a fifty-fish day

Give me a shout if you want to fish together some time.   Like I noted above, its hard to find a break in the schedule, but i will fish any chance i can get.

Absolutely!  Just gotta figure out schedules.  I'd love to see Kelly Lake, etc.  I'm not a great hiker so lugging too much junk's not a good plan for me, but I can carry a reasonable amount.

Can Kelly or Coit be fished from shore or do you have to haul in a float tube, pump, etc?

I just spent the last couple weeks hiking a few miles a day but that was at DisneyWorld and Colonial Williamsburg....not quite the same terrain as the route to Mississippi Lake... 

Figuring out schedules is always the hard part for me, with so many things going on, pushing this way and pulling that way, but eventually i think we can make it out there.   

Kelly is a great place to fish, but you pay your dues getting in and out of htere.    I dont think there is any place in that park that is an easy stroll.    But, if you dont want to tube it, you could fish the shore;   you are just more limited.    Depending on the year and time of year, there are only a few places you can fish from shore, but they can be quite good.   After you catch 25 fish from the same spot, you do feel like you need to move. 

Coit really needs to be float tubed to be really fished right.   

This time of year is too hot for most people to go into H Coe.     I was going to do it anyway a couple weeks ago, but my friend didnt want to go in when the temps were 106.    Probably the right choice.

I don't have a regular fishing buddy so I haven't tried the salt yet...not going out there solo but I don't mind a solo adventure on Stevens Creek, Calero, etc.  I fish using "normal" gear maybe half the time but it's harder to find somebody that teaches spin tactics...much easier to find help on fly fishing (at least without having to pay professional guides).

If you want to learn let me know. It's not hard to pick up at all. Fly fishing is much harder to me and I only do it in the small streams.

compa - you bet I'd love to learn the salt!  Thank you!
 
I don't know what my schedule will be like but surely something can be worked out if I'm patient.  I'm in no rush so don't juggle anything on my account.
 
I'm pretty sure I'm missing a little bit of required hardware (big net, gaff, snare, giant lures/hooks/weights) but I have most of what I think I need (including a wetsuit, vhf radio, fox 40 whistle, good knife clipped to my PFD, etc).
 
My rods are all freshwater but that's simple to fix while I'm picking up a gaff and net (18" minimum opening last time I checked the SW reqs...I'll look again in case it changed).
 
I don't have side-planers or down riggers so if they're expected, I'd need to know ahead of time.
 
Thanks!

compa - you bet I'd love to learn the salt!  Thank you!
 
I don't know what my schedule will be like but surely something can be worked out if I'm patient.  I'm in no rush so don't juggle anything on my account.
 
I'm pretty sure I'm missing a little bit of required hardware (big net, gaff, snare, giant lures/hooks/weights) but I have most of what I think I need (including a wetsuit, vhf radio, fox 40 whistle, good knife clipped to my PFD, etc).
 
My rods are all freshwater but that's simple to fix while I'm picking up a gaff and net (18" minimum opening last time I checked the SW reqs...I'll look again in case it changed).
 
I don't have side-planers or down riggers so if they're expected, I'd need to know ahead of time.
 
Thanks!

Thwack

I thought you meant spin tactics in freshwater. I don't do much of salt water except for may be a surf trip herer and there. For Salt you might want to hook up with some of the guys down in Monterry, Santa Cruz and up in the North coast. This is the time for that right now.

AWESOME report Thwack!!
I truely miss flyfishing and I think you've rekindled the fire!!
I lived in Vermont for a couple years and got a little serious with the flys (even tied all my own), moved back to CA and got a little serious in the high country, but have now grown old! I'm spoiled spinning with plastics in the lakes...
I'll trade you tubing a half day spinning for bass at a local lake, for the other half of fly fishing bass, crappie (OH YAH!) and bluegills!
Got to bring extra dragonflies and figure out what those crappie want!!!

Just say the word!

Thwack

I thought you meant spin tactics in freshwater. I don't do much of salt water except for may be a surf trip herer and there. For Salt you might want to hook up with some of the guys down in Monterry, Santa Cruz and up in the North coast. This is the time for that right now.

I'm sure I could use help on the spin tactics too!  I learned a couple things from the guide while fishing a few weeks ago at Disney but we only had two hours on the water so there's not much time for learning.
 
I have plenty of gear and sometimes catch fish with it but it always feels like guesswork (more than it should).

AWESOME report Thwack!!
I truely miss flyfishing and I think you've rekindled the fire!!
I lived in Vermont for a couple years and got a little serious with the flys (even tied all my own), moved back to CA and got a little serious in the high country, but have now grown old! I'm spoiled spinning with plastics in the lakes...
I'll trade you tubing a half day spinning for bass at a local lake, for the other half of fly fishing bass, crappie (OH YAH!) and bluegills!
Got to bring extra dragonflies and figure out what those crappie want!!!

Just say the word!

Sounds like fun on both sides of that!  Only place around here I've caught crappie was Stevens Creek Reservoir one Fall a few years ago.  Lucked into them while drowning worms under a bobber and landed six (plus lost at least that many) in a couple hours exploring after work.  They were near the submerged trees (which should be showing again since the water there is down pretty far).
 
Calero is supposed to be fishing well for crappies but I've only ever caught bass there (and only a couple per trip or skunked...no blow-out days there yet for me).

The place I was having all the fun with the bluegills was private property.  I wish I had regular access...
 
I tried fishing Pine Mountain Lake this evening.  Got started about 6:00pm and it was still way too hot.  Water is down a foot or so from a month ago when I last fished it.
 
My favorite spots were only holding tiny bluegill (and most of them couldn't get the hopper in their mouths).  Moved around to try spots I hadn't tried yet and got more hits and another small bluegill but nothing like the fun I had there last month.
 
I need to add a fishfinder to my kayak to help figure out where they're hiding on hot days like today (it hit a hundred out there today).
 

Got to bring extra dragonflies and figure out what those crappie want!!!

Ken, May be this? 

Nice crappie.  That lure looks a lot like a crease fly so even fly flinger might have a chance... 
 
Where did you find that crappie?