Hogzilla down!

We had one hell of a hunt this morning!! We hit the ground running this morning and were on top of the ridge in the dark and searching for the pigs. We started walking down a ridge towards an area that has had a lot of sign the last few times I've been to the ranch. We had walked close to a half mile glassing into the draw when Hogzilla showed himself! At first glance I knew the pig was big, and we had him at 200 yards.  After a quick discussion with Patrick he wanted to get closer so off we went. We started to close the gap and lost sight of the pig for awhile. I knew we would be close when we saw him again so I had Patrick turn his scope down to 3X and lock and load. As we started to crest a small knoll I knew the pig would be close and sure enough there he stood at a mere 42 yards! I got Patrick set up on the shooting sticks and told him to go ahead when ever he was ready. As he eased the safety off the pig heard it and looked up but went right back to feeding. Within a few more seconds Patrick touched the trigger. At the shot the pig took off side hill at full speed. No tell tell slap was heard and the pig never even buckled so we weren't sure if he was hit or not but Patrick said the shot felt good. We quickly got on the trail the pig was using and could see his dig marks but not a drop of blood. We stayed on tracks for 150 yards or so when we looked up and there he lay, down for the count or so we thought! As we approached the downed pig I could see he was still breathing so I racked a round in my .45 and was just about to hand it to Patrick when all of the sudden the pig was on his feet and coming straight towards us!! It was now or never, I drew down on him and started shooting, hitting him in the head 6 of 7 shots before he collapsed at our feet! It was damn exciting and an experience I am sure Patrick won't soon forget. The pig ended up being a big boar, 300+ pounds with 3 inch cutters. The best part of the whole thing was Patrick's 6 year old son and father got to watch the whole stalk unravel through binoculars. What a great hunt and an impressive trophy.

Safflower Plots

The safflower that we planted is looking good! We planted two different areas this year so that we will be able to accommodate more hunters for the long awaited dove opener! It's never too early to start thinking about the September 1 dove opener. If you'd like more information or would like to get on the books give me a call at (530)682-3176.   

Time to start thinking about salmon!!

Just a quick reminder to call and get on the books if you're interested in a prime date for the fall salmon run. I will start in late August and go through September and possibly into October depending on the run.

Muddy Water

The muddy water hit us today and no matter how hard we fished we couldn't get bit on a minnow. After several hours of punishment we threw the pick and put on the dirty sardine. It didn't take long for the shakers to start biting! We caught a bunch of fish on bait with the biggest one being 17 inches. We had a lot of action but nothing big enough to make the box.

Spawn Bite!

We ended up with 6 nice fish in the box today but we worked for every single one! There must have been a big spawn last night as we marked plenty of fish but they just wouldn't bite! We hunted around and ended up with a mess of shakers and landed 6 keepers for the box. We may be nearing the end of this seasons striper run.

Better bite today!

Same time and same place today as yesterday but we were definitely into a better grade of fish! We still caught a bunch of shakers but no where near as many as yesterday! We had one big female come un buttoned right at the boat and had a triple on keepers. We fished our way down from tisdale but only got as far as the warehouses today!   

Lots of shakers today!

Lots of shakers today but we waded thru them and ended up with a box full of keeper males. This was Timey and John's first ever striper fishing trip and they had a blast!

The spawn is on!

The big spawn is on, but there are still plenty of fish to be had! The fishing isn't wide open like it has been but if you work at it the keepers are there. Seems to be more and more shaker action each day but we still ended up with a nice box full of fish for the guys!

As good as it get's!

It is a wide open bite right now! We started at the mud flats again this morning and just kept working our way down, fishing all of the good water. We made it as far as the warehouses today and every place we stopped had fish! It was fish on from the start to the end. A great day on the water!

Good old boys

The old boys worked the fish over this morning! Pass after pass the rods bent and the fish came over the rail! We had to wade through a lot of shakers this morning but caught plenty of keepers to fill the box! The fish are hungry and are inhaling any minnow that gets in the way!

