6-27-11

Today I guided Jim and Toni for stripers. We met in Colusa and headed to Ward's Landing and launched the boat. We powered down river towards the Meridian Bridge and then began fishing. The bait of choice today was minnows and as we drifted our way down river we picked up 3-5 fish on almost every sand bar. We continued our way down stream all of the way to Lupes Bend catching a total of 32 fish of which only 1 was of legal size to keep. Most of the fish were in the 16"-17.5" range and though they fought well they just were not legal. I decided to make the run back up stream to Tuttles Pump and work our way back towards the boat ramp. Again all of the fish seemed to be small. As we made our way down the last drift Jim finally hooked a big fish and the battle began. Jim fought the fish to submission after 15 minutes and soon had his hands on a beautiful 35 pound fish. The fish was spawned out and would have tipped the scales at over 40 pounds had it not been. Again it was another great day on the water with plenty of action, but very few legal sized fish.

Casey

6-27-11

Today I guided Bryan Templeton and his son James on a pig hunt. We met in Colusa at 3:45 AM and headed up to the ranch. After completing the paperwork we hopped on the ranger and headed up the hill. We went to one of my favorite vantage points and got set up to begin glassing. Legal shooting light came and went and we had not seen any movement so we just sat tight as I figured the pigs were just taking their sweet time leaving the wheat fields this morning. At 6:45 we heard a pig squeal South East of our location so we switched our focus to that ridge and within minutes spotted a group of 10 pigs working their way down the ridge. At the angle they were headed it looked as if we could get in front of them before they got into the brush, so off we went. We worked our way down the hill and got set up along the trail that I figured they would be coming down. Within minutes we could hear them moving our direction and soon enough they were out in the wide open and coming straight for us. I looked over the pigs and picked out the biggest boar in the group and Bryan got on him and ready to shoot. As the big boar stepped out into the opening in front of us at 33 yards, Bryan squeezed off the shot and the boar dropped in his tracks. It was the perfect ambush and Bryan had a 250 pound boar down, that headed straight for the taxidermist as soon as we got back to town. It was a great hunt and I am already looking forward to the next hunt.

Andy

6-17-11

This afternoon I guided Bob Hauptman and Scott Bacon on a pig hunt. We met at the ranch at 5:30 and headed up the hill to get set for the long wait. With the temperature in the high 80's I figured we would have to wait until 8:00 PM before anything started to move. We were set up in a flat where Jake had seen a couple of groups of pigs a week before and we hoped that they would be along soon. At 7:30, Bob said " there they are" and the race was on. The pigs had come down into the flat and were just rooting around so we took off on foot following the tree line and crept up to where we thought the pigs were going. As soon as we got set up the pigs came over a small rise and walked to within 60 yards of us. Bob and Scott were both ready and on the count of three the bullets started flying. Bob connected on a 150 pound sow and Scott on a 130 pound sow. The hunt was over and the high fives started. We took the pigs over to a different location and took some photo's before getting them field dressed. Both of the sows were in great shape and had a thick fat layer on them, as I assume they have been going down into the wheat field every night and gorging themselves on the grain. The pigs were skinned and hanging in the walk in freezer by 10:00 PM. It was another great hunt with a couple of great guys.

Casey

6-15-11

Today I guided Dick and Ralph for stripers. The guys had some meetings to tend to this morning so we got an early start of 12:30PM! Any of you who have fished with me in the past know that i live by the old saying "the early bird gets the worm", but today I had to work around their schedule. We launched out of the Colusa State Park and headed the boat north. I drove until I did not see any more boats and we started fishing. We got the rods rigged with minnows and got set to make our first pass. Within seconds we had a double hook up and landed two nice stripers, 1 keeper and 1 shaker. We continued to make another 6 passes in this spot with the same results, "double hookups". We only managed to get a couple keepers though as most of the fish were 16-17.5 inchers. We continued our way down stream and had the same results almost every where that we stopped. Alot of under sized fish and a keeper here and there. We made it back to the boat ramp around 6:00 PM, having caught 6 nice keepers for the box and roughly 30 shakers. The action was non stop and what the fish were lacking in quality they made up in quantity. It was another great day on the water and I can only hope that the striper fishing will hold out until the salmon make an appearance.  

Casey

6-12-11

Today I guided Felipe, Ricky, Ryan, Chaki, and Danela on a striper trip. We met in Colusa at 6:00AM, launched the boat and headed up river. We started drifting minnows in a spot that had produced fish yesterday and within a half an hour the crew had 3 keepers in the box and had released several shakers. We continued to move up river from hole to hole and caught fish every where that we stopped. We caught a ton of shakers, lost a couple keeper fish and managed to get 8 nice keepers for the box. The biggest fish of the day was caught by Ricky. It was in the 12-15 pound range and put up one heck of a fight. Everyone caught several fish today and even though alot of them were shakers they still put up a great fight. There was alot of fun had by all and if I was a betting man, I would say this will not be the last time that you see these guys on the blog.

