Hard work

[mikenewman]

Had to work hard (If that's the right expression :lol: ) for 3 fish out of a short session this morning: a dink, a 2.5 and this bulldog - just shy of 6lb. I know the Largemouth get a lot of bad press regarding fighting ability but this one put up a terrific scrap. She sipped the bug like a trout on a midge and then put her head down - didn't see her until she was ready for the boat.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/Mikenewman_/5.7530july0020001_1.jpg

Gorgeous morning/Gorgeous fish :D

Mike

[Adam Grace]

Great Bass Mike! :thumbsup:

Bye the way, I like your signature, it's very true.

[Hairstacker]

Very nice fish Mike! Obviously, the hard work paid off. Sometimes they give you a fight that just puts a smile on your face, don't they? :D

[JerryInLodi]

Mike, VERY nice fish! A real prize, especially considering the time of year.

I've just started up fishing the delta again after returning from Baja and then dealing with the death of my mom, 87.

You're right, fishing is tough right now. Since I'm now retired I'm able to stay on the water as long as I want. I pounded the water yesterday for about eight hours and ended up with about a dozen fish, the largest three pounds. I averaged one grab for about 25 casts with some of the fish missing the fly and some bailing out at the last minute.

I have noticed that the fish seem much stronger now than they did in the spring, a good thing. My wife's working late tonight so I'll give it another try later today.

[mikenewman]

Jerry

Yep, these Summer fish seem a lot feistier. It's such a pleasure and a privilege to be able to tangle with these girls and practically have the water to yourself in the week - yesterday I saw 2 other boats in 3.5 hrs fishing, both gear guys of course!

Mike
I liken these challenging fish to sleeping tigers. It's been a full moon and the big cats have been hunting all night. Now it's morning, they're well fed and settled under their favorite trees for a nap. My aim is to keep tossing Niman Ranch steaks onto their noses until one of those guys stirs himself and says "Hmm, free dessert - why not? Slurp!!" :lol:

Cheers
Mike

[JerryInLodi]

A follow up. My wife said she'd be home late so I headed off to the delta and started fishng about 4pm. I worked the flowing water near the rip-wrap and started getting smaller fish. As the sun dropped and the water rose to high tide, the size of the fish increased.

From about six thirty to eight thirty I landed ten fish over two pounds, the largest 3.5 pounds. These fish came from a variety of water conditions. Some on the rip-wrap in open moving water, some from the trough, some from thick weed and the largest off a point. I also picked up a 14 inch striper.

As Mike has pointed out, these fish seem MUCH stronger than in the spring with the largest one making several short runs. Runs from a largemouth?

Here's a picture of the 3.5 pounder. The flash makes the fish's eye look as if he's dead. Actually, he was out of the water only long enough for the photo and is probably sitting tight to the bottom just stewing about a toothache.

http://www.deltastripers.com/images/fall072.jpg

[Hairstacker]

Outstanding Jerry! Man, when it's on, it doesn't get much better than twilight on the Delta for great topwater LMB action. By the way, nice fish! :D