NCKA Delta Bass hook-up 3/7/2009

Hooked-up with several NCKA members at Tiki Lagun for a day of hunting LMB on the delta.  Peteb, Ariel Sea, Eric B, flyaker, yakattack, piscaform and I launched from the marina, while Jeffrm20, ewb, and stormscrambler launched from the bank.  Ariel was the first to hook up with a nice sized bass.  He let it go before the picture was taken though  .  A few minutes later, the sloughs and cuts of the delta were echoing with Pete's YAHOOing.  I turn to catch a glimpse of Pete landing a nice 7 pound 6 ounce bass (pic 1).  Later that morning the split crew and ricksanz joined forces near Mildred Island.  Ewb hooked one, and I missed another.  The bite was tough again today, but we continued our search for active bass.

On the way in to lunch, I finally got on board with two small bass (pic 2) and yakattack picked off three more cranking.  The Tiki crew returned for lunch and a short break (pic 3).  After the rest, we headed out for round two.  Pete got another bass before he left.  I got another, it just happened to be the EXACT same fish I caught last week.  The fish had a smashed in mouth that was unmistakable and one of a kind (pic 4 & 5).

I enjoyed fishing with so many NCKAers today; it was a great day despite the tough bite.  I hope we can meet up again sometime soon.

Have a great week.

(If I missed anyone, I am sorry...it was hard to keep track of everyone.  Please share any pics you may have.)

Looks like you all had a great day on the water. Meeting new people and fishing in the sun. Doesn't get any better than that. Good job Hobie pulling them all together for what looks like a real fun day.

Nice Hookup...

 Looked like it was going to be a little windy today, but it looks like it was really nice...

 and after looking at the rest of the reports today,  you were all in the "Hot spot "...

 Hope to hook up soon.....

I have been waiting to see a pic of Pete's fish all day. That thing is a hog!

Good day on the water even though the bite was hard to come by. The NCKA crew is always a blast to hang around with.

Thanks again for setting this up and letting me tag along.


 

Nice get together!  beautiful fish, looks like it was fun

WTG on the NCKA hookup Bryan. Looks like you all had a great day at least, even
with the tough bites out there. Congrats on the big LMB Pete.

Jedmo

Good Times.   

Bryan

Look like you all had better look than us dino hunters.  Glad you had a good turnout.

Jim

Seems like it's been forever since I've fished the delta. Thanks for the great report. Sounds like a good day on the water.

-FF

I was one of the Delta Plastic Navy.....Great time on the water yesterday thanks hobieblue. The best line of the day was from a bank angler..."HEY, HEY, HOW MUCH DOES ONE OF 'DEM CANOES COST?"

Here is my contribution to the day and my first LMB on a black and chart. spinner bait. Stormscrambler has the non fish sniffer pic....I am sure he'll post it later. Thanks again James for the pic assist.

Another excellent NCKA hook up. Great weather - even a little sunburn, good times & no skunks.
Good job, HobieBlue, on pullin' this together & puttin' everyone on some fish.

Congrats to Pete B on the fish of the day. He was so stoked in the am about gettin' out there & putting Bryan's coaching to practice, and his enthusiasm paid off!

After a slow start & a nasty bird's nest, I picked up a feisty ~3 lb'er on the ever-consistent red crankbait. 
I'll add pics later.

Just back home...

Thanks Brian, for getting us out and sharing your knowledge so freely.  This place is the best.

I arrived Fri and got OTW around 12:30.  Not knowing really how to approach this new area yet, I trolled and tossed the ole trusty rapala and managed to pick up one 13" lm, just before dusk.

Sat I woke up to see kayaks starting to roll in...  After a brief lesson and rigging tips we were off.  As we fished our way to the Spot, I passed Pete who was focused intently on his line, (just as we were told), so much so that I passed by without a word.  About 2 minutes later I hear a Navajo war whoop...  followed by splashing and laughing and exclamations as the scale came out, and the cameras, and the hog trough...  What a FATTIE!  It looked bigger in person.  It was an awesome scene to witness as the apt pupil put the lessons to work.  Pete was so stoked, shaking from adrenaline, thanking Brian profusely...

Primed for action we headed further, and finally I picked up a larger fish, this one 15".  Looked puny compared to Pete's fish, but heck, I'll take what I can get.

Camped over again Sat with the intention of heading to Zuma today, but I got the text from Ariel that idea was nixed, so with a sunny morning and nothing to go I headed back out.  It was low tide so I was having a heck of a time finding fishable water...  then I saw a power boat pick up a striper trolling along the wall.  I did the same and picked up my smallest lmb of the weekend on a shadrap.  By then it was 11 and the wind was picking up, so I packed it up.

Random delta thoughts:

What a trippy place!  Bass boats like to go fast.  Guys with big boats like to get drunk and heckle kayakers and honk their horns.

It was trippy seeing the sea loins cruise around.  I saw one catch and munch a huge catfish, (probably 10lbs).

For those of you who have yet to meet Hobieblue, you gotta fish with this dude.  He reeks of No BS...  his boat is in the water so often it has a visible waterline, and there is not a wasted inch of space on deck.  Everything is pure function.  And...  his kayak fits in his CAR.

My 15" football:

Nice fish Eric B and ewb!  Those are some fatties compared to the ones I caught!

Eric really FAT bass that thing is HUGE...

The fishing was slow, but some huge fish were caught yesterday.    Everyone caught something.  I was saved from the skunk by a little 14" striper. 

IT was a most perfect day - great weather, beautiful setting, and meeting some great guys.   Was great to finally meet many of you whom i have only seen or communicated with online here.

Bryan -  thanks for organizing the event, showing me how to set up and cast my new rod and reel, and especially for your Bass 101 lesson in teh morning.   

It was a terrific time.