Sac River Smallmouth

Went out with Jason early on Saturday. Made it to the river before sunrise. The surface action was incredible when we launched. Fish were out of the water all over the place. I motored to the bank that has proven to be very productive the past few weeks, and we started throwing cranks. Within a few casts, we had our first bass, and that set the pace for the day. I quit counting fish in the boat after landing a dozen dinks before 8AM. Jason scored the big fish of the day, a nice smallmouth around 2.5lbs. It was a perfect morning on the water except for some yahoo who wanted my Cougar golf clubs so bad he, assuming it was a he because they were men's clubs, busted a window out of the Escape to get them. No major worries, found a piece of glass in town, and replaced it myself that afternoon. Thanks to Jason for keeping the bite hot! Fall fishing is here, and I am confident there are some great trips in the near future.

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Technology boost

I'm anxious to see how the iPhone can be used as a tool to help me while fishing. Live tide table access, gps mapping, and weather info will be nice to have at the fingertips on the water. I also installed an app very similar to the BASSTrack system used in pro tournaments to track all of my catches. Gear setups, water temp and clarity, time of day, tide conditions, and location information is recorded and stored in a database for future reference. As you roll into a location where a previous catch has been recorded, it will provide any common variables. Very cool stuff, and a great excuse to hit the water, as if I needed an excuse to go fishing.

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Fish of a Lifetime

Sunday morning, Jake and I got a late start, but were on the water by 8:30.   The rains came down pretty hard on us all the way to the launch at Elkhorn, but the skies showed signs of clearing as we pulled away from the dock.   Overall, the weather was just perfect for fishing.

I have been fishing the stretch of river near Elkhorn for the past few weeks, and have found fair numbers of bass on the steep rocky banks all along the west levee.   The back-trolling technique I have been practicing for a couple of weeks has allowed me to fish long stretches of the shore quickly and efficiently without having to drop anchor.  Today my intention was to use the technique the along a 1.5 mile long stretch of steep bank covered with large rocks along a 12' deep cut at the base of the levee.

As I positioned the boat facing into the current in 15' of water 20' off the rocks, the finder screen lit up with activity.  Large balls of bait just off the bottom rolled by with multiple large returns just above them.   This was definitely the spot to begin fishing.  I set Jake up with a fluke on a drop shot rig about 4' beneath a strike indicator.   I tied on a flutter spoon,  one of my signature Shakee-Head rigs, and a medium crankbait that Jake and I freshly painted earlier in the week.  The crank would ultimately be the only lure that actually hits the water.

First catch of the day

After putting Jake's line out his rod went into a holder near the rear of the boat where he could easily reel it in, Jake joined me on the front deck.  I picked up the crankbait first at Jake's request.  On the third cast, the rod doubled over, as a very strong and determined fish attempted to swim upriver with the plug.  After a short battle, a 20" striper landed on deck.   Jake was totally stoked.  "We caught a big one Daddy," he exclaimed.  Before I even snapped a pic and returned the fish to the water, Jake was ordering me to catch another one.


It would not be long before another fish would grab the lure and take off running.   The second strike was  a solid thud that nearly pulled the rod from my hands.  As the line peeled off the reel, the fish ran straight towards the middle of the river, and started to take the boat with it.  The fight that ensued was by far the longest, and most difficult I have ever had with a fish on the line.  It became pretty obvious to me within 10 seconds of the strike that this was a large fish, and not a bass.   For a good 6-8 minutes I fought the fish to the boat only to have it take off into the current again pulling line of the reel regardless of how tight I thumbed the spool.  I am certain that had the boat been anchored, the fish would have broken off as I attempted to reel it against the current on my feeble 10# flourocarbon line that was now stretched far beyond its design allotted.  Ultimately, under Jake's direction, we got the slab alongside the boat, and with a great heave, onto the floor of the deck.

Our Monster Catch

I couldn't help but let out a cheer, and Jake responded with a hoot of his own.   The display earned us a nice round of applause from a couple of shore anglers as well as a group in a passing fishing boat who had witnessed most of the action.  Our catch measured 24.5", which, according to most charts, weighs 8.8-9.2 lbs on average.  This is by far the largest fish I have ever pulled from the river, as well as my biggest fresh water catch.  The opportunity to catch this fish with Jake standing two feet away is absolutely my best lifetime fishing moment. 

