FishPrincipal
07-07-2008, 08:44 AM
First time float tubing, first time Sacramento Perch fishing, first time at Crowley lake, and it was a blast. Caught 17 perch between the three of us within a few hours at Leighton Springs and Green Banks Bay. Once we found the spot where the jigs could reach the bottom without getting caught in the weeds on the way down, we started bringing them in. Pics will be up later today or tomorrow at the latest.
We camped at the Owens River Campground just Northwest of Crowley, July 3-6. It was windy, but there were no bugs. I'll take that any day. As the name implies, the Owens flows right along side of the campground. The fish were a bit smaller than usual someone told us, but they were in there. We found a good spot where the fish were of descent size (and nobody was swimming in the river) and caught several with gold panther martins, super dupers, and tasmanian devils. At the last minute we went back to that spot after packing up and caught a few more. Just for kicks, I threw in a large silver crocodile luer and to my surprise big papa, or mama, (3-4 pounder I'm guessing) came out to check it out but that's about all it did. Of course, it was time to leave so my attempts to attract it once again were very limited.
On Friday, we stopped by Convict to check it out (another first time visit) after having lunch in Mammoth and walking around a bit, and despite the strong winds I got in my float tube. I didn't care how hard the wind was blowing, I just wanted to use the darn thing (like Christmas morning). I kicked from the boat ramp to the other side of the lake and back. I didn't know anything about the lake, so I went back to my childhood days and dropped a sinker with rainbow powerbait on a treble hook. What made it all worth it was the 12 inch Brown I caught on my way to the other side, it was beautiful. I was bummed at first because I thought I would have to keep it if if it swallowed or partially swallowed the hook. But to my surprise, it was hooked on the roof of its mouth and I was able to get the hook out with no harm or blood. I was relieved. Of course I did not have my camera or phone to take a picture, and I did not have any way of keeping it with me until I met up with my family again without it dieing, so I let it go then.
Overall it was a great trip. Had great family time, great food, and great perch fishing. Did I mention anything being great?
We camped at the Owens River Campground just Northwest of Crowley, July 3-6. It was windy, but there were no bugs. I'll take that any day. As the name implies, the Owens flows right along side of the campground. The fish were a bit smaller than usual someone told us, but they were in there. We found a good spot where the fish were of descent size (and nobody was swimming in the river) and caught several with gold panther martins, super dupers, and tasmanian devils. At the last minute we went back to that spot after packing up and caught a few more. Just for kicks, I threw in a large silver crocodile luer and to my surprise big papa, or mama, (3-4 pounder I'm guessing) came out to check it out but that's about all it did. Of course, it was time to leave so my attempts to attract it once again were very limited.
On Friday, we stopped by Convict to check it out (another first time visit) after having lunch in Mammoth and walking around a bit, and despite the strong winds I got in my float tube. I didn't care how hard the wind was blowing, I just wanted to use the darn thing (like Christmas morning). I kicked from the boat ramp to the other side of the lake and back. I didn't know anything about the lake, so I went back to my childhood days and dropped a sinker with rainbow powerbait on a treble hook. What made it all worth it was the 12 inch Brown I caught on my way to the other side, it was beautiful. I was bummed at first because I thought I would have to keep it if if it swallowed or partially swallowed the hook. But to my surprise, it was hooked on the roof of its mouth and I was able to get the hook out with no harm or blood. I was relieved. Of course I did not have my camera or phone to take a picture, and I did not have any way of keeping it with me until I met up with my family again without it dieing, so I let it go then.
Overall it was a great trip. Had great family time, great food, and great perch fishing. Did I mention anything being great?