We had an awesome day yesterday fishing. 1st half of the day, 4 of us caught about 75 bluegill- all good sized on crickets and mini-jigs. 2nd half of the day we targeted Largemouth bass (all catch and release of course!). I got 15 of them as well as my brother. Our friends only got 5 between them. We got them on bass assasins, Zara Spooks, Hard jerkbaits, and No:1 killer was flylined 3" plastic worms shad colored on 6 lb test medium light spinning outfits. The fish were busting the water all over. The water was literally boiling! Snuff of choice all day? Of course- the best snuff to take when outdoors in the mountainsā¦no other choice will satisfy! WE Garrett! At one point, I also took a nice Chaw of some Levi Garett Chew. Itās pretty good, and the flavour really lasts, but itās a little too sweet for me. I also had some Ettan Snus. I really prefer natural tobacco flavour in my mouth. Ettan SNUS really hits the spot sometimes. With the Ettan in my lip, WE Garrett in my nose, and my fishing pole, I was pretty much in heaven all day. I even had a nice little swim in the lake. It was a great day in Santa Barbara, California. Thatās 3 great weekends in a row fishing, and I intend to do the same thing tomorrow. I donāt know why I love Garrett snuff so much in the mountains. At home, it tastes really strong to me, but in the mountains, it tastes just perfect. My friends are from the deep south. They were telling me all about their grandmothers dipping Garrett snuff with a spoon, so it brought back good memories. At one point, a buddy got stung by a bee and heās allergic. He was glad I had the garrett snuff, because (a little trick his Grandma taught him) he immediately put some Garrett snuff on it, and he said the burning was instantly gone!
I go surfcasting for stripers and blues. Do you do any ocean fishing out there on the left coast?
I had a terrible year fishing this year. The biggest fish I got was a 3 lbs large mouth. LAME!! Iām thinking about starting up fly fishing next year.
Thatās about the average size we caught this weekend. Thats a nice chunky one. Yeah, the last two weekends in a row, Iāve been fishing Newport bay on rented skiffs for halibut and spotted bay bass, but not doing to well. I plan on finally learning to fly fish this trout season. I havenāt tried striper fishing, but my brother does and they do pretty well on medium sized ones. They get really big around here. Next weekend Iāll be fishing the bay again for spotted bay bass mainly on live sardines. For some reason, when I ocean fish I do enjoy medicated snuffs. Itās about the only time I do. Does anyone else notice that this site āspell checks?ā I think itās great! Do you ever use yamamoto IKAās? Thatās probably my favorite bass bait, but right now, theyāre suspended around here or on topwater really good.
Hereās some pictures all in the last couple months. In case anyoneās wondering, WE Garrett was in my nose in every pic.
For bass I have great success ripping the Yo-Zurri crystal minnow series minnows. They work great for brown trout as well. Also I have fun with the 12" & 7" AC Plugs at any bass lake that has trout in it. And split shot worms. In the winter, the bass around here love black or purple bass jigs with a yamamoto twin tail grub trailer bounced slowly off the bottom. And if Iām on the boat & want to relax a little, Iāll switch to the live crawdads. bryan, I love it when your in the right place at the right time to be in the middle of the bass boiling. I remember a few years back I was fishing this cove when the bass started busting the shad hard. Every few seconds you would have a bass that actually jumped on shore & would flop back in. It didnāt really matter what you threw out then. When I go striper fishing on the local lake, we actually chase the boils. Nothing gets your heart pumping like a striper boil.
Yeah, it doesnāt really matter when theyāre boiling. They were even hitting buzz baits. Thatās the time when you try all the stuff youāve never caught fish on! I use those yo-zurriās, too. Drop-shotting was catching the suspended bass real good last weekend, too! Man, I love fishing.
NIce pix guys! Iām a trout guy and Ross Lake in the North Cascades, WA state is my yearly spot. No barbed hooks can be used, nor any bait, so we troll spoons and needlefish deep and we have some good luck. Iām also currently staying at my dadās place in the South Puget Sound area and salmon fishing was a letdown this year. It is nice though, to walk out into dadās backyard and be able to come back with a bucket of fresh clams and oysters 15 minutes laterā¦
What species of trout do you have there in Ross Lake? Sadly, here in CA the salmon fishing was put to a halt this season due to low numbers of salmon going through the ladders. A bucket of fresh clams & oysters would be good, I really like to go to the local river & gather cold water crawdads to eat. They are ācold waterā because I live in the mountains and the river is pretty cold. Much better tasting than warm water crawdads. Some of the higher elevation lakes around 7000-9000 ft. elevation have crawdads the size of small lobsters. Those make a good meal.
