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Busch Wildlife Area, Rabbit Run, Lake Whetzell, and Kaskakia River below Lake Carlyle 13-26 April 2008
A warm spell finally brough the pond temperatures into the sixties, making bluegill, bass, and crappie respond to nymph, and in a few cases, poppers.
The #10 peacock nymph worked will under an indicatior in most cases at the ponds, with a few extra bass on a #6 floating white zonker. In the Kaskaskia the water is
very high, and will stay high for a while. FIsh near flooded roads and trees below the dam in the shallows with anything that looks like or is a worm and you will
score with catfish, carp, buffalo, drum, and gar. Dont forget creek flooded areas that will hold bullheads and carp aplenty. Below the dam itself, white bass will respond to 1" florescent green jigs or flies fished close in the fast water.
Baldwin Lake IL and others 08-22 Mar 08
Lots of spots were too cold, but again Baldwin Lake kicks out fish, even on cold early spring days. It is also one of a few places to catch channel catfish on the fly.
A white zonker under an indicator took the honors for the the catfish, though a popper worked well for bluegill. Using spinning gear and shad or silversides,
Bass and Catfish responded.
Baldwin Lake IL 23 Feb 08
Finally decided the gas expense was worth finding a sure thing, especially when every lake and river is ice covered. This powerplant lake never dissapoints, and
it provided plenty of action with catfish (in extreme numbers), bluegill, drum, and bass. In addition to the classic red chenelle fly tied on a black jig head below an indicator,
resulting in catfish on the flyrod, any bait will work, including minnows, worms, and anything else sitting in the trunk. Spring hurry up!
Clarksville MO LD 23 Mississippi River 24 Jan 08
Happy New Year! and man is it cold up here! All the lakes except Baldwin are frozen, as are most of the rivers and creeks near my home, so it is Eagle time. We tripped down highway 79 (a.k.a. Little DIxie Highway) to Clarksville
Missouri on an especially cold afternoon (12 degrees F w/o wind chill, -11 w/wind) and took a peek below the LOck and Dam for these large feathered raptors. Any lock and dam with churning water from Chain of Rocks north to Iowa will hold plenty of bald eagles and clouds of river gulls.
The camera started to malfunction after about 20 minutes in the cold, but there were about 20 in flight looking for shad and another 100 or so in the trees on the Illinois side trying to stay warm. Hopefully it will warm enough for walleye next weekend.
San Diego CA 26-31 Dec 07
For those who have had enough of the MIdwestern Winter already, a trip to 'SoCal' and in particular San Diego will warm the body a bit.
It is not warm all the time, but warmer for sure, and the Bays and Ocean hold many biting fish this time of year within easy reach. For the non-anglers, Grey Whales are around, as are harbor seals (go to LaJolla Cove) and sea lions.
Not to mention excellent food (and many fish Taco places). In the bay, rent a skiff from Seaforth at Coronado or Mission Bay (though we focused at Coronado) and run out to the grassbeds and channel edges with your favorite
bass rod or fly rod (4lb to 10lb test spinning/baitcasting, 8-10wgt flyrod w/full sinking line 700 grains+/-) and bring softplastics, a good crankbait (for trolling) and/or shrimp imitating flies and clousers in brown/white/pink.
The spinning rod has the edge by far since it can drop either a 1/2oz-3/4oz jig head with gulp or soft plastic to the bottom quickly. Failing soft plastics, a 1/2oz kastmaster in silver works well. For the fly rodder, sinking line is very key, since your quarry likes to sit right on the bottom.
In both cases set up a drift (while watching for big boats and restricted zones) along the sloping depth contours, ones that go from 10ft-30ft in a hurry and sit near grass beds. The green bouy near Seaport Village/Embarcadero is one area, the beaches to red bouy off of Corornado are another. Catch and Release Spotted Sand Bass will pounce anything near their nose, as will Jacksmelt, Mackerels, and halibut.
Never forget to swing a straight running crankbait (a yo-zuri crystal minnow 4 inches to 6 inches long is an example) behind the skiff when running between drifts to nail the occasional bonito. Off the beach, via a half-day from Point Loma, before the end of the year, rockfish, sculpins, and barred sand bass will nail a classic drop shot rig (the one favored by bassers) using a 4oz weight and soft plastic in chartruese and white fished in 60feet or less over rocks and kelp, or sand near rocks and kelp. Remember your fish ID book and venting tool for any bloated rockfish, so that the
old rockies can make it back to the bottom safely (fyi. most 'short lived' rockfish, are at least 1 year old per inch length, and some much older to the tune of 80 years old to 200 years old for a 15 incher, so release them if possible, and avoid fishing too deep in areas w/them when out of season, your grandkids will thank you).
Lake Taneycomo Branson MO and Busch Wildlife Area Weldon Springs MO 17-18 Nov 2007
The standard crowd split two ways to catch trout this time, a few staying near home to hit the catch and release lakes of the Urban Stocking program at Busch Wildlife Area,
and a few heading to Lake Taneycomo to try for the last of the spawning/post-spawn browns and fat rainbows. The local boys caught two nice fish stocked in the Busch lakes on wolly worms, nymphs, and glowballs.
The T-como group nailed fat rainbows 12"-19" on unweighted nickle-sized glowballs and #18 scuds, with only a few browns taking any offering.
Busch Wildlife Area Weldon Springs MO 10 Nov 2007
Had to skip opening weekend of local trout fishing due to the Missouri Wildlife Art Festival (slow traffic but some nice folks got some of my photographic work and books),
but the fishing on the 10th made up for the lost time. Nearly every fly had a shot, my choice was the #14 crackleback fished on the surface or just below. Many trout were caught and released, with
a few fish using schooling to knock nymphs and amphipods from the shallow vegitation (I bet a scud or caddis would work also).
Retention Dam on the Salt River near New London MO 27 Oct 2007
Sneaking in a bit of warm water fishing before cold weather trout season can reap rewards. In this case a trip to the spillway below the dam below the Mark Twain Lake dam (say that 5 times fast) resulted in
many fish such as nice white bass on spoons and crappie and largemouth on poppers, nymphs, and dry flies.
Indiana Creeks and Chicago Lakefront 19-21 Oct 2007
Very few salmon anywhere, with cohos being the predominant species. While the weather was great, the fishing was very slow, and the fewest salmon yest seen on one of our trips to the
creeks and harbors. Whether due to moon phase, weather, or fish population density is not certain, but it was tough fishing for the few fish around. The one coho kept was skinner than expected, and hit a 1/8oz little cleo,
with hits also comming in on #6 glowballs on the fly, and clouser headed wooly boogers. Other species were hitting, with plenty of large chubs and a few bass, including a decent largemouth caught and released
near Shedds aquarium, on many lures and flies.
