Asking $450
I made this for myself, but honestly don’t have a spot to put it until I finish an irrigation/paver install. I could use the funds more than the table at the moment.

63” wide, 38” tall, 22” deep

Frame is a repurposed metal shipping crate from an outboard motor delivery. Frame was sanded before getting a coating of rust proof enamel coating. I added some bars to the ends with stainless hooks for hanging bbq tools or towels.

 I found a stainless steel sink on Craigslist as well as a Moen faucet with a detachable spray nozzle. I added a screen and downspout to the sink so that it can be plugged and filled and so that there is less splashing when draining.

TAP plastics provided a UV proof and textured cutting board. All of the plywood has been waterproofed.

The faucet has brass fittings that will allow you to attach to a garden hose, and there is a half barrel to catch scraps and/or drainage water.

I won’t be terribly disappointed if this doesn’t sell, it’s pretty nice and I’ve been dreaming about filleting a salmon on it!

Pick up in Concord if anyone bites.

This is second hand information, but from a reliable source (my pops!)

He’s been fishing Camanche in recent weeks and is having impressive results. There’s a good bite in the river channel near the dam. The two islands (top hat island being the bigger of the two) are a good landmark to help you find the channel. Once in the zone, slow trolled grubs behind an action disc has been the most productive bait. Colors are usually white and orange. They landed an 8.5 pounder last week along with a half dozen in the 3-4 pound class. They had been toplining with 100’ setbacks, but the weather shift may change that part of the pattern.

The old man typically runs Sepps grubs, I do not think they use dodgers/flashers.

https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/5976/Sandbags

I live in Contra Costa county which means I was able to get free sand bags this afternoon. The link above specifies several locations in the county that provide the bags and sand to make up your sandbags. I’d imagine this is available in most California counties.

I also have my pump all set up and ready to plug in, some trenches dug, and drain pipe fitted to my rain gutter downspouts that should send the water coming off of the roof out to the storm drain in the street. I’m hoping this will prevent the pooling up against the house that we experienced during the last big rain.

There’s still time to get ready before the next Pineapple Express hits, good luck NCKA and stay dry.

Ok, I swapped my Subaru Forester for a new to me F150. It’s got a short bed and crew cab.

I’m looking at tonneau covers, and rack systems that can coexist.

I see racks with a range of load capacity from 300lbs to 800lbs. I would think 300 would be sufficient for transporting a single outback and occasionally two?

I see racks that require drilling, and those that can be clamped on. Anyone have an opinion of the pros or cons of each?

Anyone have a specific rack that’s the one I should buy because it’s just so damn awesome?

I’m seeing bed covers with a pretty wide range of costs and materials. I just want a waterproof and theft proof cover. Feeing like there are too many choices, and hoping that someone here has experience and an opinion to share.

Should I be considering other transport options that may be better than a rack?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Threw this together using the ling and black rock cod I brought home from Shelter Cove this weekend. It was fantastic

Cut your boneless skinless cod into 1 inch cubes (I used roughly 2 lbs)
Toss  is a bowl with the following;
4-6 tbs red miso paste
2 tbs real maple syrup
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 6 oz package of shiitake mushroom sliced into large chunks
1 tbs neutral oil (I used coconut, but would’ve used veggie if I had it)

Season with Trader Joe’s umami blend and bake at 450 for 20 minutes
After 20, add sliced green onions and furikake seasoning blend and broil on high for another 3-5 minutes or until you are satisfied with the color.

Served it up with sticky rice and a simple salad with edamame carrots and coleslaw dressing.

Happy Fathers Day to all of the dads out there. Hope you got to spend QT with your pups this weekend, and maybe even squeezed in some time on the water. Now enjoy those steaks, beers, stogies, or whatever else caps off your day in that satisfying way.
 
Photos
1. Prettiest fish to come to the surface at Shelter Cove this weekend.
2. Family shot, Elsie and Jen joining me at the cove this time made it an even more satisfying weekend.
3. First attempt at Gyotaku with the kid. Used a verm caught while fishing on a guided trip with Eric Stockwell. (Great trip for the 3rd year in a row).

Fishing lake Almanor off season can be a challenge, particularly if you have to travel in from outside of the area and don’t have a place to call home when you arrive in town.

The area can get pounded by storms and heavy winds, making the trip up and back dangerous, and the fishing conditions volatile. The Dixie fire has added additional challenges, since many of the lodges catering to loggers and off season fisherman are burned up or simply closed. I am usually willing to take my chances though, because the off season fishing is so much better than the times of the year that the lake can be easily accessed and navigated.

