Stevens Creek 6/17/2006

I didnt want to go to sea this weekend so my wife and i went to stevens creek reservoir. about an hour after arriving i hooked a fish that was fighting pretty hard. it ripped the lure right off my line. i was using 20lb spectra. that was pretty weird as it fought for a few minutes and then just wore the line apart. i dont think it was bass.

in the bass department however i found a little swampy area that had a ton of branches and junk. when the sun was shining down you could see these large shadows of bass swimming just a few feet under the surface. i could not hook one no matter what i tried. it was nice to see them though, they looked like rockfish. they were in pairs and in singles. they just were not on my hook.

i paddled around and checked things out. it was a nice place.

john

John,

If you were in in the willow area, then those large fish that were patroling were most likely carp.  And the one that got away could have been a carp or a catfish. If you were fishing deep, and it was just real strong but the line wasn't screaming out, I'd put my money on a big cat. There've been 20 pound cats taken out of Stevens Creek. If the line was screaming out, then I'd put my money on carp.  I've seen them get to about 3 feet or so in length in Stevens Creek. And a carp that long is like a freight train, your tackle has to be in good shape.

Scott

Doesn't Stevens Creek have a few sturgeon too?

MolBasser

hey scott, you know, i thought it was a carp as well and my wife said they look like rockfish, i went to where she was and when the sun was shining through the branches below i saw what had a rockfishy shape to it. i know that carp are more of a rounded looking fish with different fins above kind of like an opal eye in the ocean.

the weird thing was i saw a pair that were about 6" below the surface, appeared to be abouit 7-8 inches long, then this big fat one swam behind them and dwarfed them. it was pretty amazing to see fish just hanging out. usually i only see that when i go diving.

it was in the willows and it was where all the juvenile fish were hanging out as well wit the turtles.

as for catfish that just may have been what stole my lure! that thing fought for a bit and then just casually took the lure right off the line. i think whatever it was it was pretty abrasive around the mouth wearing out the braided line i was using.

aside form those folks what are those perchy looking things with stripes? are they crappie?

it was fun being in fresh water and real close to home too. gas is getting pricey!

john

I agree with Scott - TONS of carp at Stevens Creek - almost impossible to catch but every now and then you'll hear of one landed. I caught a big one form the Stream below the dam on my trout tackle a while back = they defintely put up a serious fight  

IMO: carp are under rated  - as far as hard fighting fish   They will almost always put your gear to the test

I lived about 5 min from Stevens Creek, used to fish there a lot.  Yes some large cat and carp.  Bass bite is tough,
right now though early morning and evening(not long before the rangers ask you to get off the water) there can be a pretty decent top water bite.  Ive had good luck w/bluegill pattern POP R around cover towards the back of the lake.  Ive found these bass are real spooky, cast, be patient, let it sit a LONG time, then start to work it back, many times they explode on it first twitch or two.  Zara Spooks work decent as well, but the POP R has worked the best for me over the years.  Other than that Ive found bass bite there less than stellar.  Just my 2C.
Walter

thanks for the info! freshwater fishing is all new to myself. i never had much luck. my wife usually does a lot better than myself

all helpful info and should i go there again i will definitely be better armed!

john

Yup... you were getting jazzed on carp. They are HUGE in there. I nailed the bass on the spawn... not much happening since. There are a bunch of crappie in there too. I've never targeted them but, I've seen some kids go nuts on them in there. Nice little place to paddle around in too.

Freddie

Its lots of fun to feed the carp corn from a can. Then toss them one with a hook in it. Sometimes that wont work either, but it has a few times, I caught one as big as my leg in the Potomac river once with that method.

my barber said his son tossed bread balls out at anderson, chummed the carp up, they hit bread balls,
fought like hell on flyrods!

I'm warming up to batrays and carp!

J

Carp are awesome.

Very strong fighters.  More people would fish for them if they didn't have the weird stigma that they have.

Ask any european what fish is most sought after over the pond......

MolBasser

tossed bread balls out at anderson, chummed the carp up, they hit bread balls,

Carp are very wary feeders small hooks and canned corn works great.

It is illegal to chum with corn for Carp in CA. (I'm not trying to be alliterative, honest). I've been doing a bit of reading on European carp fishing techniques too. I don't think I can pass up the opportunity to try for them at Stevens Creek. I bet a 20 pound carp would really take you for a ride, if it didn't immediately head for the trees.

Agree that the bass bite is tough. In fact, I'm seeing absolutely nothing near the shoreline, whereas a month ago the panfish and the bass were all up shallow. I'm still trying to figure out where the bassies have gone. Normally I'd look for bait, and then target the nearest cover, but that hasn't worked for me so far. It's not like my home lake, where there aare weeds, crappie, sunfish and bluegill out the wazoo, and the bass are practically everywhere from 4'-20' deep. I'm thinking SCR is going to make me into a better bass fisherman.

I'm seeing crappie around 10-12 feet deep. Toss them a small grub and you can have all the fun you want.

Regards,
Scott

P.S. - I am soo liking my father-to-be day's present (fishfinder/gps)

It is illegal to chum with corn for Carp in CA.

It's illegal to chum at all in freshwater except a few spots.

Is it illegal to be a messy eater? well, learn something everyday from you guys.