Howell Island and Perquque Creek MO 09 Oct 07
Two things that make fishing in October interesting from a big river perspective: one--all the fish need to fatten up for winter and
two-most years the weather is nice. Hot temps are around this year, but carp were feeding well in the smaller tributaries. Black Carp and Grass Carp
are surface feeding and will taste any florescent yellow or chartruese fly, or any leaf that looks like one. Bluegill are also on the feed
even in the warm afternoons and will hit a variety of flies. On the bigger waters, like the slough near Howell Island, shad are feeding heavliy on phytoplankton
bringing in gar, drum, catfish, and all the basses. A twitch bait or similar will work, though a live shad will work best, especially fished
on light line and using a small hook and split shot well above the hook.
Mississippi River, Chain of Rocks 02 Oct 07
Warm days make for tough fishing except in the mornings at Chain of Rocks. Those who got there early (not me--I slept in :0) caught lots of white bass, those who slept in
caught a few herring and smaller drum. Both hit #8 stonefly and #6 black wooly buggers fished near the bottom on weighted line or with split shots.
Creeks and Cuivre River in St. Charles County MO 23 Sept 07
The dog days and low water make fish very wary in the smaller creeks and rivers, but they will still bite on a woolly worm fished on a long leader
or a twitch bait on an ultralight spinning rod.
Mississippi River, Winfield MO 08-15Sept 2007
The big river broken record is playing all the dog days of summer and early fall. In the Mississippi River above the locks, large freshwater drum
feed on zebra mussels, shad, and blueback herring. A live or fresh shad pitched into the deep water on stout tackle will attract these under appreciated
fish. The bigger the shad (or herring) the bigger the drum, with 3lbs to 15lbs very typical. A heavy barge traffic day only makes them bite better, as the
drum feed heavily on the opening of the locks. A rotten shrimp or ball of worms on a circle hook may also get a few channel and flathead catfish as a bonus.
Use circle hooks to allow easy release, and sash style weights to minimize hang-ups (though those will still happen).
St. Charles MO Riverfront 23 Aug, 25 Aug,1 Sep 2007
The old wingdikes and riverfront near the Lewis and Clark departure point in Saint Charles Missouri offer lazy catfishing and carping
for those who want to dare the walk out on the slippery rocks (yes they can be dangerous, be careful) or from the safer mud banks. The classic catfish and carp baits
work for tightlining, freelining, or bobbering into the current. The Carp typically sit near the numerous ditch and creek mouths, and love corn and red worms, while
large catfish can be caught in the current eddies using larger baits, such as cut fresh shad. In the main current on the bottom, shovelnose sturgeon and drum
will eat a worm. Big weights are the rule in the current, but many large fish are present, and if you get skunked, you can always clean up and stroll the shops a block away on Main Street in Old Town.
Columbia Bottom St. Louis County, MO 11 Aug 07
Hot weather means catfish at night and early morning, though during the day those cats are a might bit smaller. JUst above the confluence channel catfish
from 8" to 15" were legion, and using an ultralight and a circle hook (to avoid deep hooking these pints) with worm they can be fun for as long as you can stand the heat.
Meramec Springs and Meramec River St. James MO 28 Jul 07
Trout parks are all about competition, so I like to not even start fishing till around lunch, and use a flyrod at that :0) Large Globalls and
cracklebacks proved irresisable to the stocker rainbows, and when I moved to the trophy area, the same #18 crackleback proved very effective, with many catches+releases. Canoe
jams, aside, this is a good trophy area.
Chain of Rocks 22 Jul 07
Dropping water finally exposed the sand bar, and a jig on the sprinning rod
or chenelle fly under an indicator for the flyrod caught a few
small white bass and drum. The dog days have indeed arrived here.
Middle and South Boulder Creeks, Boulder CO 16-19 Jul 07
Boulder Creek above Boulder proper produces small browns and cutthroats quite regularly, and a white streamer or dry (#14) on 2lb tippet will get hit.
Likewise, little cutthroats inhabit the waters of El Dorado canyon and also hit white streamers. Fish them slow and wiggly and they will get hit there too.
If you fish Eldorado Canyon, just remember the foxes show up at dark!
Saverton Dam (IL Side) 07 Jul 07 (its 7-7-7 day)
Its a lucky day for one of the best spots on the Mississippi River, and the white bass are biting! White was the color this time, and even in 98 degree heat
white bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and hybrids (along with goldeyes, catfish, and herring) bit on white/silver spoons and jigs or flyrod heaved #6 streamers and zonkers.
Bring lots of water!
Lake Taneycomo, Branson MO 30 Jun-04 Jul 07
Its a classic spot to celebrate Independence Day, and firecrackers aren't the only thing popping. Table Rock Dam is doing daily early releases, but not all releases
are enough to totally chase off the waders by the dam. Cracklebacks and zonkers again produced well every morning, with the bite going strong till around 2PM. Downtown
Branson is now nearly complete, and a mall straddles the old downtown waterfront, but a set of docks above Roarke Creek are re-fishable. Boatwise, Roarke Creek to Cooper Creek
had schools of biters on the surface, and they hit everything from glow-balls on the fly to powerbait on the spinner and everything in between. The new hatchery stream is almost done as well
with a fish ladder and new raceways!
Saverton Dam IL side Miss. River 24 Jun 07
This place was so good we had to go back the following weekend. We were NOT disappointed. Initially, we were a little concerned with the sudden rise in water over the dam, forcing us to fish near the parking lot,
but the flowing water also brought on a bite along the entire length of the dam, and as the water receded, we fished and caught all the way out to the locks. The fish concentrated within a few feet of the waterfalls created by the flow over, and blasted silversides and silvery minnows with abandon.
Clouds of 1lb-4lb drum formed between the white waters, herring blasted in the outflow, and white bass fed everywhere. A simple red chenille wrapped 1/80th oz black jig head fished below an indicator caught everything, while a jig head with a white drop shot minnow caught fish on spinning gear. A silvery minnow
fished on a jig head also caught fish every cast, and added catfish to the tally. Once the water retreated, a trip out to the locks produced all the bighead carp you wanted to catch, provided you had 50lb spectra available to pull them out of the current. Catfish were boiling everywhere, and would have probably hit anything on the surface...but a person can only fight so many fish :0
Saverton Dam IL side Miss. River 16 Jun 07
The water dropped below the high water side of the dam, exposing and drying a place to walk out to the maelstrom near the gates of the lock itself.
