Lake Chabot - 02.12.06 (PICS)

Got to a late start...but I got to meet one of our members- Dave / sfbaykayak as we were both unloading the yaks. We chatted for a while and I took some photos of the unique set up of his Hobbie. I'll post it on the rigged kayaks section when I get the chance. Nice meeting you Dave!

Anyway, my boss arrives shortly after and we carried the boats down to the launch...about 300 yards away...note to self...bring wheels next time  Met a canoe-er who was impressed with the rigged kayaks. I told him about NCKA (bill, I'm out of stickers) - hope he checks our site out. We finally get the yaks wet by 8:30AM. I had my boss paddle the Prowler 15 cause his last kayak fishing experience with me was not the best  The first time I took him out, I had him use my Cobra Explorer back then....he did managed to catch a nice trout but also ended up flipping the yak in the middle of the lake....right by the dam....in the cold waters of November.....lost his favorite rod....was not wearing the PFD.....was wearing jeans and his hunting boots. He did managed to swim the yak back to shore and I was later informed about the incident by a friendly boater. I then paddled like Hawaii-FIVE-O and reached the scene of the "flipping"....my boss was standing on the rocky shoreline of the dam....shivering  I handed him my spare rain coat and all was fine - he was a trooper 

So, now I felt confident that the boss-man was on a better suited yak. I paddled the Scupper Pro - knowing full well that this yak is not really suited for a newbie - IMO. The scupper Pro is definitely narrow compared to most of the yaks I've owned in the past - BUT - it's fast and has the cockpit of a race car..you really feel "glued" to the seat...especially if you have an elephant's butt 

So we paddle out and within 10 minutes of trolling my shad rap = "HULI KA!!"  AKA "FISH ON!" a nice fatty trout....and unfortunately the last. We both fished the lake HARD for 3 hours and had no additional love. Still a beautiful day on the water - like always! I was bummed that my FF was not working - didn't get to know the lake "from within". Had a lot of issues trolling too shallow or too deep. I could not even get a visual of the drop-offs along the shoreline cause the water was still muddy. I saw Dave looking for some bass love but he wasn't scoring either. I'm hoping he chimes in with this report. Anyway, I will post some pics soon.

Another beautiful day spent under the sun and on the water with rod and paddle at hand 


PS: Boss man    had fun despite the lack of fish on the stringer - I ended giving him my trout in hopes for a raise 
....oh....and he did manage to stay topside this time around....thanks to the Ocean Kayak gods

Thats the bad thing about trout fishing Joel.  Not having a fish finder in a lake you dont fish all that much is tough.  One question Joel, do you ever use gold phoebe's or gold crushed triple teaser lures when you troll?  Also, do you like that lake?  I havn't trout fished for 8 years now.  I want to start practicing for that loch lomond derby.  JTF..

John - I'll use the triple teaser or phoebe's behind the micro seps flashers in stained water. I'll also use my rapala but I switch to a fire tiger color (which I did in Chabot). In clear water conditions, I'll use the standard shad colored rapala.

From my understanding is that the gold colored spoons are used for dark, cloudy days and the silver is best used in clear,sunny days.

I've only fished Chabot twice (once form a float tube) and it's not bad at all -  there are no motor boats allowed. I've seen some pics of BIG fish caught in this particular lake but the water is not as clear as Del Valle (but Del Valle has power boats). I'd fish this lake again considering that it's not a far drive compared to Del Valle. WARNING: a lot of pretty women running around the dirt trails....very distracting 

Mooch, don't feel bad about getting your boss wet.  I once took my boss ab diving in search of a raise.  I'm not kidding; he almost drowned.  Had to be pulled in.  I'm still waiting on the raise.

Thanks for the fun report.

; he almost drowned

I'm surprised you still have your job 

you should have let him drown. they you would have his job.
battlefield promotion, babee. 

Hi Mooch. It was great meeting you at Lake chabot last week.
I didn't catch any bass but managed to hook a fairly decent sized trout dropshotting near the dam. The bass bite at the lake has been increasing. One of the kids who works at the marina caught a 10 lb and a 4 lb bass using a wooden trout lure and 20lb test.
I'm hoping I can hook up with you next week at Del Valle. Thanks for the stickers.  I put them on the yak as soon as I got home.
Dave

1) pic of my Chabot trout
2) natural lawn mowers at Lake Chabot's hillside
3) Dave looking for Chabot Bass