besides being heartbroken over losing the greatest lure I've ever
owned, fish numbers wise and longest lasting too, I'm in the market to
replace it. ..."
El Capitan
San Diego County, California.
3.8.2012
Water 60.
Me three, one 5-8 on d/s, two on S/B, a 2-8 and a 1
Bro Rick, one about 2-8 on S/B, his first ever.
We met at 6 a.m. at the new tackle store
in Lakeside, where Diane, his girlfriend of many years, dropped him off.
Rick said he had not caught a bass is some 18 years, and was
chomping to do so. Took the Answered Prayer. Launched and went to shallows
at 38 mph, Rick froze as air was 42, and w/ wind chill about 30. (I had
wool gloves, and 100 mph rain gear on, TUL.).
Started fishing w/ the Lunker Punker
around trees, which are now showing a lot more, but nada, Rick tossed the
10' diver crankbait, nada. Worked the trees to the back, at 9 showed Rick
how to tie and fish a d/s, started tossing it w/ a purple worm and about
five minutes later hooked and landed this beauty.
Click to enlarge.
The beauty ate a purple d/s worm, she went
5-8 on the scale. Worked about 15' depth.
Click to enlarge
At 12:25 p.m. Rich got the stripe
off his back with his first spinner bait. He was surprised how easy it was
to bull-dog the fish out of a tree top, which it had become embroiled in
half way back to the boat. He'd never fished braid before, but was happy
to reap the rewards from one of it's strengths.
Click to enlarge.
Minutes later I got a spinnerbait
fish too, and another, but a dink, five minutes after this one. We thought
we had a real pattern down, but that was it for the rest of the day.
We worked the back shallows as the trolling motor died
about 2 p.m., just blown west and after reaching deeper water we'd motor
back and start it again. At dusk I got one dink that hit the Spook Jr.
three times in 10 seconds, but that was it for the day. (Had misplaced my
'go to' topwater, the Super Spook, just found it the next day). Got off
the water at 6 p.m., making it a long but fun day. TUL.
Lake Novillo, Mexico
Novillo Lake, San Pedro de la Cueva, Sonora, Mexico
2.17-26.2012
Water 65 to 69, depending on day and time.
Fished from the 19 to the 24th with Bill C.
We got about 30 fish per day, Bill about 20 to 25, front deck, me about 5
to 10, back deck.
Other than one about 7, a nice one Bill
got off a tree that produced one that size before for him years ago, on a
small swimbait (his first), they were mostly about 3 lb average, real
footballs. The tilapia netting going on made the fishing really difficult,
but still, we had a blast. Nice weather, about 70 to 75 degrees during the
day, but real cold most nights, down to freezing in some cases. Last two
only got down to 50, that was nice.
The hot bait, as Bill knew, was the
spinnerbait and the T/R lizard, watermelon red-flake w/ chartreuse tail.
We got them on other baits, like the worm, brush hog C/R, Super Spook
(me), small (5") swimbait w/ curly tail, and the prop bait (Bill).
I lost about a six pounder the last
three nights, one each night, on the Spook, really unlucky.
Here are some pics...
Click photo to enlarge.
Panorama w/ the iPhone
of a Mexican Restaurant in Nogales, Arizona. It had a train that ran
around the ceiling. We stayed overnight in this town after driving over
from San Diego, taking about eight hours. We continued the trip south at 6
am the next morning (border opens at that time) and took another six hours
of driving to reach the lake.
We spent the rest of the
day getting Bill's house in order. There is a lot to do in that respect,
make sure his boat is good to go, his truck that he keeps down there too,
the electric and water all good to go, the satellite TV hooked up, food
put away, etc..
Click photo to enlarge
Our first day on the
water, 2.19.'12,
produced a lot of nicer bass.
Click photo to enlarge
I was happy to get a few
on topwater later in the afternoon,
my favorite way to get them.
Click photo to enlarge
Another nice 4+ by Bill,
he got quite a few this nice.
Click photo to enlarge
Ok, we got them on all types of baits.
Click photo to enlarge
One of the many double hooks ups.
Click photo to enlarge
More topwater action for
me, TUL!
Another Lucky Craft 'Sammy' lure fish.
Click photo to enlarge
A look towards the
'configuration'
Click photo to enlarge
Bill snagged a tilapia, a 2.5 pounder, man
what a great meal,
still kicking when we cleaned it,
fried in butter, salt and pepper, ummmmmmm.
Click photo to enlarge
Click photo to enlarge
Bill with one of the better models.
He got into quite a few four pounders.
Click photos to enlarge
I realized the crankbait
would be a good bait after we started to get our
plastics hit by the bass as we brought them in full speed to re-cast. I
hardly threw it three times and got this nice one on a 10' deep diver
Rapala, cool!
