5-30-12

Today I guided Jack on a pig hunt. We started the morning searching all of the usual spots but there was just nothing out moving, so we kept looking. We had been all over the ranch checking close to water as it was warming up, but were not having any luck. I decided to go and check on the West end of the ranch and as we made our way down the hill I spotted a group of pigs across the canyon making their way down the top of the ridge. I figured that they were headed to water so we moved in that direction. We searched high and low but couldn't seem to find them again so I decided to head to the other side of the canyon and see if we could relocate them. As soon as we arrived at a better vantage point I saw the pigs out feeding in a meadow. I picked out an old dead tree as a land mark and we made our way back in their direction. When I thought that we were close we got out of the ranger and started walking down the hill. We hadn't gone 100 yards when I spotted one of the pigs below us feeding under the oaks. We continued down hill so that we could get a better shooting lane and as we rounded the corner another pig walked out into the meadow and Jack got down on the sticks and ready for the shot. He was waiting for the pig to turn broadside but it must of winded us and started to bolt. Jack was quick with the shot and hammered the pig knocking it off its feet but before he could get another shot off the pig was on its feet and headed into the brush. We walked down to where he had knocked the pig down and looked for blood but did not find any so we gave the pig some time to expire and I began the search. I sent Jack to the bottom of the hill so that he could watch the draw in case the pig was still on the move and I started into the brush. I quickly found a set of tracks in the leaves that looked as if they were slipping and sliding so I took off following them as I figured they were the tracks from an injured pig. As I followed the tracks I could tell that it was the right set as they were headed down hill and there was alot of fresh pig shit on the trail, typical for a gut shot animal. I had gone roughly 500 yards into the brush when I caught movement on the trail below me. It was the crippled pig and as I raised my gun here he came! The pig charged and made it within 25 yards of me before I got a clear shot and put an end to the chase. As the pig charged I put a bullet right above his right eye and the .180 grain went through the skull and into his neck shattering just about every bone in it. Upon closer inspection the boar had been hit the first time a little far back and in the guts. The bullet made a complete pass through but left no blood as the guts and fats built up in that area of the body cavity sealed the hole. It just goes to show you how super smart and tough these animals are. I can tell you from experience that you never want to underestimate the brute strength and smarts of the wild pig!

Casey      

5-24-12

Today I guided Warran and Marty on a pig hunt. We started the morning in the lower brush country and as we worked a long finger ridge spotted a herd of 20-25 pigs down in a flat but they were too far for a shot and looked to be in a hurry to get to their bedding area, so off we went in search of some others. We cut back through the main valley and as we crested the first ridge I spotted a lone pig down in a draw, well within gun range. We hopped off of the ranger and walked back down the hill to try and relocate the pig. As soon as we could see into the draw I spotted not one but some where around 20 pigs. Marty was the first to strike and within seconds had a 150 pound boar down. After the shot Warran and I tried to get him a shot at the others as they made their way up the hill but an opportunity never presented its self. We quickly gutted and loaded Marty's pig and then  headed up the hill to find one for Warran. We were working an area with a few reservoirs and as we came around the corner I spotted a lone boar out feeding in a meadow not 75 yards from us. Warran quickly drew a bead on the unsuspecting boar and the rest is history. After the shot we looked at our watches, it was 8:00 AM, and we already had 2 pigs down and had seen around 50 others this morning. That is how we like it short and sweet!

Casey

5-19-12

Today I guided Brett on a pig hunt. We started out the morning in the lower brush country and it proved to be a good decision. We parked the ranger and started walking down the top of a long ridge. We hadn't been walking for more than 5 minutes when we rounded the corner and there was a nice boar standing in the road. Brett sealed the deal with a perfect shot dropping the pig in it's tracks. After a quick photo session we gutted the pig and made our way back to the ranger. On the way back up the ridge we spotted a sow with some piglets out feeding in a meadow. It was a quick hunt but nice to get the job done before the temperature warmed up.

Casey

5-15-12

We purchased some new equipment and are selling some of the older equipment so I thought I would put it up here in case any of you guys are interested.

I have a 1999 Argo Conquest 8X8 with only 252.6 original hours. The bearings and chains have all been gone through recently and it is ready for duck season. $7,500 OBO. A new one costs $21,000

I have a 2007 Polaris Ranger 6X6 with 559.6 hours on it. It has the 700 EFI engine and was just gone through at Twin Rivers Polaris. $7,500 OBO. A new one costs $11,500

I have a 2008 Polaris Ranger XP 4X4 with 426.9 hours on it. It has the 700 EFI engine as well as a front rack and winch. $6,500 OBO. A new one costs $11,500

Let me know if you have any questions on the machines or would like to come and take a look at them.

Casey

5-13-12

Today we went out on a Mother's Day scouting mission to see if there were any stripers left South of  Ward's  Landing. We launched at 6:00 AM and started working our way down stream, stopping at all of the usual places. At almost every stop we caught fish, however, alot of them were shakers. We fished all of the way down to the old Tisdale ramp and boated roughly 25 fish of which only 4 were keepers. Regina and the kids had a good time, as did my brother in law Travis, and sister in law Ann. It was a good relaxing day on the river but I wasn't to impressed with the number of fish still hanging around. Hopefully we will get a shot of water soon, and some more fish will move up this way. It is just way too early for the striper season to be over!

