4-30-11

Today I guided Steve and Debbie for stripers. We launched at 5:45 AM and headed South. We went to the Red Sea and started with minnows. Within minutes Steve had a fish on and Debbie was quick to follow. We kept on catching fish until all of the boats showed up and I headed South. Almost every where that we stopped we caught fish all of the way down to Lupes Bend. There were alot of small fish today but we managed to put some nice ones in the box for dinner. In total we caught around 25 stripers of which 10-12 were keepers. The North wind was miserable but we made the best of it. Steve had the 2 biggest fish of the day with 1 being a 10 pound hen that was released and the other being a 12 pound male that we boxed. It was a great day on the water and I will be back at it on Monday.

Casey

4-29-11

Today I guided Leo and Pete for stripers. I decided to head South today to see what was down river. We launched at Ward's Landing and headed South. We stopped South of Lovey's Landing and wormed a couple of rock walls, but the fish were not there so we kept moving. The lovely North wind started ripping by 7:00 AM, so we gave up on the worm and put on minnows. As we reached the bottom of the Red Sea we started getting bit. Leo was the first to strike and Pete was closely behind. We kept moving down the wall when we got into the big school and had a triple hook up. We made 6 more passes in this spot resulting in 4 more triple hookups and a couple of doubles. When the fleet of boats hit I again headed South to see what else was down there. We hit all of the likely spots on the way down and they all were holding a few fish. We fished down to Grimes and then headed back up stream. On the way back up we stopped and trolled a couple of rock walls and managed to pick up another 6 fish. We ended the trip at 11:30 AM having caught more than enough keeper sized fish. Leo caught the biggest fish of the day which was a 10 pound hen that was released. It was constant action all morning and we had a great time.

Casey

4-28-11

Today I guided Dan and Cameron for some striper action. We hit the water at 5:30 AM and started working the banks with the rubber worm. We caught a total of 18 fish on the worm of which most were keeper sized fish. Once the sun got on the water we switched over to minnows and were able to catch another 15-20 fish. The action was almost non stop this morning and we were back to the ramp by 10:30 AM. We kept our limits of schoolie sized males from the 4-10 pound range. The biggest fish of the day was a 12 pound hen that was released to make babies. It was a great day on the water with plenty of action for all.

Casey 

4-26-11

Today I guided Keith, Jerry, and Gerry on a striper trip. We met at 5:30 launched the boat and headed to my usual starting point. We threw the anchor, got the lines out and paitently awaited the first fish. The minnows were nervous but when we did not immediately get a couple of fish I knew we were going to have to leave old faithful. We sat tight for an hour and landed a couple of fish but they were small and the action was too slow for me so we pulled anchor and went in search of. We went up stream a 1/2 a mile and begin drifting minnows along a break line. As we started down the break I was marking fish on the graph and knew it would only be seconds before we hooked up. Keith was the first to hook up, with Jerry and Gerry closely behind resulting in a triple hook up. All of the fish were small so we released them and made another pass. We ended up catching 16 fish out of this spot and put a couple of nice fish in the box. We moved up to the next water line and caught a few more fish with one being a 5 pounder for the box. After a couple of passes we decided to move on to the next spot and it was loaded with fish. We got a triple on 5 pounders the first pass, a double on 3-4 pounders the second pass, followed by another double of keepers on the thirds pass. We kept working our way down the bank and found another wad of fish at the bottom of the run resulting in another double. We kept at it and made a few more passes hooking up multiple times each pass. We kept the rest of the fish that we needed to get limits and then headed down stream to see if we could catch a sturgeon. We got anchored up where I had seen several sturgeon roll over the last couple of days, baited up and got the lines in the water. We never did get a sturgeon to bite but we did hook several nice sized stripers that were quickly released to fight another day. It was a great day on the water, with plenty of action. I will be in the hills tomorrow chasing pigs and back on the water by Thursday for some more striper action. The fish are finally starting to hold so the fishing should go wide open in the next couple of days. I will keep you posted!!

Casey

4-25-11 (PM)

This afternoon I guided Joel and Dillon Sanders on a striper trip. We hit the water at 12:30 and were off of the water by 5:00 with limits of schoolie stripers for both the guys. We headed up river and dropped anchor in a likely spot. Within about 10 minutes Joel hooked up with a nice sized keeper and Dillon was close to follow landing a 10 pound hen that was quickly let go. The action was not red hot but was very steady and got better when the river quieted down between boats. The duo caught around 20 fish on minnows and sardines with only about 5 of them being shakers. Again most of the fish were schoolie sized stripers in the 2-5 pound range. The afternoon trips have been as productive as the mornings so I will continue to do them as long as the clients are calling. Give me a call at (530)682-3176 to book a trip of your own.

