NorCal Fishing BS

Got the power wiring all completed and fired it up to test everything. It all works and cleaned out the boat ready for this weekend!




will report back after sundays trip to the lake. Hoping to get out and mess with LakeMaster and the trolling motor to test all i can and throw some line in the water.

 

@katchaser please tell me about your inflatable kayak

 

Sure! Anything in particular you want to know?

This is the kayak I have:

$155 Intex 2-Person Inflatable Kayak Set w/ Pump, Aluminum Oars, Adjustable Seats, Explorer K2 - Tandem Blow-up Raft for Adults, Great for Lakes or Rivers

https://www.amazon.com/Intex-Explorer-2-Person-Inflatable-Aluminum/dp/B00A7EXF4C

I’ve owned it since October 2019, and it has held up to the 15+ times I have used it. I am not easy on this thing at all either.... every time I go out with it I’m hitting trees, rocks, bushes, if it’s in the water, I’ve hit it. On top of that, I have had my 250lb brother in it with me twice (I’m 185lb) and it held together fine.

It takes about 10 minutes to air up (pump included with the kayak) and it’s easy to store once deflated.

Is it the best inflatable kayak on the market? Definitely not. Bang for buck though, it works for me. I just wanted something to get me on the water and on some fish, and for $80-$90 (they seem to have those Intex kayaks on sale often), I can’t complain.

 

cool, thanks! i'm a little tight on $ and storage storage space, so it might work for me this year!

 

Yup no problem. That kayak will work good for you then if you’re just needing something to get out this year. Definitely filled the gap for me!

 

I took the day off today for some fishing at the Delta before it was going to be rainy and crappy all next week and most of this weekend.

I’ll start by saying; “holy shit are they active now.” I put in the kayak at low tide late this morning and caught a couple right off the bat, then it died for about an hour while the tide came in.

Took a quick break on shore and then hopped back in for some more fishing. Ended up catching 7 or so back to back from 2 different spots under some downed trees within 20 minutes of fishing again.

From there, I ended up working one shore of the slough down about a half mile, and then on the way back I worked the other side with a few more caught.

All in all, probably 20 bass for the day, with smallmouth, spotted, and largemouth bass all caught. Some dinks, some mediums, and some fairly decent couple-pounders were caught.

Some GoPro screenshots and a quick video to show how much of a fight these delta bass can put up:

https://youtu.be/dnXM4iK10ko

 

Spur of the moment trip to lake Sonoma this afternoon. Never been before so I didn’t have high expectations. Ended up catching 7 or 8 bass and 1 crappie.

Minus the crappie, all the fish were shallow and under timber. Didn’t know what to expect before I showed up, so came a bit unprepared gear-wise. Fun few hours!


Some screenshots of some of the fish from the GoPro (and one from my phone):

 

Looks like an inflatable kayak. How do you like fishing with it? I’ve considered a kayak but would want foot pedals. I used to have a stand up paddleboard that I’d take camping and trout fish. Middle of the lakes would produce and I managed to never dunk myself while fishing. I wanna get something I can take under the Bay Farm Bridge in Alameda. Tons of striper, but lots of tidal current as well. Probably have to do drift runs and paddle back upcurrent

 

Bang for buck, you can’t beat it. It’s also incredibly stable. Both of my brothers are huge and have no balance, and they both feel totally secure when inside this kayak. I’ve actually never felt like I was going to tip or fall over either.

The only thing I can say about that’s not so good is long-term comfort. It’s hard to get comfortable sometimes and the seats are inflatable/buckled in with a terrible back-support piece so I find myself constantly shifting and most of the time just sitting on the entire seat (so no back-rest). I’d totally buy one of these fuckers again though. Lol

@marintacoma has this exact same kayak iirc and uses it for ocean fishing sometimes. He may be able to chime in with more.

 

could use a drift sock to help with that eh?

 

@Katchaser00
Sup man! The delta looks nice and the water looks calm, still yet to have made it out there. have you taken the Sundolphin out yet? Yea Ive had that yellow one for a few years, It works great and is definitely fun. ive brought it out to paddle around the Monterey - not too far outside of the harbor, but definitely watch out when fishing off of it, one sharp fin or spine on the back of a fish would definitely cause some issues. I like taking this one up to take too and paddling those small lakes up there. definitely hard to get comfy for long term but worth it to mess around in!

I ended up getting a larger tandem kayak that ive been taking out along the coast for Rockfish and Lingcod season starts in April!

 

Let me know when you're ready to head out! We can hit one of the spots I frequent. I haven't used the Sundolphin yet, and honestly dont know if I will. LOL. It's a lot of work to haul and the inflatable one can do everything the sundolphin can. My next kayak will be a foot-pedal Hobie or something, so Ill probably use the inflatable until I move and have more room to store a bigger kayak. Sundolphin will likely go up for sale soon here before I move.

 

My biggest gripe about the inflatable one is i never had a good spot to store my rods and lures without being worried about popping the hull. Yea man! Ill let you know

 

Anyone else going out today/this evening before the storms come tomorrow? Trying to finish up some work so I can bounce out early and try lake Sonoma again.

 

My vacation got canceled so I was planning to go out today but Berryessa is windy as hell so I’ll be home. Doing nothing. Hoping next weekend clears up.

 

Well that fucking sucks. I’d say come meet me out here at lake Sonoma but that’s like a 2 hour drive for you. Lol

 

Im still waiting to cash that ticket from an invite i got awhile back.........

 

We still need to do a group fish day at the Delta. Now that its starting to warm up, there is plenty of opportunity to hook into some nice fish from the shore. There's a few spots I have on the top of my head that we could all meet at, but it may be a little crampy. Need to find some larger spots that could fit a minimum of 7-8 people (and rods) comfortably. Not sure if a TW fishing trip has ever happened, but I still think it would be cool as shit to do something like that.

 

This time, i will! my kid has been itching to get out again

 

I went out today, out about a dozen fish in the boat. Was windy as all hell, glad I didn’t go to Clearlake.