Delta Report - 10/23/05

[Hairstacker]

Fished the Delta today for just a few hours out of my inflatable kayak. Had planned on going to the San Luis Forebay for stripes but overslept. Anyway, beautiful, bright, sunny day but with a little bit of breeze. Fished exclusively with a size 2 red/white Tap's Bug and, with a fast retrieve, managed to bring one 14" largemouth bass to hand and missed a number of others. The one I got was a nice, thick fish and while I was fighing him, I thought he might be a striper the way he bent my 5 wt. rod over double and just swam around down deep for a while. Eventually, he relented and I was able to slowly bring him up to hand.

Had a couple others on very briefly but just didn't have 'em hooked well enough to keep 'em. One of 'em chased my popper down, hitting it once and then hitting it a second time and taking it under but, alas, my popper eventually floated freely to the surface. Another one, a largemouth of about 13 - 14 inches, hit the bug on top with an absolutely explosive strike that sent water flying. It was one of those strikes that makes as much water noise as the visual effect. Almost gave me a damn heart attack, as I was day dreaming a little at the time, ha. Had him on briefly, and I managed to get a good look at him, but he came unbuttoned. Other than those, a few other missed strikes as well, all on top. Only one fish to hand but a fun day considering I was out there for less than 3 hours. Beautiful time of year to get out there if you've been thinking about it, and topwater action is still in full force.

[mikenewman]

Nice one Mike!
Had a couple of hours around Frank's yesterday - cruising not fishing (My wife pilots the boat while I scope for bassy looking hidey holes) Water temp was 62 and has dropped significantly over the past couple of weeks so it's good to know they are still up for topwater. But what a dilemma: Largemouth or Striper, Striper or Largemouth Decisions,decisions: woe is me