Casey

4-25-11 (AM)

Today I guided Cal Kellogg and Sheldon Bright from the Fish Sniffer Magazine. We hit the water at 5:45 AM and right off the bat we had red hot action. As soon as we got anchored up I casted out 2 rods with minnows on them and started to walk a third minnow rod back when I got the first hit. I hooked the fish and before I could hand the rod off another 1 went down and we had a double. As soon as we landed both of those fish we looked over and had another on the third rod. The action was almost non stop for the first 2 hours and we managed to land 25 stripers of which most of them were keeper sized. The bulk of the fish were in the 22"-25" range and a few were shakers. We let the bulk of the fish go and ended up keeping limits of schoolie sized fish for the table. We were off of the water by 10:00 AM. You can read the full story in the next Fish Sniffer Magazine.

Casey

4-22-11

Today I guided Dan and Bill for stripers. We met at 5:45, launched the boat and headed up river. We did not go far before we stopped and got anchored up. Within minutes we caught a couple of  keepers and then the waiting game began. We sat tight for about an hour and as it started to get light it was evident that the water had risen a couple of feet and turned chocolate brown. We were not having much action so we headed up river to see what we could find. We were getting bit at every spot that we stopped but all of the fish were small so we kept traveling up river. We went as far as the Maxwell pumps and caught a fish here and there but not the big numbers that we had been catching. We decided to head back down river to the first spot that we fished and it turned out to be a good decision. We fished the hole for 22 minutes and landed 13 keeper stripers, keeping 6 for the box. We headed in with limits of nice schoolie sized males in the 3-8 pound range. It was a little tougher fishing today, but I am sure it will be hot again as soon as the water clears. I am headed to the hills for a couple of days but will be back on the water Monday.

Casey

4-21-11

Today I guided Dick and Rudy for their weekly striper trip. We launched the boat at 5:45 AM and headed up around the corner and dropped the anchor. It took all of 20 seconds for Dick to hook up and bring in the first keeper fish of the morning. Within 20 minutes we had landed 10 keepers and 4 shakers. We sat there until 7:30 AM and boated a few more fish before we decided to move on. We moved a mile or so up river and set the anchor along a water line in 8 feet of water. Again Dick was the first to strike with Rudy following closely behind. We caught another 15 fish and kept 6 fish in the 6-8 pound range for the box. The big fish today was a 12 pound hen that Rudy caught and released to fight another day. We were off the water by 10:30 AM. I am back at it tomorrow and will post up another report as soon as I get in.

Casey 

4-20-11

Today I guided Gary and Dan on a turkey hunt. We met up in Maxwell and headed up to the ranch to see what we could we do. I had been up scouting and had a good idea where were some toms were hanging out so we gave it a try. We walked in and got set up but the birds were silent and no where to be found so we moved on. We went further into the ranch and kept stopping to call but nothing would respond so we decided to get set up and see what came by. We sat there for an hour with no response so we got up and headed back towards the ranger. As we were making our way back we heard a gobble South of us and away we went. We headed into the direction that I had heard the gobble and I stopped to call a couple of times and the toms answered back, so again we got set up. I put Gary and Dan out front and I crawled into a gully behind them and started to call. Within minutes the 2 toms were coming in all puffed up and strutting their stuff for our hen decoys. We watched them for a few minutes and finally I gave the guys the OK to shoot and down they went. With almost a simultaneous shot the 2 jakes fell dead in the decoys. It was a great time and a hunt I will always remember. 

Andy

4-20-11

Today I guided Larry and Tom on a striper fishing trip. We met at 5:45 AM and headed up stream to see what we could find. We anchored up on a seam in 8 feet of water and threw out some minnows. Tom was the first to hook up landing a nice keeper, however, he was quickly out done by Larry who landed a 15 pound male. We sat tight and landed another 15 fish of which nearly all of them were keepers and one was another 15 pounder that Tom released after a quick photo. We sat in this spot until 10:00 and the fish came and went. When the action died off we moved to another spot down stream and again it was fish on. We landed another 10 fish and then called it a day by 11:30AM. We had a great time and the guys are ready to come back when the rubber worm bite turns on. Stay tuned I will be back after them tomorrow.

