Paradise at Paradise, 9-11

Some of Craig's ESP must be rubbing off on me bacause last night I seriously had visions of halibut. Before I left I also had a strange urge to grab an extra strap.....which I never do...

So I hit the road at the crack of 9:30 and headed South. Stopped at Keith's and got some nice, lively shiners for bait. I was finally in the water at about 11:00AM. First thing I saw at the launch was bait fish everywhere. Couldn't tell if they were anchovies or baby smelt, but they were swarming those rocks right at the launch.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. If it were a few degrees cooler it would have been perfect. For most of the time I was there the water was glass and I could see baitfish rippling the surface all over. First I worked the hills over by the clubhouse for an hour or so. Lots of fish mid-column in there but nothing biting. There were three gentleman on the pier that left around noon, so with the pier being empty I started sweeping the area in front of it. Even though there was a decent incoming there wasn't much of a drift so I putted around the area for awhile. About 45 minutes later there was the slightest twitch at my rod tip. I grabbed the Seeker from the rod holder and lifted ever so slightly. Sure enough I felt a little tension so I kicked it into freespool. Gave it a few seconds and BAM. Fish on. Fought and netted the fish without incident. Never did measure it, but I'd say it was about 31" and a little over 10lbs. Gave the pier area a few more half-assed drifts and decided I had accomplished what I came for and headed in. I was off the water at about 2:30! Weather was still beautiful and I probably coulda stuck it out for a few more hours, but I was content with what I had.

Saw a three or four foot sturgeon jumping around right by the pier, too. Maybe it'll be an epic sturgeon season too.

Oh yeah! Almost forgot...as I was loading up the yak to leave I pulled the strap tight and POP! The little spring in the clip popped out, rendering the strap useless. If I wouldn't have grabbed the extra one, which I really never do, I woulda been f**ked. Someone's lookin' out.

Sure is a beauty, Good job Dustin thanks for the report and pics

Nice report and great catchin'. Who said Paradise was played out? No one it seems Uh-uh! Good job.

Nice!!! 

 Way to Listen to The Little Man Inside!!!   

Nice Dustin how did you get that guy in that little net

YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE HALIBUT ZONE! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TURN YOU'RE DIAL! Going down on Sunday Dustin. Gonna get it on one more time. Did you try to catch or net some of those baitfish? Way to make up for our cancellation of the event. Craig

LOL. Those little nets are for my aquariums.

I might just head down there with ya on Sunday, Craig.

There, the Petaluma by the Sheridan, or Tomales.

Holy Baitball Batman!!! That is a nice school of something small and tasty! Nice job in the keeper Dustin! Wonder what the bait was anyways hard to tell from the picture but certainly plentiful.



-Eliot

I bet you were STOKED to have grabbed that extra strap for what seemed to be no apparent reason!  Nice hali, too 

Nice fish. It's always cool to see bait on the water... sounds like a good day. Sturgeons a jumpin!

Hey, Hey - WTG Dustin!  Nice hali and cool pics.

Nice going there once more Dustin.

Jedmo

For some reason while reading your post I'm hearing AC/DC  Touch...don't know the name of the song..but...touch touch to much...u really got the touch...

Man u been catching to many fishys...hearing voices... WTG Damn Dude!!! nice way to leave um biting...thx for a boiling report...with pics...

Dustin

sounds more like a harvesting trip than a fishing trip.
Good job as always.