Despite the 98F 90% humidity, the walk was worth it. Silvery minnows and silversides were being blasted by a wide variety of gamefish, making a legendary day of fishing.
A spinning rod with culy tail jig pitched to the water whirlpooling from the open gates was pounced by drum, white bass, and flathead catfish. Switch to a small zonker with tungsten bead on a flyrod and get herring, drum, and white bass. A 2"-3" spoon
pitched far into the fast water and reeled VERY fast was hit by much larger white bass(2 to 3lbs+) and very large bighead carp (8lbs+). If you weren't catching (and releasing in our case) over 30 fish this day,
you weren't there. It was very fast paced all day, and only an empty water supply at 3PM drove us back to the parking lot, though the fish were still
blasting the surface. Too bad every day isn't this good.
Creve Coeur Upper Lake MO and Creeks 08 Jun 07
If you like catfish, now is the time! While boats raced on the main Creve Coeur lake, I took my sis and niece to the much quieter, though fairly unfished (though well walked around)
upper Creve Coeur lake. Fill a #8 hook with whole kernel can corn on 4lb test, and NO weight, and pitch 10 yards off the bank near any structure. Bread works also. In a few minutes bullheads and 10"-14" channel catfish zoomed in
and ate with abandon, allowing even a novice angler to catch a few fish even mid afternoon. Why corn? Surrounding this lake are hundreds of acres of prime cornfields, which flood every spring and let the lake and creek resident fish have a corn dinner each high water.
In the big rivers, a barge loading area has a similar corn-fed catfish and carp crowd. Using a fly rod, a #14 black thread jig or streamer will get crappie and bluegill in the same spots. We nailed and released (too many fish already in the freezer)
5 catfish in under 50 mins...they bite that fast.
In the creeks the bass are slowing down and heading to deeper water, but bluegill and green sunfish will still hit a well placed fly.
Winfield MO Sandy Slough and Perque Creek 1-3 Jun 07
Warm waters coupled with a rise in water levels to pre-drought conditions and a full moon lead to excellent fishing almost anywhere you dropped a hook.
In the sloughs of the Mississippi River a boom in silvery minnow and silverside populations resulted in a feast for a wide range of piscatorial
predators from herring and white bass, to rock dwelling small and largemouth bass. The rising waters also made omnivores like catfish, drum, and carp
put on the feed bag as well. For the bass and catfish, you had to match the hatch very closely, and a live silvery minnow on a bobber worked excellently.
For the drum, the standard cut shad worked wonders, including for the monster we caught late in the day.
For the carp, whole kernel corn from the can on 4lb to 8lb line as usual lead to fine carp catching.
As in the sloughs, the creeks have also returned to full levels, and beastly bass have run up the creeks from larger waters as well. These creek bass will nail any fly or soft plastic that
looks like a meal and is presented on light tippets of 2 to 4lb.
Boulder Creek, Barker Resevoir,Gross Resevoir, CO 14-19 May 07
High rains turned the creeks into brown races, but the revevoirs were clear, but tough. Boulder creek at the lower ends was the domain of
kayakers, who finally had enough water to float this normally small creek, and they could have it, since
the fish had more than enough real food comming in that a fly was lost to them in the turbid waters. Therefore, I took a trip up the Barker Resevoir near Nederland,
and commensed decoding the fish there. A ton of flies and methods later, the way to get the very picky fish of Barker ceneterd around a
very small indicator, 4 feet above a #18 tan scud fished near the rocky points. Using determination and patience, a few rainbows responded. Gross Lake, on the other hand hand
much more aggressive fish, which tapped the scud, but also tried to eat the indicator. A little experimenting, and lots of observation,
lead me to believe that the trout of Barker were munching dark colored minnows (sculpins, small trouts). A bead headed
black wooly worm on a long 2# leader was the ticket, and while the trout were still hard to hook, they did smash that fly with relish. Moral of the story,
patience, observation, and experimentation!
Indian Creek MO 12 May 07
Sometimes a very small creek can hold excellent catch and release fishing, and a wadable creek at a new park nearby
was such an example. This creek is a tributary to a tributary to a tribuatry of the Mississippi River, with no obstruction seperating it
from Old Man River, and therefore any species of fish can swim upstream on a wet spring like this one. These moving fish
complement resident species like many minnows, bluegill, green sunfish, bullheads, and large and smallmouth bass. Larger black basses move up from the bigger waters to feed
followed by drum, walleye, sauger, suckers, carp, and gar. In other words, a fly or lure pitched into this
creek can be eaten by anything! In our case, we caught many smaller to decent (on 2lb test or tippet) black basses, a lone walleye, and huge numbers of other sunfishes, punctuated by
shiners, studfish, and gar. Since these are fragile systems, care must be taken to avoid tromping through spawning beds, or keeping any of the core resident species. Find a good creek
near you, pick up the lightest gear you have, and enjoy a day in nature.
Carlyle Spillway and Lake Carlyle IL 5 May 2007
Anywhere is a good spot when the weather is good in the spring, and both spots we checked produced.
In the spillway, sauger, white bass, and drum all hit jigs or flies fished slow on the bottom. Also, small nymphs fished
under an indicator then twicthed slowly produced a wide wavriety of fish. In the main lake, the same flies and techniques
produced bluegill, bass, and crappie, while cut fresh shad worked very well for mid-sized channel catfish.
Busch Wildlife Area MO 28/29 Apr 2007
The spring pattern has settled in, with popper pouncing bluegill and bass and streamer smashing crappie
in every pond and creek. Spawning carp are afoot with bass sitting on the edge of the rolling activity, and
a lure or streamer will get pounced! Spring this year has also brought an increase in water
for the midwest, and all the waterways are pushing back to normal levels. In short, get fishing!
