Piru 05-03-2009 w/ pics

[YuAyntRyt]

We launched around 8am and decided to start where we last caught our fish the previous week. The weather was beautiful that morning. Slight breeze, some clouds on the sky. The temperature was just right. We're going to do well with this weather. So, we didn't go far from the marina to start our day. Less than five minutes into our first casts, I hook up with a pretty keeper. Okay, we've found them. We thought of all the places that had the same terrain for pattern. Thanks to my new custom color crankbait. In that area - we ended up hooking up with 3 nice aggressive keepers. So we continued to troll along the shore to search for more fish with no takers. We saw a guy catch a tiny blue gill. We skipped a few areas and went to some shallow open waters. I saw fish skitter on the surface and chucked my bait right on top of it and hooked up with a very nice slab of crappie. we continued to push through the area and the winds began to pick up. I caught a couple of fish. My wife lost a really nice sized trout. Then the Bite died down as the wind got stronger, perhaps we were being pushed too fast. It was hard to keep the boat in place. We then went to the grassy knoll and there were no takers other than grass. The wind was unforgiving that on our way to the grassy knoll, we saw a sail boat tipped over to its side.
We headed for the dam to give it a try and my wife hooked up with a couple of barely keeper trout. I hooked up with a nice bass by the rocks. As we continued on into a cove there were no takers. Hmnnn, we need a break from this wind and decided to go to our old honey hole. Ack! No takers and too many Yahooos swimming around our spots. We bounced around the lake and caught a few more later that day. As the day progressed the wind was unforgiving and got someone's boat flipped over. There were two pontoons and the police boat trying to flip it over. After maybe half an hour they just hauled the boat to the marina.
In that strip, I caught another crappie. About the same size as the other one. Nice sized slab. My wife looses a super aggressive bass keeper. Then I hooked up with the winning size of the day. Almost 3 lbs. bass. Enjoy the pics.
-Jay

[mrjonez]

man, we were out there too and got only one small trout to show for it. that wind got hectic around 2pm, but that seems pretty normal for piru.

[Santa Fe Eric]

That's good fishing bro!
Is that Buzzbait fishing with you?

Did both sailboat and Pontoon flip over in the wind? If so, that was some serious wind. Are Bass Boats batter equipped to deal with those kinds of conditions?

Lots of questions, I know, but I didn't ask for your spot, depth, or baits

Peace

[YuAyntRyt]

That's Buzzbait!

it wasn't a pontoon that flipped over. It looked like a 12ft boat. The sailboat tipped to its side. Swells were as tall as 3-4ft. Pretty hairy...

We fished pretty much most of the lake by trolling and burning crankbaits.

[mrjonez]

piru has sailboat races there from time to time. while at the marina we also saw a boat gun it at the trailer and smash into the truck towing the trailer.

[YuAyntRyt]

piru has sailboat races there from time to time. while at the marina we also saw a boat gun it at the trailer and smash into the truck towing the trailer.

There were little boats out there in the treacherous waters. Some were stranded stuck in the shallows because the wind was blowing too hard.

Perhaps next sunday we'll try castaic.

[Crappie Doc]

You guys are amazing! Do you ever get skunked? The only frustrating thing about reading your stuff is that you don't give up no info about those good spots. I guess I can't blame you!!!

[YuAyntRyt]

You guys are amazing! Do you ever get skunked? The only frustrating thing about reading your stuff is that you don't give up no info about those good spots. I guess I can't blame you!!!

Thanks for the compliments!
And Yes, We do get skunked but not as often as we used to. The good spots do change from time to time. Like the place we keep calling the "honey hole". It has not produced in the last three visits we had been there. So, with the lessons we have experienced and read. We apply each time we go out. From Bassinsider.com - Bassdozer.com - Fishfever.com - Youtube.com...etc. The list goes on and on. We also read magazines and books. With all that information we gather, we apply everytime we go out fishing. Sometimes they pay off, sometimes they don't. A productive fishing day is not all about, I threw a drop shot rig out there and I sat down on my lawn chair to wait for a bite. We go out and seek fish. One week the fish might be in this spot, but the following week- they're nowhere in that spot. As we do it all the time, if a spot doesn't produce in a certain amount of time, we keep that foot on the trolling motor until we find fish or burn out the battery. Understanding your baits ability to catch fish is critical. We've kept a journal recording each time we catch fish:
-time of the year
-color of the bait
-water conidtions and temperature
-water depth and clarity
-if the fish is in cover or rock or open water
-forage "Match the hatch"
and many more...
It's paying off so far.
My wife is a bait junky. She loves trying new things all the time. They all don't pay off especially when they are used in the wrong conditions. Every now and then she gets lucky with her little experiments. I like to stick to what works and baits that i have full confidence in it's ability to catch fish. The good thing about my wife's experiments are that some days when nothing is biting, she'll throw some off the wall idea and catch fish. She likes fishing thick cover and shallow flats. I like steep rock ledges and rocky areas.
Well, perhaps you can just ask when you see us at the lake.
Good luck out there!

[BassinPLS]

Thanks for a great post, outstanding pictures and thoughtful commentary.

I agree with your observation on drop-shotting. I get so burned out on it sometimes I even refuse to d/s when it is working. I guess I can't sit still long enough for the "grass to grow"! I would rather c/r or tx rig. Crankbaits or anything but drop shotting! But darn...it does work when the bite is tuff.

BassinPLS

[thepuma]

Awsome Read, Awesome post! Pictures were great too. I keep wanting to visit Piru. I stopped at the gate once on my way to Ventura to see if Float tubes were allowed (yes they are). I guess I would have had a hard time fishing from a tube in that wind though. Congrats on a fine outing.
Thanks for sharing.