Back on the Sac!

We found the mother load this morning at the mud flats! The graph was covered in marks and the rods were bending! We caught a ton of fish this morning, including several females that were released. Between keepers and shakers we landed over 50 fish this morning, calling it quits by 10:30. The bite is wide open!! 

Feather River Boil

Switched it up today and went over to the Feather to chase the wad of striper that were chasing salmon smolt. The DFW released a bunch of salmon smolt at Boyd's pump and the striper were inhaling them the whole way down river! We found the boil at the Bear River and started casting at them. It didn't take long to fill the box of both boats and we headed back to the dock with limits.

Solid Fishing

The fish moved around a bit last night but after a little searching we found them again! We were greeted by a howling North wind this morning so some of the spots were just un fish-able! We poked around and stayed out of the wind the best that we could. We fished our way down from Tisdale and never even made it to the warehouses before we had the box full. Another great day on the water!!

Afternoon Delight

This afternoon I took Scott and Byrd out for a quick striper trip before heading down river for an all night sturgeon adventure. We launched at Tisdale and headed down to where I had left off this morning. It didn't take long for the guys to hookup! Again pass after pass we caught nice fish and within an hour they had their limit in the box and we headed for the sturgeon fishing grounds. We graphed several holes on our way down stream and finally marked some sturgeon at Horseshoe bend, so we set up on them and started the waiting game. We watched the sturgeon roll all night long but they never bit! We had some line rubs but that was it. We fished thru the night and headed in around 7:00 AM. 

All you want! (AM Trip)

This morning I had Mark and Owen on the boat. We launched at Tisdale and headed down stream a couple miles and started fishing. Within minutes of putting our lines in the water Owen was hooked up! Drift after drift we caught fish! We had multiple doubles and even a couple triples this morning. The box was full by 9:30 and in all reality we could have been done on our first drift. We landed 25+ keeper stripers before calling it quits!

Clear and Windy, Just what we needed!

The clear skies and ripping North wind treated us good today! Plenty of birds around and they decoyed great making for some in your face action and quick limits! Had the attack of the swans today at one point and had to get a picture, not bad for an I phone!

Trees, trees, and more trees!!

I am a firm believer in trees in a wetland! Not only does it help to break up the landscape, but it also helps to quiet things down and make the birds feel more at home. This year we grew a total of 2500 trees in the nursery and are in the process of getting them all in the ground. The crew kicked ass today and we ended up getting 1500 planted today and will get the remainder tomorrow. I had all of the holes pre dug, but the crew planted, fertilized and watered all of them as they went in the hole. It was a huge undertaking but the crew got it done. It will change the whole look of the wetland by next season!

Beavers.........

The war has begun!! As a lot of you know we spend countless hours working on our wetlands and planting trees grown in our nursery. When I showed up to the little wetland today this is what I found! Apparently the beavers have found my new plant trees and had a field day. As upsetting as this is I guess its just part of the game.!

Birthday Stripers!!

Mark and Karen's little boy Owen, wanted to fish for his birthday, so off we went! We launched at Tisdale and started working our way down river. I was marking fish here and there but they were being stubborn and didn't want to bite but we kept after it and finally got some to cooperate. We landed a total of 3 keepers and a whole bunch of shakers, and lost several others. It is amazing the amount of short strikes and  bug eyed minnows that we have had in the last few trips. Lots of short strikes and missed bites.  

Plenty of Fish!!

I decided to go look at some different water today so I launched the boat and headed up to Grimes. We started drifting at the bottom  of Lupes Bend and worked our way all of the way back to the ramp, hitting all the good spots along the way! We were inundated by shakers today but caught the occasional keeper as well. We had 3 nice keepers in the box by 8:00 AM, and had several more to the boat that just didn't want to stay on! Today Brad was the first one done and Leo had several keepers up to the boat but just couldn't close the deal!! In the end we had a great day on the water and boated alot of fish!!