Perquque Creek, MO River, and Busch Wildlife Area, St. Charles Co, MO and Carlyle Lake Spillway, IL 14 April-22 April 07
Wild Weather and high water made fishing the past two weekends trying but possible. The small creeks boast a wide variety of fishes, especially those that hit one of the big rivers, and a little creek
near home had a few channel cats to catch. A week later, warm weather made fishing a much better proposition, and the walleye and sauger, along with crappie, finally made a showing in the river
below Lake Carlyle, hitting small curly tail jigs, or alternatively, a white/chartruse wooly bugger behind a split shot for the flyrodder. The big MO and MS are still very high and only a few small drum could be talked into biting, though the
shad were very plentiful. The small ponds, however, are the stars rgiht now, as crappie, bluegills, redears, and bass all are in full feeding mode. A popper flipped on the surface behind a 2lb flourocarbon tippt
will be smacked with abandon along gravelly shallows and shorelines as spring frogs and hoppers are around, and the sunfish clan is near spawning and very hungry. On less than popper days, pull out the #6 wooly worm/bugger on the fly, or a small jig for bass action aplenty.
Islamorada FL 28 March-2 April 2007
Tide and Weather wait on no man, and on this trip wind and Tide/Moon Phase were key. Normall I plan around moon phase and look for optimal weather months,
but sometimes you just have to plan time when you can get it. The wind prevented any trip to the reef edge on the Atlantic side 3 out of 4 days, with even Hawk Channel
out of reach (safe reach in a 21' Center console rented at Budn'Mary's) 2.5/4 days. That said, if you are going to be 'stuck' fishing inshore anywhere, Islamorada
is about as good as it gets. The day we did get to the deep stuff a few Mahi's popped into the spread, but not the monster schools that will appear in a month, and both small sharks and
a few ceros and snappers could be caught between 55 and 75 feet of water (sharks, mostly sharpnose, in 120 feet of water). On the inshore days, anchoring near the edges of the channels
around the bridges allowed catch and releasing of smaller snappers and groupers, and an occasional shot
at tarpon from 20lb to over 100lbs. The tarpon during the day preferred fresh mullet, which could be obtained with a large cast net. Remeber there is a big difference between hooking a
tarpon and landing one, and our hook-ups rarely made it past the first jump, though each hook-up raised the heartrate by quite a bit! When fishing in the full moon, whihc is good tarpon and snapper fishing, remeber to also
look around for the sea snails swimming near the surface, very interesting animals to watch. And as always take an eating trip to Mangrove Mikes for breakfast :0)
Kaskaskia River Old Channel and Main Channel in Carlyle IL, 24 Mar 07
Only a few very small sauger were present in the main channel, but it won't be long until they are legion. Meanwhile, the old channel is shallow and warm and loaded with
small white bass and crappie. THis weekend, the white bass readily ate any lure 1"-2" long in white/chartruese such as 1/32oz jig and curly tail, rooster tail, or
or for they flyrodder wooly boogers and streamers. The bass were not monsters, but fun catch and release fish to break into spring.
Lake Wetzel, OFallon MO and Chain of Rocks, Mississippi River, IL 10-11 Mar 2007
Still no walleyes, though saw lots of migrating American White Pelicans, but the warm spell did open up the pond nearby long enough to take my niece
out to catch and release a few early bluegill on wax worms, and a few myself on #18 dry flies. Next weekend should be the real start of the sauger/walleye run.
Alton Lock and Dam and Winfield Lock and Dam, Mississippi River MO, 27 Jan and 3 Feb 2007
Courtesy of some of the coldest weather in 5 winters, fishing was out on the rivers (though we did poke for a short while for Walleye-none caught), but Eagle watching is in.
Since it is a colder winter this year, Bald Eagles come south, and use the opportunity to feed off of the Gizzard Shad that have trouble coping with the cold and rapids below the dams. Eagles take station
on trees overlooking the river near these dams and build nests. Hundreds of eagles can be seen on a good day with a good set of binoculars and strong zoom lens, either on nests, zooming over the water, or plucking dinner from
the frothy rapids. A few eagles even station on ice flows and then dip down to nail an unwary fish. I hope it warms soon!
Homossasa River, Merritt ISland NWR Beach Near Titusville, Bridges over Indian and Banana Rivers near Port Canaveral 25-31 Dec 2006
Happy New Year to all. A trip to Orlando FL over the big break provided a full mixed bag of fishing on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Starting at the bridges over
the Indian and Banana rivers, we caught very few fish, mostly sea robins, puffers, etc. and saw thousands of big mullet speeding to the deeper ocean water. Normally a
soft plastic on a 3/8 jig head produces well, as do live shrimp and shrimp peices, all on 4lb-8lb gear, but due to cold water-not happening here. We hit the Homosassa River for a little
manatee viewing and fishing, however, and found pay dirt...tons of ladyfish on anything from soft plastics to spoons, to flies 1"-3" in size (on 6wgt to 8wgt gear). Shrimp and crazy charlie flies near the spring
at sunset also produced black drum, grey snappers, and sheepshead. Bouyed by the good fishing at Homosassa (where we returned in two days) we hit the
beach at Merritt Island and fished the warmer Atlantic on the incomming tide. Whiting and pompano were present for shrimp pitchers who used 4oz pyramid weights and small hooks,
but pitching a chartruese slab spoon (1oz+/-) on a 25lb flourocarbon leader and spectra or 10lb mono main line produced small bluefish and small jack crevelle while the
waves allowed the fish to come in close. There is no wading deep in that surf however, due to strong wave and current, so stay short (knee deep or less preferably) and avoid the man-o-wars drifting everywhere.
Chain of Rocks 9 Dec 06
While we waited for the lakes to thaw and roads to clear out at the Urban Stocking Program trout ponds (that was an impressive ice and snow storm)
we tripped over to Chain of Rocks to pitch jigs for Walleyes and Sauger (another good alternative would have been the 1.5 hr drive to Baldwin lake for catfish o'plenty, but I was time constrained)
and while seeing plenty of gulls and pelicans (with a few eagles for good measure) we were skunked. However, it is always good to get out on the river to dodge cabin fever.
Busch Wildlife Area near Weldon Springs MO and Lock and Dam at Saverton MO 17 and 20-26 Nov 2006
As per usual the stokcer trout are ready to play at Busch Wildlife Area in the catch and release lakes 21 and 28 (fly/lure only till 1 Feb 07), and
a wide variety of flies work. Dry flies #14 work at sunrise and sunset while wollyboogers in #8-#10 olive w/bead and nymphs under indicators (anything #10-#18). The locka nd Dam at Saverton is
also loaded with fish, primarily saugers, carp, and flatheads, with saugers and flatheads falling to persistant cast and very slow retrieve of
soft plastics on jig heads (rigged drop shot if current is bad). Carp will eat worms and corn and Drum will eat fresh shad pieces. Fish before freeze out!
Once the lakes freeze, hit the powerplant lakes like Baldwin Lake for catfish aplenty (and a few blues), or fish for the big Blues in the river is the ice is not too bad.