This trip, I had hoped to get to the lake and experience a shallow water brown trout bite. Ripping plugs close to rocky shallow shorelines can be productive at the right time of year, but it also requires a bit of wind to provide spawning pond smelt some cover from birds and fish as they school up. Originally, my dad was going to join me, but as the weather forecasts deteriorated and started showing high winds and chances for snow flurries the Sunday we planned to make the drive back down highway 32. My dad backed out, but I was already $330 invested in a 2 day reservation I could not cancel nor reschedule, so I decided to take my chances..

Fortunately I have a friend from the college days who still lives in Chico. He was free, so he got his 13’ Boston Whaler hooked up so we could hit the road for Chester Friday night.

We launched at the dam at sunrise Saturday morning into great weather and started trolling fast and tight to shore. We graphed zero bait, and had no bites after trolling from the dam all the way through lake cove. So, we started considering other options and tactics, which took us on thorough tour of the east basin pulling a variety of offerings. It wasn’t until we found ourselves in 10 fow near Rec One that we got our first and only fish on a ripped trolling fly.

Sadly, the winds arrived right in cue, and forced us to head for the dam launch in some pretty rough water. Still itching to catch, we headed down the road to Butt reservoir hoping it would have some shelter from the wind. No such luck, whitecaps were rolling in from the far end of the lake, and it was clearly not to be.

We ended our fishing efforts and spent our remaining time cooking our solo fish and enjoying a nice fire and a few drinks.

Side note:
The fire damage was shocking to see. I’ve been coming here for 30 years, and it was really heart breaking to see the state of the forest and community. Chester will rebound, the forests should grow back, but for now it’s a pretty sad sight. Bear down for a gut check if you haven’t been up to the lake since the fire, it’s bad.

Short version:
I skunked. Fish showed up scattered throughout the water column, bigger makes suspended or on bottom. Bait appeared to be high in the column and scattered. I found no significant bait balls in open water, in the backs of coves, or in Putah/Pope creeks. Surface temp 51 degrees. I fished the full range of offerings, trolled fasts and slow, tried both jigging and mooching.

More details-
Found this video (probably while looking at FB?)

 Tactic is pretty similar to my favorite way to target landlocked kings, though the cured herring is a new wrinkle. I will continue to try this method (just ask MooMoo how well it works!)



This is typically the time of year I would be toplining for trout. Targeting kings under bait balls is fun, and I had not done it at Berryessa. In the video above and some other he has put out on YT, he describes Jan/February as the better months to locate schooled shad and the fish gorging on them.

I also tried jigging and mooching gulp minnows in pond smelt pattern, as this has worked well for me at other lakes (mainly Almanor for kings).

I was surprised to see the fish so scattered and frankly, it doesn’t make sense to me. Shouldn’t they be on top if the lake has turned? And if it still hasn’t, wouldn’t they be on bait balls suspended about halfway down? Seems peculiar that they were throughout the column and as deep as 100’.

Edit*
I did a quick search on turnover to refresh myself on the details. Seems like what I noted at Berry is a sign that the turnover is happening. That may be why the life was so scattered, uniform temps through the water column. I also noticed some gunk that is likely organic matter from the lakes bottom pushed up by the turnover event. That’s my theory at this point!

I launched out of Putah Creek campgrounds and paid $20 for the launch. I won’t be doing that again, too steep for my blood at a freshwater location, and it appears you can still shore launch near Pope creek bridge if you can handle uphill back to the parking area. I didn’t feel like doing it this time so I laid the premium price for a launch ramp.

Started out trolling a custom willow spoon painted in a shad pattern with a strip of cured herring on the hooks to add scent. Trolled for 30 minutes about 12’ down going 1.5 mph. Switched it up to fast gear and tried a few colors of speedy shiners at a few different depths.

Upon arrival at Pope Creek, I started searching for bait and dropped the gitzit bait from the video as well as a gulp minnow. Worked the area and the bits of bait that I could find for about an hour before deciding to go and check out Putah. I fast trolled over there, mostly focusing on the top 10’ of the water column. Found similar conditions in Putah and gave the area the same treatment as Pope.

After a few hours, I got back on the troll and tried a variety of gear. Jay Fair Trolling flies, sepps grubs, spoons, speedy shiners…0 bites.

I saw no other fish landed by the dozen or so other boaters and kayakers. Not sure if anyone here has a thought as to whether the lake turned or not based on surface temps and the location of the fish. Anyone who can point out evidence to support one conclusion or the other would have my gratitude.

I did have a great time getting out after a few months off of the water. Also fun to try a new tactic and see some osprey and baldies in action (though they couldn’t seem to find any fish either!)