Casey

   

4-19-11

Today I guided Justin Hariz on a pig hunt. We met at 5:00 AM and headed to the ranch to see what the morning would bring. We left the parking lot and headed into the first big canyon stopping to glass along the way. We had just crested the ridge and started into the next canyon when I spotted a lone boar making his way towards us. We threw a quick plan together and headed down the ridge on foot to try and intercept the boar. We got in place and ready to shoot just as the boar rounded the corner. I quickly ranged the boar at 225 yards and Justin took his shot. He hit the boar square in the shoulder and he crumpled. The boar ended up being 225 pounds with 2.5 inch cutters. This was Justin's first big game kill and the head is at the taxidermist, so he will always be able to remember the hunt.

Jake

    










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4-17-11 PM

I had a bunch of left over minnows from the morning trip so I called Ultra and his better half and told them to come catch some fish. We left the boat ramp and headed up stream to try a spot that looked good this morning. We got anchored up and it was fish on!!! We sat there and proceed to catch another 20 plus fish with the majority of them being keepers. We burned thru the rest of the minnows and put 6 in the box for fish taco's. The biggest fish this afternoon was a 12 pound hen that Ultra decided to let go. Again it was steady action and alot of fun. I am going to start doing morning and afternoon trips next week, as the fish are thick and everyone wants to get out there. Give me a call at (530)682-3176 to book your trip now!!!!

Casey

4-17-11 AM

Today I guided Allen and Denise Wells, and Dave and DJ Lacroix on a striper fishing trip. We met at the Colusa State Park at 5:45 AM launched the boat and headed up stream. We began the morning working our way up the river trolling and managed to catch 5 fish on lures but the fish were scattered so we came up with a new game plan. We found a likely spot and anchored up with minnows as the bait of choice. Within minutes we had a hook up and a nice 8 pounder in the box. We continued to catch fish after fish on the minnows. Most of the fish were keeper sized but we did catch 6 or 8 shakers of the 25 fish that we landed. The big fish today was a 14 pound hen that Denise chose to let go for the sake of our future fisherman. It was a great morning on the water and we headed in at 11:30 AM, so that the guys could get back to their tractors.

Casey

4-16-11

Today I guided Mark Cooper and Gary Clave on a pig hunt. We met in Maxwell at 5:00 AM and headed to the ranch. After filling out the log book we headed out to a vantage point to see what day light would bring. As the sky started to lighten we spotted a group of hogs leaving the water hole and headed for the brush. We quickly took off to try and get ahead of the hogs and setup for a shot. We had just got into the saddle that I thought that they were going to come thru when I looked up and there they were. The guys only had seconds to shoot before they got into the brush and Gary made the best of it, putting the smack down on a 100 pound meat sow. As soon as we got Gary's hog gutted and loaded we went in search of a hog for Mark. We drove around and checked some of the usual spots but were not able to spot any others out and about so we went to plan B and headed for the brush. I got Mark set up and made a push towards him with hopes of pushing out a hog to Mark. I was about half way thru the brush patch when I heard the crack of Mark's rifle and knew he had connected. I had pushed a lone boar out of the patch and it came right to Mark where he put a great shot on it at a mere 20 yards. It was another great hunt and I am already looking forward to the next one.

Andy

4-14-11

We pounded the stripers again today!!! Today I guided Pete Jung of Sacramento and Bill Karr, editor of Western Outdoor News. Pete has been itching to catch some fish and Bill was in need of an On-The-Spot story for next weeks magazine, so off we went. We launched the boat at Boyd's Pump at 6:15 AM and powered down the river to the mouth of the bear. We pulled out the trusty trolling rods and began our search where I had left the fish on Tuesday. Within minutes we landed a small keeper but it was evident that the school had moved down with the lowered water flows so down the river we went in search of the fish. We started fishing again about a 1/4 mile above the Nicholaus bridge and it did not take long to get into the action. Within and hour and a half we had boated 25 fish and when the fleet of other fisherman started to show up we headed down stream to find some more fish. We got into another nice school about 1/4 mile below the bridge and managed to catch another 15 fish. We boxed 6 nice sized males for the dinner table and made our way back to the boat ramp. It was 10:30 when we called it quits and headed in. The hot lure again today was a white Yozuri with a red head. It looks as if the Sacramento River is starting to shape up and I will be switching rivers next week, in search of some bigger fish.

You can read the whole story of Today's trip in the April 22 issue of WON.