Chicago IL Harbors-Shedds, Belmont, Montrose 5-6 Nov 2006
The last salmon trip of the year usually features sightings of many large schools of salmon and a few steelhead in the harbors (see
5/6 Nov 2005 and previous below). This year the run seems to be 0ne month ahead of schedule, and most of the mature salmon have met their
maker in the backs of the harbors (Pacific Salmons are semelparous..they live just 3-5 years, spawn once in the place they were hatched or stocked, and then die. In Illinois, the spawning is
not good in the harbors where this run of salmon were first released...which is ok because they aleady released the run of 2009/2010 in the harbor--and they and the steelheads
need the protien of a few carcassas for pre-winter food). We saw less than one-third of last years fish schools. With live shinners, we eaked out 2 Chinooks and one 10lb
male steelhead (they ignored flies, etc.--kept only one chinook for fresh dinner, released the other chinook and steelhead).
Next year's run shoul be stronger, but even so, it is always fun to take in the fall scenery and the Chi-town skyline.
Chain of Rocks (Mississippi River) IL 28 Oct 2006
The white bass are now few and far between on this big river spot, and the walleye and sauger have not quite appeared yet,
but if you toss small soft plastics rigged above a 2oz weight and work the jigs slow, you never know what will bite.
This time, we caught white bass (a few), blue catfish, golden redhorse, bigmouth buffalo, among many species.
Boulder+Broomfield CO-23/24 Oct 2006
Ahead of the big snow of 26 October I snuck in a few minutes fishing Boulder Creek with the white/chartruese #14 dry fly, and as per usual, it surrendered
a few small cutthroats and browns for catch and release fun on the 3wgt fly rod. Pitch it over a likely looking pocket of water and if the fish are there
they will jump it.
Indiana Creeks-Salt, Little Calumet between Porter and Valparaiso IN 20-22 Oct 2006
What a difference low pressure and a month make. While we nailed the moon phase, we did count on a direct overflight by a low pressure systme
(see last years Chicago Harbor trip). While the salmon were present in smaller number than in September, and were moving as predicted by the moon phase,
their desire to bite waned as the pressure dropped. Even so, the 2-4 lb cohos and 8lb-12lb chinooks hit #8 black flies, #6 green butt skunk with hour-glass
eyes on 10lb flourocarbon tippets on the fly and 1/8 oz little cleos and #6 spinners on the spinning gear. Always fun to match skills against
these creeks and fish, even if they are less than anxious to bite. As a consolation prize, before the system hit, a few rock bass provided a nice warm-up from the harbors
on small crankbaits and jigs.
Chain of Rocks, IL Side 14 Oct 2006
THe cooler weather has created a feeding frenzy for white bass and hybrids. The boiling waters of the Mississippi River below
the Chain of Rocks are not to be taken lightly, but by pitching a white Krockodile (1/2 oz) on superbraid or 4lb mono, one can
catch many 1-3lb white bass, and 2-4lb hybrids in the mornings. They fight VERY hard, so keep that drag well adjusted!
Near Boulder and Nederland CO 19/20 Sep 2006
Now for salmonids in the Rockies (I think I may travel a bit much?). Boulder Creek as per usual granted small browns and cutthroats, but for a change of pace, take a trip to Gross
or Barker Resevoirs. Contrary to popular belief, both are fishable with a flyrod, though Barker is more fisher frendly with easier access. On eithe lake, try and indicator with nymph such as the mysis or chenelle bug
patterns on winder days, and dry flies or wolly boogers on less windy days. Also, The branches of Boulder Creek below each dam are
good spots for good trout, just avoid the cougars.
Portage, Valpraiso, and Burns Harbor IN 16-17 Sept 06
Back to the fish. Using the weather and New Moon as a guide, and guessing the correct spot and method to pick off the early migrating
Lake Michigan Cohos and Chinooks, and dodging munchkins and wizards, we selected a spot on the upper portion of a certain creek to catch lots of salmon. Muddy waters did not stop
5lb-9lb Cohos and 10-16lb Chinooks from ingesting #6 skunk pattern flies and #8 flo-yellow glowballs on 14lb flourocarbon tippets (with a split shot 10in above the fly). Likewise downstream
a spinner did the duty for a few scattered biters in the chocolate milk waters behind logs. The next day clearer water required a drop in
tippet to 10lb, but the same flies still produced, as did small cleo spoons and spinners fished slowly.
Lock and Dam 22, Mississippi River, near Saverton MO 28 Aug 06
Again, a trip to Saverton proves good, and for more than just the herring, bass, and drum. A migrating swarm of Monarchs dropped by for a
photo opportunity also!
MO River -Weldon Springs MO and Columbia Bottom 23/24 Aug 06
The water has come up, then dropped again, and a try for the flatheads in the MO river yielded goldeyes and drum instead. Silver Carp of many sizes were also around, and have become a very numerous invasive!
Mississippi River Chain of Rocks and Saverton Dam 12 Aug 06 and 19 Aug 06
Low water has definitely slowed the river fishing down, but fish are still to be had for the persistant. Saverton again had lots of drum for
jig or flyrod w/zonker catch and release action (they do have worms this time of year but fight well). The Chain of Rocks has lots of baby herring
which can be fun on the fly, and if so inclined, make AOK bait for catfish in the rapids if you can reach them with a boat or cast in the early morn or late evening. (and hold it in them)
Rain and cooler temps should improve conditions greatly heading into mid September
Lock and Dam 25 (Winfield MO) Mississippi River and Sandy Slough 05 Aug 06
LAst weekend was local ponding for bluegill with the 4wgt, but this week was back to the mighty Miss.
for the big freshwater drum of the dog days of summer. First a little detour for a few pics at the very low Sandy Slough
for pictures of birds enjoying the shallow water feeding: Gulls, Blue and White Herons, and Canadian Geese. The low phase
of the slough is critical for not only these birds, but to oxygenate and fix nitrogen into the sloughs mud and sand bottom. The
rejuvinated, grass covered bottom, will hold many small fish and invertebrates in the spring of '07, leading to good fishing in the future.
For now, the trickle of water holds silvery minnows, small shad, and silversides, and legions of long and short nosed gar. A few hardy
common carp and bowfins alos stir the bottom, since these fish can each obtain oxygen from the air above the low oxygen warm
and turbid waters of the slough. The river above the dam was fairly clear (as clear as the Mississippi gets-even with zebra mussels)
and shad and shrimp were gobbled up by 4-8lb drum and 1-3lb channel cats. Worms lead to carp and buffalo, and small drum. We made many attempts at
tossing small wolly worms and yarn bugs on the fly to the fast cruising 10lb-30lb bighead carp, but they were only interested
in zooplankton (this time :0).
