Meritage gets it done!

Kerin’s group from the Meritage resort was looking for a trip .Luckily they found BARBARIAN Sportfishing on Craig’s List.

 The trip wasn’t looking like it was going to happen. The predicted weather was indicating a complete blow –out. When I told Kerin about the bad weather he indicated his crew just bought rain-gear and they were going as long as I was willing to keep it safe.

Knowing that we were capable of getting out there, the weather could impact where we can fish. Understanding the wind was to blow from the south. Those limited options proved to be fishable. Not to mention the weather man was a little off. 

The wind started in the am blowing from the North then switched South and, somewhere in that time period, equalized and actually gave us some flat water to fish in.

Our first stop was top of the horse shoe. Roughly speaking, that’s in the deeper section of Grizzly Bay just down from Buoy 9. Reports I got from Benicia Bait indicated others have been fishing there and have had some success.

  We searched a depression downstream of us and found a few scattered fish.  I felt these scattered fish would pile up in this hole at the top of the tide.  

 We took our time to get the gear in the water. The current was about 45min from starting and we had about 7 mph winds. 

The day started slow and I knew we would have to wait until after max current before anything would bite.  The Junk fish kept the crew guessing.

At max current Andre sets the hook on our first keeper sturgeon. It was 46 inches(keeper)  but full of fight. This fish is what we needed to get the confidence in the crew. This was also a great time for them to see what has to happen in order to get these fish to the boat.

  Kerin hits next with a 51,1/4 inch sturgeon that fought hard.  I think after fighting that fish, he had a new respect for the fish that were out there.  As you can see that was a beautiful fish.

As the tide started to slow the fishing started to die, our small window of 2 hrs.’ was shrinking. Sturgeons are fickle. They have a tendency to feed when they want to, understanding they are truly lazy when the water is cold.

 Finding a pattern to them is tough.  I look at temperature and current mostly and focus on feeding patterns I have seen in the past.  Most guys go to spots but once you gain the confidence to look around you find that the right location with an ever-changing environment, you never really wind up in the same spot.

  The tide stopped and we had a few more hours to get on some fish. Recent reports from other fisherman indicated that  the outgoing tide hasn’t been that good. The water hyacinth had been a problem. Keeping the baits in the water was going to be hard. From the Horse Shoe we ventured up to the lower stretches of Pittsburg. We found some fish next to Red buoy #28. We dropped our anchor in 55feetof water allowing us to fan the rods out to cover the location were all the activity was.

We waited again for the outgoing current to start. 

 At 4pm the front Eel Rod gets a pumper.

 In deeper water the bite is less pronounced due to the amount of line out to the sinker. In deeper water look for something that looks like your sinker moved on the bottom and if it is? REEL as hard as you can until you feel weight. That’s when a moderate hook set is absolutely necessary!

Dave runs to the bow, gets the rod in his hand, feels the sinker move again, and then WHAM fish on! He runs down the deck and hands the rod to Dean. (A sturgeon virgin to the bone!). Dean wrestles with the biggest fish of the day at 54 and ¾ inches.

 

Yes, another cherry popped and Just one more successful trip on the BARBARIAN.

 You guys were great I

We’ll see you again at the end of the month.

 We will see about our halibut dreams but realistically we will probably be sturgeon fishing.

Thanks Kerin!