Casey

4-12-11

I have been off of the river for a few days now but today I got back on the water. I met clients Dick and Rudy this morning in Nicholaus and we headed down to Verona to launch the boat. I had figured that the fish would be some where between the Bear river and Verona by now with the water still dropping but boy was I wrong. We launched at Verona and started fishing right away. We trolled at the mouth of the Feather and worked our way all the way up to the Nicholaus bridge with only a few grabs and no fish landed. We then went above the bridge and began to pick up a fish here and there, and it looked as if we had found them. We made our way up the East side of the river towards the Mouth of the Bear. The closer we got to the Bear river the better the fishing got and within a couple of hours we had landed 35 legal stripers and a handful of shakers. Most of the fish were again in the 3-6 pound range with the biggest of the day caught being 14 pounds. The 14 pounder was a female and she was released to fight another day. We trolled Yozuri deep divers over on the mud line and the hot color of the day was again a white lure with a red head. It was a great day on the water with a couple of great guys. Dick has another trip booked for the 20TH so stay tuned, you will see him on the blog again shortly!

Casey

4-8-11

This morning I headed to the Feather again. I brought along good friend Carl Zenor and was supposed to meet 2 clients at the boat ramp at 6:00 AM, but they never showed. I waited for them until 6:45AM but they never showed, so off we went. I headed up to Shanghi Bend but after a couple of passes it was evident that the fish had moved and with the water dropping I figured they had slid downstream so we went in search mode. I trolled both of the places that I had caught fish at yesterday with no success so we just kept working our way down stream. We finally got into a small wad of fish about a mile above the Bear River and managed to catch 12 legal fish. We then moved down to the mouth of the Bear River along the mud line and that is where things got interesting. Within seconds we had a double hook up and proceeded to troll up and down along the mud line catching 5-10 fish per pass. It did not matter what direction that we trolled or what color lure that we used, the fish were stacked in there thick and they wanted to eat!! We caught at least 40 fish with most of them being in the 3-6 pound class. There does not seem to be many big fish around but for what the fish are lacking in quality they are making up in quantity. It was constant action once we found the fish and we had a blast. I only wish the clients could have experienced the fishing as it was RED HOT!!

I still have plenty of openings for this spring and we will be offering afternoon trips as well for those of you who do not like the 5:00 AM wake up calls. Give me a call at (530)682-3176 and get your trip on the book today.

Casey  

4-7-11

Today I guided Dan, Chuck, and Derek on a striper fishing trip. We met at the Boyd's Pump boat ramp on the Feather River at 6:00 AM, launched the boat and headed up towards Shanghi Bend. We began trolling just below the rapids on the East side of the river and it did not take long to get into the fish. Within minutes Chuck hooked up and landed a nice 8 pound male that went into the box. We spent a couple of hours in the area trolling both up stream and down stream and landed around 20 stripers. When all of the boats started to show up we moved down stream towards the pump hole and picked up another 10 fish along the sand bar in 10-12 feet of water. We them went down and tried 1 last spot along the sand at Starr Bend and it proved to be a good decision. We were able to catch another 6 fish and the last one of the day for Chuck was a 12 pound hen that was quickly released after a photo session. All of our fish were caught trolling Yozuri deep divers, and white with a red head seemed to be the most productive color. Out of all of the fish that we caught 7 or 8 were undersized and the rest were nice sized schoolie males. It was a great trip with alot of action!

Casey

  

4-6-11 (PM)

Since I got home from the hills early today I figured I might as well go and do some scouting for Stripers since I had clients the next day. I grabbed Regina and my 2 kids Cade and Quinn and we headed for Boyd's Pump on the Feather River. We headed up stream towards Shanghi Bend and began trolling with Bomber and Yozuri deep divers. Cade was the first one to hook up, and landed a 20" male that quickly went into the fish box. The closer we got to the rapids the better the fishing was and before long each of us had caught a handful of fish. We were trolling up stream and catching 4-5 fish per pass and would then turn around and troll back down stream and pick up another 4-5 fish per pass. We ended the afternoon landing around 40 fish of which most of them were nice keeper sized males. We ended the trip with Cade saying " Dad I cant reel any more in my arms hurt!". We had a blast and it was great to get to spend some time on the water with my lovely wife and kids. We fished from 4PM-7PM and had non-stop action the whole time.

We have plenty of openings left for this spring, so don't miss out- book your trip today!!!   

Casey

4-6-11 (AM)