Lock and Dam 22, Mississippi River, near Saverton MO 22 July 2006
While quite a drive up Hwy79 or Hwy61 to Hannibal,this lock and dam has good fishing always for something, usually for Skipjack Herring.
This time however, the herring were gone, but the low water concentrated silvery minnows and silversides
for a feeding frenzy for drum, white bass, hybrid striped bass, and smallmouth bass.
For me, a zonker fly on my 6wgt flyrod got drum and smallmouth, but for my brother either a freelined
silverminow or 1/8th oz curlytail jig produced everything, including an 8lb hybrid.
A grass carp also decided to inhale first my strike indicator,
then inhale and run off with my orange chenelle bug. Lots of hard fighting fish make this a fun trip anytime. Also, don't forget to
pitch corn or worms near the shoreline along the banks for carp and channel cats a'plenty
Lake Tanneycomo and Bull Shoals near Branson MO 1-4 July 2006
In addition to stars and stripes, fireworks, and Sousa music, US Independence Day offers a good time to kick back with the
family and share some prime fishing time. Due to low flows from Table Rock Dam, the trout were slower than normal (which is still good)
in T-como, with the usual 8"-17" rainbows and browns below the dam biting at first light and before mid-day on zonkers, glow-balls, cracklebacks, and wiggletails.
In the main lake, trout activity was uplake from the green, phytoplankton rich, waters of Branson proper, from the bridges to Falls Creek, on the typical crankbaits, powerbaits, and kastmasters.
Since the dam was sometimes running, another spot in Bull Shoals also became active with nice hybrids Wipers, Brown Trout, and Rainbow Trout, on live shad and jigs.
In short, good relaxation was had by all.
Boulder Creek near Boulder CO 28/29 June 2006
For a change of pace, I hauled the fly rod out on a business trip to Denver, and using the handy guide "Fishing Close to Home" sent to me by the Colorado DNR
I took a 20 minute drive up into the canyons to try for a few wilder cutthroats. While any white fly seemed to get bit and shook, only my #14
white crackleback fished subsurface was attractive enough to hook the feisty 6"-10" cutthroats and browns.
Islamorada FL (Florida Keys-Atlantic and Gulf) 17-23 MAy 06
Just can't avoid the draw of the clear waters, big fish, and laid back attitude of the Keys, especially when you can get a
low cost room at the Sunset Inn, eat Breakfast every day at Mangrove Mikes, and rent a 21' Mako from Bud n Marys. It really is a doable trip for anyone.
We brought our handheld GPS, charts, 12# flygear, and 15-20lb trolling and spinning gear to this Valhalla of fishing, and it did not disapoint!
We left the dock each day, made bee line for the reef edge (after buying a few blocks of chum), caught a few ballyhoo as insurance, then hit the
60-90 foot contour reef edge, with a few forays into the electric blue waters and sargasso bed in 200 feet of water. ON the contour were
legions of 20"-30" mahi-mahi around the scattered sargassum, and they readily smashed a little stubby in purple trolled at 8 miles per hour. ON each hookup, chunks
of ballyhoo and chum were used to bring in the rest of the school, and a pandamonium of screaming drags on fly gear and spinning gear ensued. Once board with the schoolies,
a deeper trolled nailed larger mahis, as did a chum and drift. For the real beasts, we journeyed to a weedline in 225 feet of water due east of Alligator light, and set of a drift with the live ballyhoo, chunks of ballyhoo, and a chum bag,
and again brought in fly-roddable schoolies, but also a 30lb cow mahi, king mackerel, and blackfin tuna. If that wasn't enough, the reefs in 25-60 feet of water still held
the standard ceros and snappers for a jigger or fly rodder to catch. Still not enough, well just ditch the boat and head for the nearest bridge on slack tide, and bring fresh chunnks of ballyhoo, or live mullet or pinfish and catch tarpon and snappers till the armns hurt.
It just doesn't get any better :0)
Lake Taneycomo, Branson MO 21-23 APr 06
Wow does Branson need rain! The lakes are the lowest seen in 20 years, but Taneycomo still provides spectacular trouting. WHite Zonkers, Wiggletail nymphs, glowballs, and cracklebacks fished sub-surface caught
jillions of 8"-12" rainbows,and a few 15"+ browns and rainbows. Triple digit catch and relase flyfishing every day near the upper boat ramps. In other words, get on the waders, grab a novice flyrodder, and get them here to catch fish.
East Chicago and Portage IN; Salt, Trail, and Little Calumet (East Branch) Creeks,24-28 Mar 2006
Landed no spring steelies (they were too interested in mating mostly, but we did hook 3 that escaped),
we did catch tons of large white suckers (1-4 lbs). Likewise, it was early for the harbors, but a few cohos snuck in on the days that had
south winds (for future reference wind from on shore = upwell = clear water = lots of fish!). For the steelies, small flies in #10-#8 in black or mysis patternson 8lb leader
caught the legions of suckers and hooked the few steelies willing to bite. The cohos off the Jerose pier and in the Harbors
hit #4 Panther martins when present fished on 4lb test.
Chain of Rocks IL side 28/29 Jan 2006
While there are still easy to catch trout at Busch Wildelife and other parks due to the Winter Stocking program, and baby catchfish a plenty at
Baldwin Lake, we hit the Mississsippi River for walleye, and while tough fishing, the 12"-24" Saugers and Walleyes did
bit for those who use patience, a 2oz weight, and double twister tail jigs, fished very slow.
Pompano Beach and Islamorada FL 26-31 Dec 2005
With the Christmas seaon, the family all heads to a warmer clime for a week, and I again get to fish the fishermans Valhalla of
the Florida Keys. After a run up and down the coast from Jupiter to Miami, we had only caught a few blues and spanish mackeral
off the piers (small spanish on small jigs, medium blues on cut bait), we took the drive to Islamorada, caught breakfast a Mangrove Mikes (a must do)
and rented a center console from Bud'n Mary's to fish the reef. After setting up a drift in 20-50 Feet on the reef edge south
of the lighthouse, and deploying a bag of chum, ceros, snappers, and yellow jacks became easy pickings on anything from trolled rapalas
to flyrod tossed clousers and fathead minnows( White/Chartruese, flo-yellow), to crappie jigs on light spinning gear. A ballyhoo(sp) pitched with a small egg weight
netted a wide variety of fun to fight and release fighters in the form of grouper and sharks (and more mackerel). Sails were busting the
'hoos all over, but we couldn't get ourselves to leave the mackerel (maybe next time?). The fish were all returned to the reef to challenge someoneelse next time.
