Berry Brawl'N 3/21/15- Fun had by All!

Saw a lot of bass... couldn't get any of them to bite.    Family and I had a great time!  Great job, Ricci.  Looking forward to the rest of the series!

It was a day made in heavin--for the fish.  I couldn't get any action.  But I had a nice ride out and back.  Thanks for the food, fun , and special give-aways. 

Thanks for the sharing the good time guys.  I have fun at work today...NOT! 

Another great event.  Lots of partying Friday night, but sadly only two of us stayed up late Saturday and kept partying, I won't mention who went to bed at 9!!  But me and Texasboy partied on with racoon's running amuck in the bushes.

Great time, great friends, and killer food.  The halibut from Alaska was off the hook.  Fishing was tough, but that is only a small part of what these events are to me.

Can't wait for Rollins!!!

Ricci you did your self good buddy, great event!!!  And I really liked the location, especially for camping.

Hey Ricci,
Thanks for hosting another great event. 

Martin

My family and I had a wonderful time. Thanks for putting in all the work to organize this thing Ricci, Jim, and Mike. It was a 3F weekend for me = Friends, Family, Fishing!
Thanks to the discounted rates that were negotiated for the event, I was able to rent a cabin. We got the big one (cabin 18) this time because we had a couple friends & their kids coming along. BUT they flaked out last minute and we lagged getting on the road. We left Monterey at 2pm and arrived at Pleasure Cove at 6:58...with 2 minutes to spare! The traffic on 680 was balls deep and my wife sorta went crazy.     By the time we finally got to the cabin, I was ready for a cold beer. Or 6.

Tourney morning, I actually woke up early and got my yak & gear ready in the cove below our cabin then went to check in. That was the 1st sunrise I've seen all year. My plan was to target bass & crappie because I didn't want to paddle too far for trout/salmon since I brought my Ultra 4.7 instead of my Hobie (the Ultra is way better suited for taking my kids out on the yak and that was my main objective = play in the water with the kiddos).

Paddling towards the power lines, I focused my efforts on rocky points along the west shore because those areas should warm up first and have better visibility...I was hoping to find some bass sunning themselves, like, sunfish. I employed 2 main techniques: slow trolling and power fishing. I began the day power fishing, which is my favorite way to target bass. I call it power fishing because it's a pretty aggressive technique that requires constant casting & positioning, while covering a stretch of shoreline as efficiently as possible. I'll send down one rig with a finesse lure (like a roboworm on the dropshot or weightless senko or texas-rigged creature or my favorite a hula grub) and rig up the other rod with a reaction lure like a crankbait, spinnerbait, rattletrap, or jerkbait. I'll let the finesse bait drag the bottom (mostly dead-sticking it with rod in the holder) while fan-casting at the shoreline with my other lure...while slowly paddling along. I admit, this technique is a little easier in a Hobie. 
The slow trolling technique is self explanatory and I tried a bunch of different lures, while running 2 rods. I got a few bites and brief hookups on the troll but nothing worth entering in the tourney (or so I thought haha). 

Throughout the morning, I got the feeling the bass weren't hungry. So I decided to switch it up and target crappie. On my finesse rod, I tied up a 1.5" white curly-tail grub on a 1/32oz pink head and attached a micro-spinner. Tossed it out behind me and continued peppering the shoreline with my arsenal of bass lures. And as luck would have it, that little crappie jig accounted for all 7 of the bass I landed (6 smb and 1 spot). Pretty fun on my medium-light setup w/6lb mono and a loose drag. Most of the bass were small in the 10-16" range, but I did lose a really nice lmb on a rattletrap. In the end, I should've done a better job documenting my fish because I only turned in 4 and 1 got DQ'd hahaha (somewhat ironic after having to DQ so many AOTY fish this year!). But it's all good and that's what I get. I lucked out and finished in 3rd place and just enough cash to pay for the trip  So I'll see you mofos at The Port in December!

Thanks again for organizing this event guys! And thanks to everybody who contributed, had fun, and made my family feel like a part of the NCKA family.   Here's some pics.

OMG we barely made it there in time!


Pics of the cabin FFR






Tourney morning with Brokeback Rich, err Broke seat Rich.


Artificial structure




See that rock-strewn secondary point?


Geese were paired up and lupin was blooming


Feesh


No tongue patch



Mas feesh


Alguno pescado


Hold em right


Back on da beach with the kiddos


Uncle Adam came to visit and brought little James




Taking my daughter out for a paddle


She had fun


Backseat drivers...


The raffle & awards ceremony






Then back to the cabin for more shenanigans


Yes, my son is digging a hole in the background...it's a Minecraft thing


My son & his cousin "enjoying nature" as they chisel some bark...another Minecraft thing but I had to break this one up (no trees were harmed).


And of course, Rosie wanted to do it too haha!


It was so rewarding to see the cousins playing with each other. It sparked some priceless memories of goofing around with my cousins 30yrs ago at Berryessa.


I thought this was pretty impressive, sight fishing from a Hobie.




OK time to go home you goofballs!

Awesome event!! It was nice and chill. Can't wait for the next one

Another great event.  Lots of partying Friday night, but sadly only two of us stayed up late Saturday and kept partying, I won't mention who went to bed at 9!!  But me and Texasboy partied on with racoon's running amuck in the bushes.

haha Scott I haven't laughed that hard in a long time ... Btw it was 930 when I checked out.... Another fun berryessa brawl in the books congrats to the winners and a big hand to all that helped in making this event a success ... Thank you 

So that's where I left my boat.....

Great event, beautiful lake this is my first time fishing berry and I enjoyed it. Thanks to all those who contributed to making it happen and to all those who supported by taking part in it.

Sweet report and pictures, Pat! Wish I could've gone. Oh btw, mouth looks open on your "mas feeeeesh"
Congrats on 3rd you A-Hull!

 dang!  looks like I missed a fun event, wx looked great..and fish biting,sweet
been busy on a big project, hopefully next year

Pat..........I know you are a moderator, but I outta stomp your puddle n stomp it dry! Just kidding, great seeing ya back on an Ocean Kayak,  with the sun glistening off the water, and the sweet scent of Pro Cure, I was feelin your vibe..... I had my rod out, cant see it in the pic, but I was ready for action!

Thanks to everyone that helped put on another great event. I'm glad I got to go, even if all the fish trembled in fear and wouldn't come within 500 yards of my kayak. Thanks to all the sponsors. I am looking forward to spending the $40 Adventure Sports gift certificate I won in the PIF raffle. Thanks to everyone that brought delicious food to another fantastic NCKA potluck. I wish I could have stayed Saturday night, but I had to get up early and pattern my shotgun in time for the opening of Turkey season. I'm looking forward to fishing all the Fresh Kats series. Thanks Ricci.

Haha it's all good Rich...as long as you leave my chest plate alone...