 

 The fish was released unharmed after a couple of quick pictures, and Jake and I decided to take a rest for a minute.   After less than 20 minutes on the water, Jake had witnessed 40" and 15lbs of fish striper caught.  This would be a good limit for any striper fisherman, but for a bass guy, this is a world record.  I hope he doesn't think this is the way it always works out on the water.  We ate a Pop-Tart and drank some apple juice to calm down a bit.   Jake couldn't tell, but I was the happiest dad in the world to be there with him in that moment.  His response to what he just witnessed was, "Dad, can we catch some little fishies now?"

Big Smallie

Unfortunately for Jake, the smallest fish in the boat would turn out to be a solid 2.5 lb smallmouth, and we would also manage another smallie pushing 5 lbs. The rain would eventually force us to return to shore around 11, and even thou Jake wanted to stay for more, I truly had the best possible day on the water with him, and felt that we should save some for next time.  Thanks for being a great fishing buddy Jake!!!  We will most certainly do this again soon.

WOW, Crazy day on the Sac

I finished installing the carpet on the new trailer bunks on Saturday, so I headed to Discovery early Sunday morning to try out the new configuration.   The boat launched flawlessly, and is much more stable on the trailer with the weight distributed properly now.   After launch, I headed north to see how far I could go and check out the Salmon action.   The Salmon bite was non existent.   Only one fish was reported on Saturday to the DFG at Discovery, so I decided to focus on bass for the day.  After making the 10 mile run to the airport, I ran into two other bass guys hitting the bank pretty hard.   I watched how they handled the current by using their trolling motors without anchoring to cover long stretches of shoreline while back-trolling, a skill I really need to learn.  After struggling for awhile to hold my position between the two other boats, I began to figure out the technique.  After an hour or so of back trolling along a 300 yard stretch of rocky shore, I had 3 bass in the boat, and was maintaining boat position pretty well.   Over the next couple of hours, I worked the bank more efficiently than I ever have before in current, and was catching a few fish to show for it.

As the skiers began to arrive in droves, I decided to head back south towards Sac and try my new back-trolling skills in familiar waters.   About 2 miles south of the marina at I-5, a disabled boater flagged me down, and asked for a tow upstream to the marina.   His brand new 21' fiberglass speed boat w/ a 550cu in blown Ford had a massive fuel leak, and was taking on water. It took 45 minutes to pull the speedboat upriver to the launch, and every bit of power my little boat could muster to make the trip.  I never imagined it would be me pulling someone else out of a bad situation, but I was happy to help and even more happy that the boat, once again, performed flawlessly when pushed hard. 

All in all, the boat ran great, the fishing was better than it has been for weeks, I ventured farther than I ever have before on the river, I lent a helping hand to a person in need, learned a new technique that will greatly improve my overall fishing abilities, and made it home by 2.  Crazy day on the Sac.

Boat Trailer Gets Better Every Day

Rust on old roller carrier.

I'm not sure how many more issues I can have with this trailer, but I'm fairly certain that the rust has been eradicated at this point.   I removed the rear roller carrier that was badly rusted and opted to replace it with conventional bunks.  My hope is that the boat can now be driven onto the trailer with minimal effort and without the aid of a dock.   I still have to carpet the bunks, but I want to test the setup on the river this weekend before the carpet goes on.  Total cost of this fix was less than $40.  At the end of the day I still have a killer boat and a crappy trailer, but it is a little more functional crappy trailer now.

New bunks installed

Slow Day on the Sac

T50 Salmon Slayer

With the high temp in the 70s this weekend and overcast skies, I was anticipating some good action on the water.   I wasn't completely disappointed, but it certainly wasn't anything epic.   My first cast landed a SM on a spoon which turned out to be the only fish I put in the boat.   I had a few bits, and marked many fish, but no real takers.   The real excitement came in the form of a snagged tree limb I drug to the boat to retrieve my lodged brass, amongst the sticks was a wad of grass that contained a T50 Kwickfish, sardine wrap and all.  With Salmon season opener in 6 days, I'll take all of the fresh gear I can.   Its a bit scary that someone was poaching Salmon a little early, but at least I know that the areas I intend to fish for Salmon caught the attention of other anglers.   

Beautiful Sunday Morning back on the Sac

1.6lb Smallmouth

Jake and I finished the final repairs on the trailer yesterday, so this morning I headed to the river for a couple of hours on a completely unplanned excursion.    I was happy to be back on local waters after fishing Lake County two weeks ago.   I rolled to my favorite money hole and within a few minutes found the fish with my homemade shakee-jigs.  Dina and the boys met me on the river for a little family boating adventure, so Jake and I spent some time hitting the banks of the slough with no luck.   The boat towed and launched flawlessly.   I think the trailer issues are behind us now.

Capt'n Jake