My Latest Expedentures (as of 1/3)

   I have not done anything big lately, just a couple little trips here and there. Here is the rundown: 

Lake Poway 

    I wen't to lake poway on the opening weekend, not expecting to catch anything because most of the fish had hit the water dead upon stocking, due to a faulty aerator in one of Chalk Mound's trucks. 

This is all you need to know

I was right and the fishing was not very good at all. I saw two trout at the fishing float, one with a minijig stuck in his mouth, and one bass. They refused to bite. North shore-zip. Half Moon Cove-zip. 

Lake Miramar 

   I have been going to lake Miramar a lot lately, mostly to get skunked. I did once however, get lucky and was able to fish the day after the dfg stocked 700lbs of 10-15 inch trout. Although small, I was still grateful for them.

 

The fish would come by in schools, only staying for 2 minutes at most. They would hit anything and everything. I caught my first on a pink powernymph. I got tons of bites, but then I decided to switch up to a small gold Kastmaster, where I caught my second. I decided to keep him in the net so I could keep fishing because I knew that I would only catch fish when the school came by. He then slipped out of the net and swam off. DOH! After all was said and done, I caught 2, missed another, and received much more bites. 

Arizona 

 

   For new years, me and my family went to Arizona (Glendale). In Arizona, they have community fishing waters which are stocked by the azgfd. They stock every other week, and we wen't on the none stock week (typical). My first lake was Pioneer Pond, which is very new, right next to a park, pretty much a circle, with pretty much uniform structure, and has bad water clarity. After a while of fishing it, it became apparent that all fish were deep, and they would not even hit powerbait. The next lake was Rio Vista, which is a series of ponds, that are much funner to fish than Pioneer. The water had a very strange blueish tint, yet you could still not see that far. The ponds were a lot deeper than I thought, and I realized that all the fish were probably deep as well. I left without getting a bite or even seeing fish. 

Conclusion: Don't leave fish in the net unless you intend to release them.

-Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, (and the fishes of the sea) I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; (D&C section 89:12)

-keep sore liping 'em readers 

(BTW, if you know anything about fishing, and you haven't seen Hank Patterson on You Tube, do so. He is HILARIOUS)       

Lake Dixon 11/22 and 11/24

Saturday

 
    I arrived at the lake at about 6:30, although the line outside the concession stand was HORRENDOUS and I had to wait for quite a long time as every one in front of my bought some worms, some scent, an extra pole, lunch, a boat, a stringer, 3 cups of coffee, and oh yea, a permit. When I finally got my permit, I decided to cruises around the lake and ended up at Jack creek, were I hooked one on a fly lined nightcrawler. He fought decently hard, and was not too much of a trouble, but in the back of my head, I remembered that I had slightly frayed my line while pulling up a split shot. And so of course, right when I thought I had won the battle, he took one look at the net and said, "not today Hurke", and made one last run, which I was unprepared for, and snapped my line. The rest of the day was slow, so I decided to leave.  

Conclusion: Split shots are evil line fraying machines.

   

Monday

 

   After my disappointments on Saturday, I had the opportunity to go back to the lake for a short time on Monday. I really did not expect to catch anything, I just wanted to see what it was like on a Monday after a stock. When we arrived I decided to go straight to jack creek cove, which seemed to be the only decent spot. On my third cast, I stuck a decent one on a pink and white Mice Tail. Miraculously, I got him into the net. 

This came as a big surprise to me, and proves that you should always try to use something that the fish might not have seen in a while.  

Conclusion: Using something that nobody else is throwing can be productive.

-Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, (and the fishes of the sea) I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; (D&C section 89:12)

-keep sore liping 'em readers 

(BTW, if you know anything about fishing, and you haven't seen Hank Patterson on You Tube, do so. He is HILARIOUS)       

Santee Lakes 11/1

I was actually debating if I should write this post or not, but since this is my first trip of this year's trout season, I might as well.  