Casey  

5-12-12

Today I guided the DeSouza clan for stripers. With the water dropping I decided to head down to Verona and see if we could catch up with the fish. We launched at 5:30 and there was already a ton of boats on the water. We began drifting right in front of the ramp with no luck so we fired up the boat and headed up the fork of the Sacramento River. As we started our first drift we hooked up and the battle was on! The fish put up a hell of a fight and as it got close to the boat we got a good look at it right before the hook pulled out. The fish was a big hen in the 25 pound class, and swam off to spawn another day. Shortly there after we hooked a couple more but they were shakers so we headed further up the Sac to see what we could find. At each and every stop we were catching fish but alot of them were shakers so we kept on going up stream. The further we went up the river the less boat pressure there was but the fish were just as small. We ended up landing 6 keepers for the box and we lost another 4 or 5 right at the boat that were keepers. We probably caught 40 fish today but most were shakers. With the low water flows and high water temperatures the fish are going to spawn and it will be over before we know it. Hopefully we will get a increase in water flows on the Sacramento River and a new wad of fish will head up this way. It's too soon for the run to be over!!

Casey 

5-10-12

Today I guided Peter, Sarah, and Emily for Stripers. We again launched at Tisdale and headed up stream towards the Winship pumps. I knew the fishing was going to be tougher today as we had a 30 MPH North wind to contend with. On the first drift Peter hooked a nice 5 pounder and quickly had it in the boat and was followed by Sarah and Emily who both caught keepers as well! It was Peter's 88TH birthday, so only fitting that he caught the first keeper! We kept on making drifts and caught a few more nice sized keepers before we decided to head up stream to see what else we could find. We started working over the Lupe's Bend area and caught a few shakers before continuing down stream towards Grime's catching our final keeper for the box as it was time to get out of the wind! It was a great day on the water and we had a blast! Happy Birthday Peter, hopefully we can do it again next year!!!

Casey      

5-9-12

Today I guided Dan, John, Mike, and Ralph for stripers. We launched at Tisdale and headed back up to the Winship pump area and started looking for the fish. Right off the bat Dan caught a 6 pounder and the other guys got a couple as well. I did not see any big schools of fish but was seeing a fish here and there so we just kept working on them and were catching a fish or two each pass. At around 9:30 we caught our last keeper and decided to head in. All in all it was a great day on the water and we ended up boxing 10 nice sized fish and letting several smaller ones go.

Casey 

5-8-12

Today I guided Chris and Scott for Stripers. We launched at Tisdale boat ramp and headed up towards the Winship pumps. We started drifting minnows on the West side of the river and within minutes we had a nice keeper in the box. I wasn't marking many fish so we just kept hunting around for them and were catching a fish here and there, until I found a decent sized school of fish laying behind some snags and we went to work on them. We caught a couple of fish each pass and even had a couple of doubles before we decided to keep our limits and head back in. We caught around 15 keeper sized stripers in the 4-8 pound range. It was another great day on the water.

Casey

5-5-12

Since we were up against a full moon, and too many boats on the river I decided to take the weekend off from chasing pigs and stripers and headed over to Fort Bragg for our yearly abalone diving trip. We do this every year for Regina's birthday and we always have a blast! The ocean was rougher than I have ever seen it but the tide was low and we had to have some abalone for dinner, so in we went. Regina and I got beat up pretty bad by the waves but we ended up with our limits. It was a good time despite the rough conditions and the meal that night was excellent!!

Casey   

5-3-12

Today I guided Jack and Herb for stripers and Derek cam along to deck hand since he was off work. We launched at Tisdale Boat ramp and headed up to Lupe's Bend to start fishing. We dropped the minnows right where I left off yesterday and it wasn't long before Herb was hooked up. We made several passes at Lupe's but alot of the fish were shakers so we kept working our way down stream. About half way through our drift on the Grime's rock wall we ran into a big school of fish and the rest is history. We worked this stretch over and over for a couple hours catching 3-5 fish per pass but when the boats swarmed in we went in search of some more fish. We worked all of the spots from Grimes down and caught fish at everyone of them. The wind started to howl around 10:30 so we kept the last of our limits and headed in. The largest fish of the day was a 12 pound hen caught by Herb and released after a quick photo. It was a great day on the water and I hope the fish stay around awhile longer!

Casey   

5-2-12

Today I guided Scott and Jared Seidenstricker for Stripers. We launched at Ward's and headed down to the Red Sea and started fishing. Jared was the first to hookup on a nice sized keeper while Scott quickly followed. We were catching a fish or two at each stop but kept working our way down stream looking for the mother load. As we made it to Lupe's Bend I started marking more fish and from there on out we caught 4-5 fish each pass. It was nearing 11:00 and it was starting to get warm so we finished putting our limits in the box and headed back in. We ended the morning catching nearly 30 keeper fish and a few shakers. All of the fish were caught on minnows today!

Casey

5-1-12

Today I guided Dan, Tom, Anthony, and Chuck for stripers. We launched at Ward's Landing and headed down to the Red Sea and started fishing. We hadn't gone 100 yards when I looked down at the graph and it was solid fish. Just as I told the guys to get ready poles started doubling over and everyone had a fish on. We landed all four and headed back up to make another pass. Again it was fish on for everyone. We made 10 passes thru those fish and had at least a double every pass, but the fish finally spooked and we went in search of more. At each stop we caught several and finally decided that we had caught enough so we kept our limits and headed in. We were back at the dock by 9:30 AM. It was a great day on the water and we landed over 40 keeper stripers!

Casey