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.

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!

Another great day

The fishing still going strong! We launched at Tisdale and worked our way South. The fishing was slow and steady, wading thru a lot of shakers but ending up with a box of keepers!

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!!

Sturg On!!!

My favorite fishing to do has always been sturgeon fishing! I don't know if it's the pure relaxation I get while fishing for them or the chance of catching a fish that could be as big as 10-12 feet long! Either way I love it and am always excited to get out on the water with clients and show them the ropes!

This afternoon I met up with Brett and Gina and we headed out in search of a river monster! On my way up stream I checked several holes and finally found one that was holding fish and threw the anchor. We quickly got the rods baited up and into the water. As we waited we had several fish roll down stream of us and I knew sooner or later one would snap! It didn't take long and one of the rods went down and the fight was on! Brett grabbed the rod and I cranked in the others and then tossed the float so we could go with the fish. It was pulling hard but Brett stayed after it and after an epic battle we had the monster beside the boat. I took a quick measurement but couldn't be exact so I netted the fish and we brought it into the boat! A quick tape job revealed a 68 inch fork measurement. The fish was too big to keep so we snapped a quick picture, and got the fish back in the water and spent 15 minutes or so reviving the fish until it swam out of my hands to fight another day! I was on cloud 9 and Brett's arms were on fire!!

We quickly got back to the anchor and got some fresh bait in the water with hopes of catching another. At 9:00 the rod doubled over and it was fish on again. As Brett fought the fish I got all the rods out of the way and readied the net. The fish was fighting good but acted as if it was possibly a smaller, keeper sized fish so we waited patiently to see what he had a hold of. As soon as the fish showed its self it was apparent that we would not need the net as the fish was way too big to keep! When the fish saw the light coming from the lantern it took off like a bat out of hell and even jumped a few times, it was awesome! Brett finally won the battle and we threw a tape on the fish real quick as it lay beside the boat, 84 inches, a true river monster. The fish was quickly un hooked and set free to do it's thing.

While the rest of the night was un eventful we did have some more bites and swung on a few fish that we should of had! All in all it was a great night on the water and I can't wait to get back out there!               

That's a wrap!

The season has come to a close and all the decoys are picked up and put away! I wanted to take the time to thank all of our client's and sponsors for another great season! Without you guys none of this is possible. I had a great time with each and every one of you in the field this year and we are already planning and looking forward to next season!! A big thanks to everyone and hope to see each and every one of you again next season.

Fog!

Good shoot for the guys today in the fog! It was a little slow to get started but when it lifted a little the flight was pretty good!

Mixed Results

A couple of the blinds shot decent today. The weather was high overcast but nearly dead calm. The wind picked up late morning and the sprig came out to play in the rice.

I've seen better but I've seen worse

The hunting has been pretty slow the last couple of days, decent weather but not much flying. We are having fun and making the most of the opportunities that present themselves.

Slim pickings this morning

The flight was non existent this morning but we managed to get a few to play the game.

No weather, No problem

Paul and Demetri laid the hammer down this morning! The birds worked in nice and tight and the guys shot great! We ended up with a nice mixed bird strap for the 3 of us.