     
 I had been itching to get on with trout season, and now it is here! Santee lakes stocks first, so that would be were I would head out to. It had rained the night before the opener and it was still drizzling when we left at 5:30 am.                                                              

   When we got their there was a line of about 20 cars, which isn't that bad considering that 739 anglers participated in the event. When we arrived it was still dark, and the fishing didn't pick up until well after sunrise. Over all, the fishing was pretty slow, I mostly fished lake 4, and the only spots that anyone was catching anything was the area around the inlet, (north eastern side) and the area around the outlet (south eastern side). I fished at Lake 3 for a little bit, and it was quite obvious that there were only fish being caught at the inlet (and maybe the outlet). I didn't fish at lake 2, but from what I heard, and what I assume, I think the inlet outlet pattern continued there as well. 
   As for me, I stayed at lake 4 and went back and forth from the inlet and the outlet, and up until about 11:00, the only thing I had caught was a colorful bluegill. 

Then, right before I was about to leave the inlet for good, a 2 pound trout hit my minijig, about 2 seconds after it hit the swirling current. I was able to bring it close to shore, but it spit my jig out right at the net. That was about the only trout action I received the entire time, but it was still a nice warm up trip for the season. 

(These are some fish that some other people gave us because they did not want to eat them)

The plan for my next trip is to go to good old Lake Dixon and see if I can catch some good old tailwalkers. This season, dixon and numerous other lakes are also going to have bigger than usual stockings because of lowered gas prices, and Lake Jennings will stock both Sierra Bows and Nebraska Tailwalkers for the first time ever. That along with a trip to the Sierras with my boy scout troop, and another trip to the glorious Provo in Utah, will make this a year to remember for me. 

Conclusion: If there is any part of a lake were water is either entering or exiting, There will almost always be trout there. 






-Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, (and the fishes of the sea) I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; (D&C section 89:12)

-keep sore liping 'em readers 


(BTW, if you know anything about fishing, and you haven't seen Hank Patterson on You Tube, do so. He is HILARIOUS)       

Mountain Man (Mataguay)

                                                              (September)    
   Mountain Man Rendezvous is a competition for varsity scouts located at Mataguay Scout Ranch. Our troop decided to go, (we got 14th out of 48 teams), but instead of practicing for the events, I wen't fishing.  

First Bluegill of the day

Chunk bass

                                              

The perfect bluegill

Last one of the day

  Sorry about the lack of pictures, I would have taken more pics, but I was too busy catching fish. Mataguay has always been one of my most productive warm water fisheries, simply because very few people in the county know of its existence, and even the people who do don't think that it has fish in it.  


Conclusion: Yes there is a place in sdcounty where there are BIG catfish and the bass are the baitstealers, and its a small disgusting pond.




-Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, (and the fishes of the sea) I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; (D&C section 89:12)   

-keep sore liping 'em readers 

(BTW, if you know anything about fishing, and you haven't seen Hank Patterson on You Tube, do so. He is HILARIOUS)        

Utah 2014

 
                                               (August)
   

   Each year when my family and I are making our summer plans, us San Diegans make a trip to the Mountains (the real ones) almost mandatory, (yes, it is possible to grow tired of SoCal), and so that usually means a big long drive to the Sierras, or better yet, Utah. Usually we stay in the Provo-Orem area, because we have a lot of relatives there, and it almost seems like a home base for all of our extended family to visit, plus, its a really nice area. Last year, instead of staying at relatives houses on the valley floor, we decided to rent a cabin in the Provo Canyon directly beside the famous Provo River. This canyon has always been one my favorite places in our glorious USA, and since last year worked out amazingly, we decided to do it again this year. The only difference, I was prepared for Mr Trout. 
   
  

                                                            Deer Creek Reservoir
                                         
Below Deer Creek  Reservoir marks the beginning  of the lower section (my favorite part), where the river runs through a gorgeous canyon. Once the river flows out of the canyon, it turns into a suburban creek, with relatively few fish (except for the deep parts) all the way until it reaches the disgusting, carp infested, mosquito attracting creature we call Utah Lake. 

