NorCal Fishing BS

Ghost shrimp pumpin tonight. County Sheriff kicked me out at 11:45 for ‘curfew’. I lol’d and asked doesn’t that start at 12:01? Never mind the fact I’m calf deep in the mudflats, don’t think that’s a big covid risk lol

 

Shore-fished a local lake yesterday. Ended up with two bass.

 

thats cute

 

Best I could do from the banks. Haha. Having a kayak next time will be much better.

 

so cute. i wish i had a backyard pond i could sneak one of those into.

last nights winds..i am hoping they whipped up a feeding trend at that lake. my logic. the waves washed out some crayfish and bait. i am watching the weather.

 

winds are calm tomorrow. looks like i will be working from home.

 

Just got word that at least one of the lakes I ice fish is totally frozen over with safe ice now. Looks like ill be planning my escape up there sooner than I thought. SWEET.

 

What fish are you targeting when ice fishing?

 

Rainbow, Cutthroat, Mackinaw, Brown, whatever bites! There are some bass in the lakes up north off of 80 (Boca, Stampede, Lake Davis, etc) but I don't think there are any bass in the 3 lakes off 88 (Silver, Caples, Red) that I usually fish.

 

cool!!! i have never fished anything over ice.

 

It can get pretty boring, but once you get into them, its game on! Helps a ton having fish finders, which luckily I have. Without fish finders it would SUCK.

 

you have a video camera you can sink down there and watch fish real-time?

i have a pop-up hunting ground blind, i have often thought would work for a make-do ice shanty. it is black on the inside and zipped up, it is film-developing dark on the inside.

i would be the only way in hell, i could get my wife on board to do any ice fishing. EVER!! me, i just need beer and an ice-ches...err. never mind. no ice chest needed

 

preferably ones that swim

 

unrelated here: I have Penn Fierce 2 spinning reels for crabbing and surf perch. wanted something good but on the cheaper side.

People really like Daiwa BGs. i had a chance to spin one today. they really are smooth.

 

They definitely make those for ice fishing, but I can't justify the price for one as little as I ice fish out here. I'm trying to see if a buddy from back home in Iowa can ship one out to me for cheap. Lol. Oh yeah that would likely work forsure. I have a cot-tent I use for regular camping trips and I'm going to bring that with me this year when I go up. Just being able to get out of the wind makes a world of difference. Even better if you have enough room to put a small heater in there and you're able to close everything up.

 

I gotta give it to Daiwa. They have really improved their line-up from top to bottom. Like most other companies, it used to be that Daiwa's cheaper reels (around $100 and under) SUCKED major butt, but now they seem to be putting much more thought and quality into the cheaper stuff overall. I bought one of those Daiwa crossfire reels last year for $15 (IIRC) on sale and it still gets used as a travel reel. Heavy as shit and the drag is not the best, but it holds up.

 

that being said - I just ordered myself a Christmas present: 3 Penn Battle 2s in 5000 size. pretty much the minimum size you want for crabsnares. 8000 cranks them in nice but by the end of the day, it gets heavy setting that snare with a 10-12' rod and 30 oz. reel.

 

You have a specific crab snare you recommend? A small one? I’m going to try crabbing from the shore. Already have a rod and reel for it, just need the snare.

 

I see alot of people having success with crabslayer snares (crabslayer.com), but to be honest, $17 includes 6-8oz weight at the end of the snare for better distance casting. but it seems too pricey to me, especially when i've had snares snap off my line when the bail flips shut on a cast or it gets snagged and you have to break it off.

i actually watched some videos and make my own snares out of hardware cloth. i also use some snares from a mom-n-pop tackle shop in san jose. because the rock crabs will destroy the hardware cloth cafes.

some people say to stay away from the big5 snares, the loops are too loose and lay flat in the sand.

generally, rectangular shaped are better for casting. you clip a pyramid weight on the farthest end from your line, so it casts better. even if you buy a weighted snare, you might have to add 2-3oz weight to keep it from rolling around if its rough.

outdoor proshop has some small weighted snares that look pretty good and are like $10 i think.

 

something like this
https://www.outdoorproshop.com/Crab-Meister-Castable-Crab-Snare-p/cm-crab-snare.htm (well, shit for $15, it almost seems worth it to buy the crabslayer snares)

or this
https://www.outdoorproshop.com/Joes-Castable-Crab-Snare-p/joes-crab-snare-unweighted.htm

alot of time you see guys selling their own snares at the usual crab spots, like pacifica pier, too.