Top it off with all you can eat stone crab claws from any of the eateries on the way back north, and it is a day better than any mortal deserves in this life.
Chicago IL (Shedds and Burnham Harbor) 5/6 Nov 2005
Never have a seen so many salmon, yet caught so few. We saw many schools 20 fish strong of chinooks and cohos, each school shadowed
by a large steelie or brown, but while it rained hard, we were skunked on fly, spin, and bait. The next day however, with drier weather came dumber fish,
and a whole nightcrawler or cooked shrimp below a drop float caught nice fat salmon to rescue the trip!
Valparaiso IN, Salt Creek and Little Calument 1/2 Oct 2005
Lots of Salmon in the Creeks days before the new moon, and the #6 orange rabbit strip zonker got them well. For my spinning brothers, the 3/8oz little cleo in
silver and orange worked for them, as did the pink power worm/yellow jig head. Tons of small to medium Cohos and Chinooks using a
slow twitch on the bottom and 10lb line or tippet. Use a rod with backbone or these fish will own you in a small creek like the Salt.
East Chicago IN, Portage IN, and Trail Creek/Michigan City IN 21-23 July 2005
We gave a shot at landing a few of those husky Skemania Steelhead on the full moon, but ended with just 1 steelie due to rain four days before,
lots of channel catfish and bluegill, Northern Rock Bass, a few Crappie and chubs, and of coarse gobies.
The lone steelie came on a pool with a steep undercut on Trail Creek near Hwy 20, using a 11wgt rod (using 8 wgt floating level fly line)
10lb flourocarbon tippet, and #6 white mysis shrimp pattern behind a 1/32oz splitshot. The 28" 10lb male put up
a valiant effort and after landing and a quick pic I attempted revive and relase, but the warm water didn't let the fish
recover and after he belly-uped I put him in the ice chest (and performed a dissection, had only a few small shrimp in the largely
empty gut, orange meat, but otherwise very healthy). We saw only a few other steelies that day, and ended up fishing the Trail Creek Harbor
using shrimp, butterworms, and nightcrawlers only to land bluegill and 1-2lb channel cats (all released). The Little Cal in
Indiana Dunes was free of steelhead, but had crappie, chubs, and rock bass that were fun to catch as incidentals.
Relocation to Jerose Park in East Chicago resulted in good action for Rock Bass which pounced any lure the big gobies didn't get to first.
We also got bit off (likely by small pike) on goby strips on a weight cast into the cooler deep water. Once the heat hit 103 the fish stopped
completely and we headed home.
St Andrews SP, Panama City FL and Big Pine Key FL 31 May-10 June 2005
Mostly a Biology Research Trip for me, but I did sneek in a little fishing here and there :0)
Big Pine had lots of small tarpon in the harbors, larger tarpon, small 'cudas, and Gray Snappers under the bridge supports and surrounding grass beds, but watch out for the Goliath Groupers who sit near the pillings and eat
snappers for lunch! on the deeper reefs Jolthead porgies and snappers (YT and Gray) provided plenty of pics and fun. Add in a snorkel trip to Looe Key preserve to see
the fish and coral at home. In deeper water (600ft) mahi-mahi and wahoos prowl the Plentiful Sargassum.
Chain of Rocks , Mississippi River, IL 7 May 2005
Flyrod Catch and release fun at its finest with many, many Skipjack Herring that jump, fight , and flip, and readily and very swiftly devore any minnowlike fly moved VERY fast.
4lb tippet (they are not line shy!) and a weighted mylar minnow, white and yellow marabou or flashabou streamer, or brown wooly worm all were prime.
Waders are a key but use LOTs of caution as the current is VERY dangerous here. Soon the 8lb to 50lb carp and drum will make an appearance
(Did get snapped off once on this trip) and the 11wgt and shooting head will have to come out, as these big fish can run you ragged in the current, and will take a well presented fly (lots of skill on pursuit and fight)
East Chicago IN and Waukegan IL 23/24 April 2005
Cruising Browns at Jerose Park and a few cohos were the fishes on this trip. The Cruising browns, moving along the rocks were munching the super-sized
gobies since the alewives were yet to arrive. They did however hit large roaches, and we caught 2, one at 8lbs and one at 5lbs. The next day after
going fishless on the pier and south rocks at Waukegan we again hit Jerose and while we saw and hooked several 1-2lb cohos on orange speedtrap minnows,
we landed none (VERY frustrating!)
Lake Carlyle Spillway Feb, March, April
Lots of white bass but no real monsters (8"-14" mostly) and strangely very few walleye or saugers (usually a hotbed of fish!)
all on curlytail jigs (chartruese body, 1/16oz head, 2lb-4lb test--very slow on the bottom).
Islamorada FLorida 28Jan-1Feb 05
Back to the sun and sea after multiple months of fishing for stocker rainbows(Busch Wildlife Area Lakes 28 and 21)
and little powerplant channel catfish (Baldwin lake IL). Not that those fish werent fun and plentiful, but it does a body good
to get a full dose of a world class fishing spot midwinter with my brothers. After a dirt cheap direct flight into Miami where we were greeted by 70 F temps and sun,
we took a nice drive south to Islamorada and the Sunset Inn where we stayed (not a bad place, run by the same folks as the Bluefin Inn as well, and right next to mangrove Mikes for the best breakfast in the keys bar none).
Within one hour of dropping off the bags and getting lunch at the Islamorada Fish Co. (another excellent eatery with an outstanding deck over the Gulf complete with pet snappers and nurse sharks),
we flopped our lines under a bridge and tied into numerous 4-6lb Jack Crevalle and 1-2lb Mangrove Snappers (the Jacks on Pilchards and Spoons, the snappers on the fly witha #6 Crazy Charlie and #6 Mysis Shrimp).
The next day a boat rental from Bud n Mary's got us out to the reef where we caught and released Grunts, Snappers, and a decent Grouper, before the wave chased us into the Gulf. The Next day the wind was horrendous, so we parked near one of the grass flats (the previous cold front sent the Tarpon, Trout, and Bonefish to deeper waters) where we flyrodded Bluerunners, Jack Crevalle, a few Macks, and Leatherjackets all day (#6 clousers white/chartruese, 4lb tippet).