   The cabin we stay at is below DCR, on (literally within jumping distance) the lower Provo. 

The area around the cabin where I would usually fish has a lot of good holes and even an island.  This area has a lot of fish, and is pretty popular among the local guides, so it was not that uncommon for me to walk up to my designated area to find a guide and his clients already hooking up. I was probably the only person on the entire river that even had a spinning rod, and everybody else was fly fishing. 

But first, we took a small trip up the Uintas.

Mirror Lake 
   Mirror lake is a medium sized lake located in the High Uintas in northeastern Utah. Mirror lake is one of the most popular lakes in the Uintas, and thousands of people flock up here to camp, fish, or whatever. The Utah DNR stocks most lakes along the Mirror lake highway with 10-12 inch rainbow and brook trout raised in the Kamas Fish Hatchery. The DNR also stocks albino trout along the highway, although I have never seen one. Most people just chuck some power bait out there, and they are usually successful, however, people with boats, kayaks, and float tubes do much much better than any shore- fisherman.  

   

The pass

                                                        Teapot Lake:

On the way there, we stopped at the amazing Provo Falls, which was very nice. The Provo Falls is a series of must see stair step waterfalls along the north fork of the Provo River in the Uinta Mountains. These falls are directly beside the mirror lake highway, yet the dense pines make it hard to see the actual falls, which is why most people continue to drive on to higher lakes, thinking that they will get the full Uinta experience. This is pretty ironic because it is right here:  

 

This is the final (and only for most people) destination, Mirror Lake (which is definitely not bad)

When we arrived at mirror lake, I began to work the closest shore line with a silver and orange kastmaster. I saw fish surfacing about 60-70 yards out, but other than that, I didn't see a single fish until I came to the inlet directly next to the boat ramp. I switched to a red and gold mini jig, and when I stood up to cast it, I saw a school of 15-20 10 inch brown trout right in front of me. I had no idea that there were brown trout in this lake. I suspect the DNR dropped them off, but they could be residential. I got a couple of them to chase my jig, and some of them hung on for a while before spitting the hook. After messing around with those tiny cookies, I decided to investigate the little inlet, and sure enough, a couple of those cookies had found their way in, although they were not as friendly as the ones by the boat ramp. When the time came to leave, the only regret I had was that I left my camera in the car, so no pics of the lake (sorry). I'm sure I will be back for more in future years (and maybe I can check out teapot lake), but for now, those fish are safe from Hurke van Trout's frying pan.  

                      
        This doe is in the witness protection program, so we had to block her face

                                           
                                          The view looking back at the Uintas.
                                  

Provo River

  

My first fish (a rainbow 8) ) came on a pearl and pink Atomic Teaser mini jig from a good pool next to the island.

   

The next was a brown on a white Lip Ripperz, who was waaaay back in some bushes.

                                       
                                      Check out the spots on him

 
This one came in similar fashion as the brown. (sorry about the bad camera angle, it really does not do justice to her) 

  

   Some more browns on a Glow Mice Tail from the pool at the end of the island.

   
  
  

                               This one had some pretty nice spotting on his back. 

   After that I decided to try out other colors besides white, and a pink power worm caught me this:

   The biggest of the trip on another white Mice Tail, from a pool that gets pounded by guides

    He was actually blind in one eye, but that didn't seem to affect his size! 

   
My next (and last) fish came on (shocker) another Glow Mice Tail, on the other side of the island by an old beaver dam. He wasn't very big at all, but still a nice way to end my 2012-2013 trout season.    

  

This years' trip to Utah saw some pretty good fishing (even though the fish were not that big), and now I am looking forward to Trout season down here in SoCal even more. 

                   

Conclusion: The Provo River is still one of the awesomest places in the USA.






-Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, (and the fishes of the sea) I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; (D&C section 89:12)

-keep sore liping 'em readers 

(BTW, if you know anything about fishing, and you haven't seen Hank Patterson on You Tube, do so. He is HILARIOUS)