The trout at Ross are all rainbow, at least the majority and thatās the only legal fish. There rumored to be bulls and Dolly Varden too, but I havenāt seen a Dolly since I was a young kid, maybe 20 years ago. I have heard that about coldwater crawās, that sounds delicious.
I caught some dollyās in Alaska. They actually are a char. Interesting rig, though. Itās 6 lb test with a redish bead. Then a bloodknot below the bead with about a 1" leader of 6lb fluro. Attached to that is a single barbless hook. So, the trout bites the bead as it floats down river, you feel it very slightly, and then you have to set the hook fast or itās gone. When you catch them, the hook is actually often outside the mouth. I love crawdads, but only get the ones my buddy imports from Lousiana. I could probably it a few dozen easily. Coldwater dadsā sound really tasty.
They definatly are. They seem to be all over the place. Though honestly in my opinion they make much better fish bait as in sure they taste good but most of the fish Iāve caught with them have tasted much better.
bryan, when I was in Alaska, those dollyās wouldnāt stop hitting the Mepps Flying C lure. That thing was incredible on the varden.
I wouldnāt doubt it. We went fishing today. It started out good. 4 fish in 4 casts- barracuda, 2 sand bass and 1 spotted bay bass. Than until noon (when we went home) the fishing was nearly dead! Itās not cause weāre keeping them all, because we only keep one or two fish and throw the rest back every time! Iāll be going to France in a couple weeks on vacation, but Iāll be going up to the sierraās after that to do some fishing, I hope.
Gentlemen, you are making my SO jealous!!! I also try to fish and although I live in a seaside village, Iāve never been very good at it. But, I will take you on when it comes to mountain biking!!! I know itās a different kettle of fish (is this a pun?) but I must have SOMETHING to brag about!! Take care, all of you. Kind reagads Pieter
Pieter Claassen, There are some beautiful bike trails around here that you would absolutely love. You just have to keep one eye on the trail and one eye on the lookout for bears, mountain lions & bigfoot.
Pieter, If you canāt make it in California mountain biking, then come to Texas. Our whole state is as flat as you can get. No downhill hereā¦
Iām no pro mountain biker but I love to ride every chance I get. 9 out of 10 times I ride my bike to the post office when Iām mailing snuffboxes 
My contribution to the āgreenā cause. Iām sure Iām not the only one that gets constantly bombarded by goofy emails from friends and family. Got this one today. One morning the husband returns after several hours of > fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar > with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She > motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book. > > Along comes a Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up > alongside the woman and says, āGood morning, Maāam. > What are you doing?ā > āReading a book,ā she replies, (thinking, > āIsnāt that obvious?ā) > āYouāre in a Restricted Fishing Area,ā he > informs her > āIām sorry, officer, but Iām not fishing. > Iām readingā > āYes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know > you could start at any moment. Iāll have to take you in > and write you up.ā > āFor reading a book,ā she replies, > āYouāre in a Restricted Fishing Area,ā he > informs her again, > 'āIf you do that, Iāll have to charge you with > Sexual assault,ā says the > woman. > āBut I havenāt even touched you,ā says the game > warden. > āThatās true, but you have all the equipment. For > all I know you could start at any moment.ā > āHave a nice day maāam,ā and he left.
Subject: Never Ever Lie To A Woman! A man called home to his wife and said, āDarling , I have been asked to go fishing up in Canada with my boss & several of his friends. Weāll be gone for a week. This is a good opportunity for me to get that promotion Iāve been wanting, so could you please pack enough clothes for a week and set out my rod and fishing box, weāre leaving from the office & I will swing by the house to pick my things upā 'Oh! Please pack my new blue silk pyjamas. ā The wife thinks this sounds a bit fishy but being the good wife she is, did exactly what her husband asked. The following weekend he came home a little tired but otherwise looking good. The wife welcomed him home and asked if he caught many fish? He said, āYes! Lots of salmons, some bluegills, and a few swordfishes. But why didnāt you pack my new blue silk pyjamas like I asked you to Do?ā The wife replied, āI did, dear. Theyāre in your fishing box! ā¦ā
from the pictures you guys sure do have some good fishing on your side of the pond.