Hairstacker
05-25-2009, 11:43 PM
Finally got a chance to make my 1st topwater foray of the season on the Delta this morning! Got there, looked around, noticed I had arrived near the top of the incoming tide \\:D/ and then excitedly started inflating my Coleman inflatable kayak when I heard the dreaded sound, "Sssssssssssssssssssss." :crybaby: Undaunted, I packed up, went home, and returned with one of the inflatable kayaks (a new one) in my Reserve Fleet: :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0579.jpg
Ended up hitting the water around 8:00 and fished until about 11:00 am. This was my 1st time putting this new Kwik-Tek kayak in the water. Took a little bit of extra time trying to figure out how to inflate it but was pleased with how much, much sturdier it felt than the Colemans I had been using for years. Anyway, was soon fully rigged up and launched with one of my green/yellow deer hair divers tied to my tippet. Started casting to shoreline structure/cover and almost immediately hooked up with this nice, strong bass I taped at 16":
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0565.jpg
Man it felt good to get one off the surface again and feel the deep bend of my 7 wt. rod! After releasing it, I continued and a little ways down, picked up yet another 16"er:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0568.jpg
This was another good, strong, healthy fish. With a couple under the belt, I started to relax a little and enjoy my surroundings. It was a gorgeous day with mild temperatures and almost no wind -- couldn't have asked for better conditions. I was also getting a pretty good feel for this new kayak. I noticed it tracked much better than the Colemans I had been using and held its position in the water much better while I was casting. Even though it cost more, I was now convinced I had made a good purchase. Anyway, kept casting away, and again, a little while later, I picked up yet another 16"er:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0571.jpg
I don't think I've ever caught 3 bass in a row that were all the same size. Not complaining, mind you. :D By the way, the orange tint and blotches on the fish are just reflections off the orange kayak and there was absolutely nothing wrong with this fish -- it was just as healthy-looking as any of the others. Anyway, I kept fishing the same types of shoreline cover (rock walls mixed with standing tules and laydowns) and ended up catching this one that taped at just over 18":
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0578.jpg
I thoroughly enjoyed this fish, as it was very strong and really bulldogged away. In fact, all of the fish today were very sporty, although none of them got airborne. I also unbuttoned a couple along the way -- one that was smaller than any of these and one that I thought was a tad bigger. All in all, a decent 3-hour session. All hookups were on the surface on that one green/yellow deer hair diver that I started with, and I pretty much stayed with a relatively slow dive-and-then-pause-for-a-bit retrieve. In any case, I can't tell you how good it felt to be fishing topwater on the Delta again after a long winter's absence. :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0579.jpg
Ended up hitting the water around 8:00 and fished until about 11:00 am. This was my 1st time putting this new Kwik-Tek kayak in the water. Took a little bit of extra time trying to figure out how to inflate it but was pleased with how much, much sturdier it felt than the Colemans I had been using for years. Anyway, was soon fully rigged up and launched with one of my green/yellow deer hair divers tied to my tippet. Started casting to shoreline structure/cover and almost immediately hooked up with this nice, strong bass I taped at 16":
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0565.jpg
Man it felt good to get one off the surface again and feel the deep bend of my 7 wt. rod! After releasing it, I continued and a little ways down, picked up yet another 16"er:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0568.jpg
This was another good, strong, healthy fish. With a couple under the belt, I started to relax a little and enjoy my surroundings. It was a gorgeous day with mild temperatures and almost no wind -- couldn't have asked for better conditions. I was also getting a pretty good feel for this new kayak. I noticed it tracked much better than the Colemans I had been using and held its position in the water much better while I was casting. Even though it cost more, I was now convinced I had made a good purchase. Anyway, kept casting away, and again, a little while later, I picked up yet another 16"er:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0571.jpg
I don't think I've ever caught 3 bass in a row that were all the same size. Not complaining, mind you. :D By the way, the orange tint and blotches on the fish are just reflections off the orange kayak and there was absolutely nothing wrong with this fish -- it was just as healthy-looking as any of the others. Anyway, I kept fishing the same types of shoreline cover (rock walls mixed with standing tules and laydowns) and ended up catching this one that taped at just over 18":
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF0578.jpg
I thoroughly enjoyed this fish, as it was very strong and really bulldogged away. In fact, all of the fish today were very sporty, although none of them got airborne. I also unbuttoned a couple along the way -- one that was smaller than any of these and one that I thought was a tad bigger. All in all, a decent 3-hour session. All hookups were on the surface on that one green/yellow deer hair diver that I started with, and I pretty much stayed with a relatively slow dive-and-then-pause-for-a-bit retrieve. In any case, I can't tell you how good it felt to be fishing topwater on the Delta again after a long winter's absence. :D