Hairstacker
10-10-2006, 04:50 AM
Had another opportunity to fish the Delta evening bite today out of the inflatable kayak. Once again, my spidey sense told me I just HAD to get out there. :nod: As it was, I fished from about about 6:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
This time, I could see fish busting the surface up and down the slough as soon as I got out of the car. As a result, I think I set a new world land speed record for getting my kayak fully inflated and on the water. :lol: Here's a picture of the place when I got there. Hard to tell in this photo but a fish had just broken the surface before I took the picture:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/10-10Delta1.jpg
I started out with a size 2 Blackbird Diver but gave it up after about 10 minutes and no hits. In turn, I did the same with a size 1/0 chartreuse/white Flashtail Woolly Bugger. Then I switched to a size 2 red/white Tap's Bug (topwater deer hair bass bug), which happened to coincide with when the activity level really took off, and I started catching 'em. Here's one of 'em I taped at 18":
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/10-10Delta3.jpg
This was a fun fish and put a real nice bend on my 7 wt. rod. By this time, the fish were really aggressively busting up schools of baitfish on the surface up and down the slough, so I employed a fast retrieve to imitate an escaping fish. It was just the ticket. 8)
At one point, I got into a real nice fish and fought him all the way back to the kayak. Felt like I had hooked him solid but when I went to lift him out of the water, all I could find at the end of the line was a huge bunch of weeds. :?
Ah well, get some and lose some, it's the nature of the game. All in all, though, it was a blast and I was very glad I had made it out there. When your gut tells you to go, you really should go.
By the way, a couple of items I recently acquired really enhanced this trip:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/Headlight.jpg
This is a Streamlight that straps to the top of your head for hands-free illumination. It has 3 lighting modes (green, white, and beam) and allows you to adjust the elevation of the light cast with positive stops. Having this enabled me to keep paddling even after it got dark without fear of finding my way back to the car and up the levee. Provides GREAT lighting and I very highly recommend this model. The green light setting in particular lights up the area immediately in front of you without making you feel like you might be spooking fish. 8)
This was also a GREAT purchase:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/LifePreserver.jpg
This is a Stearns manually-inflatable life vest that you wear as a belt around your waste. It's so unobstrusive that you'll forget you're even wearing it. A very nice change from the full-on, bulky life vest I had been using. I especially like the fact there's no back to it, just a strap, so I can very comfortably recline now against the air cushion seat-back of my kayak.
With the new toys and willing fish, it was a great time! Gotta love that Delta!
This time, I could see fish busting the surface up and down the slough as soon as I got out of the car. As a result, I think I set a new world land speed record for getting my kayak fully inflated and on the water. :lol: Here's a picture of the place when I got there. Hard to tell in this photo but a fish had just broken the surface before I took the picture:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/10-10Delta1.jpg
I started out with a size 2 Blackbird Diver but gave it up after about 10 minutes and no hits. In turn, I did the same with a size 1/0 chartreuse/white Flashtail Woolly Bugger. Then I switched to a size 2 red/white Tap's Bug (topwater deer hair bass bug), which happened to coincide with when the activity level really took off, and I started catching 'em. Here's one of 'em I taped at 18":
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/10-10Delta3.jpg
This was a fun fish and put a real nice bend on my 7 wt. rod. By this time, the fish were really aggressively busting up schools of baitfish on the surface up and down the slough, so I employed a fast retrieve to imitate an escaping fish. It was just the ticket. 8)
At one point, I got into a real nice fish and fought him all the way back to the kayak. Felt like I had hooked him solid but when I went to lift him out of the water, all I could find at the end of the line was a huge bunch of weeds. :?
Ah well, get some and lose some, it's the nature of the game. All in all, though, it was a blast and I was very glad I had made it out there. When your gut tells you to go, you really should go.
By the way, a couple of items I recently acquired really enhanced this trip:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/Headlight.jpg
This is a Streamlight that straps to the top of your head for hands-free illumination. It has 3 lighting modes (green, white, and beam) and allows you to adjust the elevation of the light cast with positive stops. Having this enabled me to keep paddling even after it got dark without fear of finding my way back to the car and up the levee. Provides GREAT lighting and I very highly recommend this model. The green light setting in particular lights up the area immediately in front of you without making you feel like you might be spooking fish. 8)
This was also a GREAT purchase:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/LifePreserver.jpg
This is a Stearns manually-inflatable life vest that you wear as a belt around your waste. It's so unobstrusive that you'll forget you're even wearing it. A very nice change from the full-on, bulky life vest I had been using. I especially like the fact there's no back to it, just a strap, so I can very comfortably recline now against the air cushion seat-back of my kayak.
With the new toys and willing fish, it was a great time! Gotta love that Delta!