Today I had the pleasure of guiding Chris Conley and Scott Goulart on a pig hunt. We met at 5AM in Colusa and headed up to the ranch. After completing all of the necessary paper work we headed into the hills. I had seen pigs near a certain brush patch the last 2 weeks and decided today was the day to give them a little surprise. I had been seeing the pigs between 7:00-7:30 AM so we headed into the area first thing and got set up. Both of the guys were on the shooting sticks and ready to shoot when Chris spotted the pigs. They were a little ahead of schedule but we were ready for them. As the pigs started to move side hill down the trail I ranged them at 204 yards and told Chris to get on them. Once he had them in the scope I stopped the pigs and Chris took his shot dropping the smaller of the 2 sows in her tracks. Scott immediately got down on the ground with his bi pod and lined up on the other pig that was now running up hill. I tried to stop the pig but it was having none of it so Scott lined up and took the shot. At the report of the rifle the sow fell stone dead and rolled down towards the bottom of the canyon. After the high fives I checked my watch, it was 6:45 AM and the fun was over!! We walked across the canyon and found both of the pigs, rolled the guts out of them and began the drag back to the ranger. We had both of the pigs loaded by 8:30 and were making our way back to the truck. We stopped to take some photos and then headed to the barn to get the pigs cleaned up and skinned. We had the pigs at the local butcher by noon and the guys were on their way back home. This was a great hunt with a couple of good guys that assured me they will be back, so you have not seen the last of them.

Casey

 

4-4-11

I headed out this morning with a couple of good friends to do a little scouting on the Feather River for stripers. We hit the water at 7:00 AM and fished until 10:00 AM. We trolled for awhile and had a double hook up on spring run salmon, but could not get a stripers to hit the plugs so we switched to bait. We ended up catching 6 stripers of which 3 were nice sized keeper fish in the 5-10 pound range. The action was by no means fast and furious but we did not put alot of effort into it either. I just wanted to take a look before I start taking clients towards the end of the week. The water is running 48-49 degrees in the early mornings and warming to 53 degrees by the afternoon. The colder water makes the fish lethargic and less aggressive but I expect that to change any day. As soon as the water warms a bit the striper fishing should be off the hook. We still have several week days available in April and May, so don't hesitate to call if you would like to get out on the water. This should be the best season in several years on the Sacramento River as soon as it becomes fish able.

Casey

4-2-11

This morning I guided Robert and Pavel Miller on a pig hunt. Robert was to be the shooter and Pavel was just along for the ride to see what pig hunting was all about. We started the morning glassing all of the usual haunts and saw a few pigs early but they were in non accesible locations, so we continued to search. Again we spotted a group of 15-20 pigs but were unable to close the distance in time. We continued on glassing at every high point and spotted 3 pigs feeding up on the hill side and we tried to get ahead of them and get into position for a shot. We got to the top of the ridge and sat waiting but the pigs never appeared. They must have winded us as the wind was swirling and could not make its mind up as to what direction it was going to blow from. I then decided that we should back track and  take a look in the canyon that we had just come from to see if the pigs were moving later in the morning. As we drove along the ridge top I spotted movement on the opposite hill and Robert and I bailed out of the ranger to see if we could get a shot. We ran a ways down the hill and Robert got on the sticks and ready to shoot. As the pigs came out into the open I ranged them at 340 yards and Robert went to work on them. His first shot was true and he hammered a sow that was roughly 175 pounds. The rest of the group ran off into the brush and as we were glassing  the pig that he had already hit I looked uphill and saw that the others were making their way back down to their  fallen leader. Within seconds Robert was back on the sticks and had another nice sow down. Both of the pigs looked to be hit well but we decided to give them an hour before going over to take a look. The pigs were shot at 10:15 AM and at 11:15 I began to make my way across the canyon leaving Robert and Pavel at the original shot site in case the pigs were still alive and made a move down hill. As soon as I got to where I thought the first pig had fallen I was able to locate it dead in the bottom of the ravine, so I rolled the guts out of it and went in search of the second pig. I searched for quite awhile and finally found where the pig was standing when it was first shot. I found alot of blood and began following the trail as it appeared that the pig had side hilled around the mountain. I was taking my time and marking each place that i found blood when I came upon an area where the pig had laid down for awhile and then got up and moved again. By this time the blood was spotty and the pig kept swithching trails making the tracking very slow and tediuos. I had gone roughly a mile following blood when I lost the trail. I marked the last spot that I saw blood and began looking for freshly torn up dirt in hopes that I could find blood again. I eventually found blood on a trail headed down towards the creek and figured that I was getting close. I was within a 100 yards form the creek when I lost the trail again and sat down to take a break. As I sat there I started to hear rustling comeing from a poison oak patch a mere 30 yards down hill so I snuck down there to take a look. When I peered over the rock ledge into the poison oak I could see the pig taking his final breaths. After tracking the pig for over 3 hours up and down the hill the hunt was finally over and now it was time for the pack out. The canyon was to steep to get the ranger into so I packed the pigs out on my back. I made it back to the ranger with both pigs at 5:15PM. I was dog tired but very happy with the fact that I was able to locate both the pigs as I hate to see any shot animal go to waste. Robert and Pavel were very happy with the hunt and assured me that they will be back again next spring.