Del Valle 1/14/07 - No Love for Yak Anglers

My family and I had our annual kayak fishing tournament on Del Valle on 1/14/07 and had a great time  even though it was really cold and we didn't catch any fish. Trolled rapalas and spoons for hours through all of Mooch's recommended hot spots and caught nothing except for a clam. Switched to casting for bass with senkos, shaky worms, crank baits and swim baits and caught nothing except for ice on my guides and reel. I ran into 3 other yak anglers who also had a similar experience that day as well as numerous other anglers. The only fish I saw caught that day were by people fishing bait from boats or float tubes near the launch area. Our family tournament is artificials only. Hard way to start the fishing year but last year was so good that I feel blessed just to be out there with my family.    Pictures to follow.

Scott (GB2)

I feel blessed just to be out there with my family

That's what really counts 

So, did the clam win the tournie?   

Yep the clam won. I will post the picture of the rapala hooked clam which should be in a rapala commercial. That is why it is my "go to" lure. I will also post my daughters 4# LMB from last years tournament.

Scott

SWEET!! a Clam!    I was wondering if you were goimg to BRAVE to COLD!!
I sissy'd all weekend!!  Way to stick to the plan GB2 and family.   

Here are the pics.
#1 My daughter and her friend with their 2006 winning 4# LMB
#2 My daughter and her boyfriend this year (there was love, just not fish love)
#3 The 2007 winning clam

Scott (GB2)-
I think my brother and I saw you on the ice lake that morning. At some point the wind died down a bit, the water glassed over and it was nice out. As the wind started to pick up again, we called it a day and ate Mexican food.
 
We were totally shut out as far as fish went, but did manage to get pulled over by park police on the boat launch! No tickets, just confirming we had valid CA drivers licenses, car registration, insurance, fishing licenses and Del Valle fishing permits. Can't say I've seen that happen before. I thought he was going to ask us for our SAT scores next.
 
Nice to see that somebody pulled a fish out.

Alex

Alex -

Nice to meet you and your brother. I was the one who asked if you needed help loading your yaks. Sorry you got hassled by the the park folks. I fish there often so they kind of know me. Note the "fish" was from 2006, the "clam" was from 2007. Hope to see you under better conditions and welcome to  NCKA!

Scott (GB2)

Hey Scott-

Thanks for the offer to help load. I hope we weren't short with you. Under the watchful eye of the park police officer, we were trying to avoid even the slightest reason for giving us a ticket, which he seemed to want to do. One concern was being on the ramp for the minimal time possible.

I am sure we will meet fishing again, and have a better oppurtunity to chat. I am one of probably many that have read the reports on NCKA for a long time but never posted much. Since I finally started bringing a camera, there will be better reason to document our reports. Come spring, our names will probably pop up much more frequently.

Alex

No tickets, just confirming we had valid CA drivers licenses, car registration, insurance, fishing licenses and Del Valle fishing permits. Can't say I've seen that happen before. I thought he was going to ask us for our SAT scores next.
 


Alex

Alex, maybe you guys looked a little out of place with those "fancy poachin' Yaks"   .....volunteer em' a stool sample next time!    

I was banking it that day, to the right of the launch ramp. It was Livermore PD that came out to checc licenses and fishing permits. My lil bro had a license that wasn't filled out plus an expired driver license on him. The officer ran his name for warrants and a driver license checc. He was very thorough, but polite and professional. I'm just glad he didn't write my lil bro up for not completely filing out his fishing license. He provided a pen so my lil bro can fill it out. I'm just glad he wasn't in a bad mood...

Skunk for my group of four, but my buddies whom showed up later ended up with a few on inflated crawlers. Very nice sized ones too.

Great report and pix by the way.

That's not thier job.  I am sure they know where to find criminals with warrants in Livermore streets.why check fishers for warrants on MY TAX DOLLAR!    WEAH!

Criminals in Livermore? Are there?
I'm SF Alex's brother. Can't say I'm too surprised that HE didn't catch anything, but the rest of us seemed pretty damn well deserving.
The cop even asked my if I had been off-roading (my truck could give that impression) and before I could answer, he threw in a "not in OUR park system, I hope."
I didn't know what to say. Made for a pile of laughs.
GB2. Good to meet you. Thanks for the offer of help. I'll be honest, I was ready to eat and drink after a nice day of paddling and ticket-avoiding. Next time I'll get 'em. Again, can't say SF Alex will, but I'm due. Cheers.
Garen

DFG should be handling FISH buisness.  Dont get me wrong,I love our "protectors", but if your not doing anything wrong?  why get the hassles?  Alright,I'm over this.

and I need to my butt up to Del V.  All the pics I see of the lake look nice.  I think this cold put the freeze on the bite though. 

Adam - bill and I will be there on Sunday....well, I will for sure.....bill has "waking up in cold weather" issues