Click photos to enlarge
Click photos to enlarge
A nice topwater
fish on the Super Spook that Bill loaned me,
a 'go to' bait for me but mine somehow got left at home.
Thank God he has one of every lure in the world.
Click photos to enlarge
Here Bill is 'running the
lake', we usually ran about 10 miles
from the ramp to hit some of his favorite holes, up to 15 miles away. The
lake in some 30 miles long over all.
Click photo
Each evening was so
special, and the topwater action always
came around, sometimes better that other times.
Bill running across the
lake, for about 8-10 miles
each morning and back again in the evening, at 60 mph.
Lake Murray, city of San
Diego.
1.24.2012
Overcast, warm, water 56 in a.m., ended at 59.5 at 3 pm.
6.30 a.m. till 3. p.m./ James, 1 bass, 1 trout, me 1 bass.
Was invited out by guide James Nelson, mostly a bay/ocean guide but he
loves freshwater. He has an oil customer from Texas that wants to learn
swimbaits, so he invited me out on a research trip to see how the bite
was- Otay Lake burned him the week before, he was looking for sweeter
water. HOWEVER, a mutual friend (T.L.) got an 8.5 and a 11.1 there last
weekend, and as we only got one bump (he on the 12 ROF Huddleston on the
'main point' across from the dock) yesterday he was thinking of going back
to Otay with him today.
We got there at 6.30, and started w/ swimbaits around the docks. Metered
bait balls at 30-50, lots of big fish around them, made note, moved on.
Worked points, me swimbaits, he, the 'hudd' and various plastics.
Click photo to enlarge.
It was a most enjoyable day; nice weather, little
cloudy, two or three other boats at most, great company that let me win
the 'tournament' for the sandwich. James got a few hits and brought in a
trout and a bass to the boat on d/s, and I tossed the big bait for them
most part, nada. I went to a C/R rig and got nada on creatures, he
suggested. a worm on it. I tried a brown/black, nada, then an Art Berry
DVL special and got a 3.5-4 on it, hit it like a freight-train.
No bedding fish yet, but should show up any day as warm as that water is
getting.
1.25.'12 UPDATE: James did hit Otay, got nada, but DID watch T.L. get an
11.7, a P.B. for him he said (and only the 5th Hudd fish of his life,
WOW).
Diamond Valley Lake,
S.Calif. /
'The Jewel'.
1.16.2012
Rainey, windy, water 55.
6.40 a.m.
till 4 p.m.
Paul O. 4, me 1
Our first chance to see how well our new fishing license works.
Did rain all night, didn't sleep well because of it too, as DVL won't let you on
if you have a drop of moisture in you boat, sometimes even on the trailer! Got
to the shop and found it dry, under the heavy cover, so I kept it tied down, and
added more ties so it would not blow off, I hoped, on the way. Went to
Escondido, met Paul O. and we were off, it was 5.30 a.m. Got to the exit and
wiped her down, got breakfast sandwiches, and headed to the lake, praying along
the way.
6:40, arrived at the lake, old gent at the gate said it
should be epic; overcast skies, low barometric pressure... fish should be
on the chew. Passed inspection, TUL, and launched and went over to other
end of lake, the quarry, started fishing big baits (BBZ floater and 6"
bass Punker, mixed it up), Paul plastics. It was 7.30.
Click photo to enlarge.
Paul O. with the 'biggie' of the day, came on purple worm,
d/s.
We scratched out 5 between us, nada till 10.30
when Paul got the first, on d/s. They all came on the Drop Shot. Morning Dawn
and Margarita Mutilator. I went to the d/s by 11 (got only one myself, about
noon, after bumming a purple worm off Paul, no other colors worked, & I threw
many), and we worked our way along the wall to the inner part, 1/2 way, then
over to the point, then headed back towards bathroom #2 point, got out of the
wind, worked d/s and me big baits. BBZ floater. We saw some other guys who got
some bigger models (4 or 5 lbs.) on C-rigged brush hogs, about 3:30 pm. They had
4 or 5 till then, up to 5 lbs they said.
The fish were mostly
deeper than 30 feet. Had to be off the lake at 4.30, we were last at about 4.15.
Nice to be out on the water, had been weeks not being on a boat- ouch.
Michael Seewald
Galleries
Del Mar Plaza
1555 Camino Del
Mar, Ste. 312, Del Mar, California, 92014 USA
Phone: 858.793.3444
Open Wed. thru Sun., 2 p.m. till 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturdays till 10 p.m..
Call first if
going out of your way, we sometimes close to run errands.
), and Bob got the dry towel I'd excitedly requested and I dried it off as best
I could.