The Last day we got back out to the reef, saw one sailfish (no hookup), caught and released another nice grouper, and many ceros and snappers. We each had snap off my unseen foes. The reef action was south of allegator light on a drift over 45feet.
All in all, lots of small fish but a great break from the snow...Salmon and steelies in Lake Michigan in 2 months....
Yellowtail Snappers and Baitfish behind the boat in 45 feet (very clear waters!!)
Black Grouper comming up before release (didn't want to lift him out of the water)
An interesting Reef fish with a mean pull --The Yellow Jack
Another beautiful January Sunset in the Keys over the Mangroves
Trail CReek and Little Calumet Creek (MIchigan City Indiana) 15 Oct 04
Made two exploratory trips to MIchigan City after the last run in with the Skemania Steelhead.
The september trip saw us fishing 8 spots, and we covered Trail Creek from top to bottom (Ridge Park access to the Harbor),
The Port of Indiana, and Little Calumet CReek on the edge on Indiana Dunes, and Portage Harbor.
In all we knew septmber would be early, but wanted to scope our spots before the bigger run in October.
On the september trip, a few steelies were still around, and a few small cohos made appeareances. The Steelies again were fooled with the softshell crawfish pattern tied on #6 hooks while the coho wanted rabbit strip flies and #4 Pathern Martin spinners, but in both cases fish were scattered and few.
On the new moon in October (which is when Salmon really make their run-- think like a Pacific Coast fish in its home turf--
it is dark so you can evade bears and seals, the tides are large so you can slip accross the mouth of the creek easy, though there are neither brown bears or seals around Lake Michigan)
we returned and as predicted the run was in full swing on both Trail and Little Calumet. The chinooks and cohos both hit 3/4" nuclear white glowballs, and rabbit strip flies in magenta or orange. In spinning tackle, the 1/2oz silver/orange little cleo was the ticket, with the #4 panther martin running second. The runs are quick on these creeks and lasted from
the day of the New Moon to 2 days after, slowing dratically by that Sunday. All said we took home a 15lb and 6 lb chinook and 3 lb coho, which is all we needed, though we caught 6 fish total (and got snapped or tossed by a dozen more). These two creek have earned a place in my next book for sure!
TRail Creek INdiana- July 2004
Finished the Second Book, and to celebrate made a trip first to South Bend then to Trail Creek in Indiana for a bit of summer Steelhead action. The fish in the St. Joeseph River in Mishawaka and South Bend were very leary though easy to see and due to the warm water (70+/-) where also noin a biting mood.
The walleye however were, and using a 6" floater/diver crankbait I caught a nice 24" fish, along with numerous smaller walleyes and suckers on worms.
Since this was a steelhead trip we hit Trail Creek on the way home, and it tunred out to be a totally different story-- we saw many fresh silver steelies from 4lbs to 20+lbs, that were engulfing any unfortuate
crayfish that stumbled thier way. This creek however is very small and every pool has a log pile on each end, so while we hooked several on mysis shrimp aptterns (size #6) and crayfish patterns (softshell craw in size #4), landing them proved quite difficult on our undergunned leaders (4# and 6#--who knew?). Next time the 10# and 14# tippets are comming out!!!
Destin FL June 2004
While this trip proved doom to my boat (now it is a donation to the American Cancer Society, the motor ate a little sand and 2 cylenders wnet south :0( ) there were lots of fish,
from ladyfish and spanish mackeral that ate 4" white streamers with abandon, to 100lb blacktip sharks at the outside end of the pass, to big Spanish mackeral on the Pier (a #3 west coats style iron in flo yellow and green was the ticket), to line snapping
red snappers 10 miles out (a calm day trip-- 50lb+ leaders a must!!), there were fish a plenty
Waukegan IL May 2004
While the water was ROUGH!! a few hours a day was all it took to load the coolers with fresh coho. They were sitting in 25 feet just outside the harbor mouth, and the 50 degree water had them and many brown very active. We used 3oz bannana weights 8feet above a, orange 3/0 dodger and green fly to nail most, though many also hit the small Speedtrap crankbait trolled on 4# line. Watch the conditions, but the 2.5 mph troll just past the buoys was all that was required to catch fish from sunup to 11AM (the water was too rough to stay out any later).
Baldwin Lake IL 24 January 2004
Finally finished with my first book
The Combat-Fishing Guide to Bransons Lake Taneycomo and
did some prime winter catfishing at this powerplant fed lake.
The trout from the urban stocking program are still around, and catch and release season is well underway at the trout parks
(Note My buddy caught and released an estimated 12lb rainbow at Roaring river-congrats Mike D.), but as far as the trout lakes in the St. Louis Area are concerned,
an ice blanket is giving the trout a rest.
That is AOK with me, as Baldwin lake gets even better as the bitter cold sets in, and this weekend was no exception. Lots of 9"-14" catfish will readily bite any bait, though the threadfin shad that carpet the underwater rocks on the north dam are prime. Downsize the gear to 4lb test or less, use #4 hooks and small weights, and just pitch the small shad 10 yards off the bank.
You will catch tons of catfish, and you are doing the lake a great favor by taking home a dozen for a fish fry (this will allow the population to thin out and grow up). You can also flip a nymph on a flyrod for crappie and sunfish that are in summer mode.
Dress warm and be prepared to walk 1/4 mile to hit the prime spots
- San Diego CA Bay Dec 26 2003 -Jan 3 2004
- A good vacation can get the mind going again and rejuvenate the body. The whole family burned a years worth of frequent flyer miles to hit one of my favorite winter fishing spots-San Diego Bay.
Courtesy of a few days of rental boats from Coronado Boat Rentals we trolled Crystal Minnows (6" Clown color) at the skiffs top speed to catch Bonito on the edge of the channels, and used everything from flyrods with deep sinking lines and crazy charlies to Krokodile spoons to
leadheads with dropshot minnows and bass assassins to catch and realease literally hundreds of Spotted and Barred Sand bass on 4lb line, along with halibut, more Bonitos, baracuda, jack smelt, mackerel, croakers, and a speckled fin midshipman.
On the rainy days we fished off the end of the Sunset Beach Pier, ate lobster tacos and drank expresso from the Piers cafe, and used squid on 4lb line and size #8 hooks to catch surfperch, queenfish, corvinas, and croakers a plenty, all while watching grey whales and sea lions play in the kelp bed.
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