Casey 

6-11-11

Today I guided Ed and Brandon Cornelius on a striper trip. The Sacramento River had started to clean up so we decided to head over there and take a look. We launched the boat at 7:00 AM and there was only 2 other trailers in the parking lot so I figured no matter what it was going to be a good day. We headed up stream and started drifting live minnows. At the first couple of stops we caught a few small shakers so we decided to keep moving up stream. The higher we went up river the better the fishing got and by 11:00 we had limits of nice sized keeper fish in the box. We caught a total of 10-12 keepers and roughly 30 shakers. The biggest, smallest, and most fish caught today were by young Brandon. His rod was absolutely on fire, and he even managed to hook his dad and beat me in the head with a lead weight. We had a great time and I hope to fish with these guys again.

Casey

  

6-7-11

This evening I guided Paul Morse and Bob Fischer on a pig hunt. We met in Maxwell at 5:30 PM and headed up to the ranch. I decided that I would try the East side of the ranch again, so we headed up the hill and sat down to see what would come out this evening. By 7:00 I was starting to get nervous so I left the guys and walked up the ridge to see if I could spot some pigs in the upper flat. As soon as I rounded the corner I could see roughly 40 pigs in the flat feeding at well over 1000 yards away. I quickly walked back and told the guys what I had seen and then took off to go and get the ranger so that we could drive closer to the pigs before beginning our stalk. As I came up the hill on the ranger I saw Bob waving his hands and then I looked past him and saw a group of 15 pigs out in the flat that they were watching. As soon as I saw the pigs and shut the ranger off it was evident that they had already heard me and started to move back up the hill where they had come from. Paul was already on the sticks ready to shoot and as the biggest boar in the group turned and presented a good quartering shot he touched the trigger and dropped the boar dead in it's tracks. The boar was roughly 200 pounds and should be a good eater. We all had a great time and I can assure you that we will be after a pig for Bob tomorrow morning.

Jake

6-5-11

This evening I guided Mike Messick on a pig hunt. With the weather being overcast I figured that the pigs would move early so we met in Maxwell at 4:00 PM and headed up to the ranch. We had been seeing pigs every evening working a flat on the East side of the ranch before heading down into the wheat, so we headed over there to see what would happen. At 7:00 PM a lone boar walked around the corner and was 500 yards out but feeding in our direction so we just sat tight and kept an eye on him. As he made his way to roughly 300 yards Mike got set up on the sticks and was ready to shoot as it looked like he was going to feed right to us. Just minutes later I caught movement off to the right and watched in disbelief as 2 coyotes headed across the flat and straight towards the boar. The boar noticed the coyotes and started to bolt up the hill and away from the approaching danger. At this point I ranged the boar at 250 yards and Mike took the shot. He hit the boar a little further back then he had wanted to but the boar stumbled and fell. Before Mike could get another shot in him he jumped to his feet, ran up the hill and laid down. We could see him laying there so we gave him a half hour to expire before walking up the hill to get a look at him. As we approached the boar he looked dead but all at once he sprang to his feet, turned towards me and started running straight at me. Luckily I had my trusty .300 Win. Mag with me and was able to put one right between his eyes at a mere 10 yards. For a minute I thought that I was going to get cut to shreds, but luck was on my side. It was another great hunt and the pig charging me added a whole new level of excitement for me as well as Mike!!!

Jake

6-2-11

Today I guided Don Sexton on a pig hunt. We met in Colusa at 4AM and headed up to the ranch. After completing the necessary paper work we headed up the hill and got set up on a knoll over looking the wheat field. As soon as it got light enough to see I spotted a group of 10-12 pigs feeding in the wheat field, and all that we could do is sit and see what way they would leave the field. After an hour of watching them they decided to make a move and just our luck they chose a trail that led them out of harms way. We then headed into the ranch and had not seen much until we came over a small rise and had a lone boar standing in the road at 50 yards. Don hopped out and tryed to get a shot but the boar darted into the brush seconds before he was to meet his maker. We jumped on the ranger and headed up hill hoping to spot the pig again. As we neared the top of the ridge we looked over our shoulder and there stood the boar back in the middle of the road where he had been when we first spotted him. We again hopped out of the ranger and took off on foot. As we crested the ridge we caught a glimpse of the boar feeding along a brush line but before we could get set up he walked into the brush, never to be seen again. By this time it was getting late so we headed to town and decided to come back for the evening hunt. We got back to the ranch around 5:30 and immediately started seeing pigs. The first group that we saw was a group of 15 pigs that were in the 30-40 pound range. As we watched them disappear we spotted the same group form this morning and it looked as if they were headed back to the wheat field, however, they hung up in the brush before they got to the wheat. By 7:30 it seemed as if there were pigs almost every where that we looked, so we just sat tight. At 8:00 we noticed a big boar out feeding on a flat. We were getting ready to make our move when a bigger boar that I am guessing at 300 pounds came walking out and proceeded to chase the smaller boar off of the mountain and out of sight. Again we sat down and started looking and within seconds spotted a lone boar making his way down to the pond below us. We immediately made our move and got set up and ready for the shot. The boar ran all of the way to the pond and as he tried to exit the pond I stopped him and Don took his shot. The shot was a little far back but the boar dropped in his tracks. After a follow up shot Don and I headed down to claim his trophy. The boar was roughly 150 pounds and should be great table fare. We saw roughly 40 pigs this evening and they should continue to come to the wheat for the next couple of months. 
Casey