For my B-Day I wanted to get away for a few days and do nothing but fishing. It was either going to be Lake Powell or Ca Delta.
So I went with the closer one of two.
So we left Thursday evening and did pretty good on time. The drive took about 7hrs from Baldwin Park after making a stop for In N Out and Re-Fuel. Our 1st
day on the water we launched out of Holland Riverside Marina and headed south. Water temps were 71-72 with scattered clouds and slightly stained water.
The conditions were just right on the money for reaction baits and top water which is what we all enjoy more. After a 10-15 minute boat ride we arrive at
our 1st spot and cast out the spooks, poopers, buzz baits, the fun stuff. Right away we all hooked and caught a good 7-9 bass. They were all less than 13 inches.
We had a wager going on for 1st fish caught over 14” and biggest fish of the day. So after 20 mins we took off to the next spot not too far from there. 1st
cast I get a nice blow up and a miss. I throw my spook out again and wam, got em. First keeper in the boat goes to me! We fished that area for a good 2-3 hrs
and hook up left and right. The TW bite lasted till 11am. Lot’s of doubles, Lots of dinks, few 2pounders and few 1’s… After we tried a few Docks in the area and
had less hook ups so we went back out to the rivers. The bite was very consistent throughout the day for all of us. Once 5pm came I headed back up towards the
area were we launched from to be nearby. So we fished the other side (north) of where we launched from and run into some stripers while working my spook. I start
hooking up with a few small stripers and a mix of bass. And shortly Bam, caught the biggest fish of the day, Solid Striper on a spook! I didn’t weight it but I’m sure it was
3.5-4lb range. Good enough for me to win. We fished till about 7 and took off with Big Smiles on our faces. We landed 135 Bass and 18 stripers, just a solid fun day.
The next day we head north and launch out of King Island Resort off Eight Mile Rd. After breakfast and refueling We arrive and this place looks like a mess. The
boat ramp was steep and at a side angle and filled with that Crazy infested plant (see the pictures and You’ll see what I mean even though it was much worst).
Once we put the trailer in the water it was a bit difficult to get my truck back out. A buddy and I both had to Sit on the tailgate in order to make it work. Our first
stop was Disappointment Slough, 2nd stop White Slough, 3rd Islemouth Slough, It was impossible to even try and fish. The entire cove was filled with that plant, yup
every inch of water. We left and went more north to Sycamore. By this time I took a small nap in the back of the boat and told the guys to follow my way points. I
think I was out for 45 mins and they had caught 8 bass in that time frame. When I woke up I was still tired and decided it was time for lunch at this place we passed at
tower park marina. After pizza and a few drinks we fished the marina area for 3 more bass and headed back to White Slough were we caught the most that am and
better quality. We busted out the cranks baits and plastics and had a lot of hook up, a lot of doubles and a lot of fun. We caught quality and quantity. The water
was also clear on this this side of the river compare to the 1st day. 6pm came and we headed back to Disappointment where we had a few hook up in the am and stayed
there till 7:30 or 8pm. We left bcuz the mosquitos were bitting more than the bass. Once we got to the dock it was a headache. Yup the worst happen, tires were spinning
out like crazy. Ramps were slippery and two of us in the tailgate was just not enough. Five minutes later a guy that was passing by saw us and asked if we could use a tow.
Heck yeah! Tied the chains to his 4x4 and made it look to easy and after that we all enjoyed a good 30 min conversation with the fella. Very nice guy! We ended the day
with about 85-90 Bass and a good 10-12 stripers.
The 3rd day we launched out of Windmill cove right next to the San Joaquin River. This day was more about sight scene and exploring. I actually wanted to go back to where
we launched out of the 1st day but though why not do some exploring. So we get to the launch ramp and same deal. The cove is covered left and right and
every inch but at least the ramp was not steep here. So once we finally made it out to the Main River we only traveled about 5 minutes west. We started out by catching
a drift 35-45 yards from the bank and bust out the TW baits. My buddy Jaime lands a nice bass right away and Shortly I get a striper. After that we hooked up on a
couple more and took off to Tinsley Island. It was a good 25-30 min boat ride. The winds were starting to pick up pretty good so I was thinking, maybe a bad Idea to
go far. We went anyways and on the way there I saw an Area to hit up on the way back before we head home. We get to Tinsley and only caught one. We fished other
areas for a few more fish. We were at 6 or 7 fish by now and it was already 10:00. We had plans to fish till noon and take off to get home at a decent time.
So on the way back we stopped by that spot I had seen earlier. It was already really windy & the big boats were putting up some monster wakes. I thought let’s at least
try to get to 30 in this area. I tried TW and my buddy Was throwing cranks and no love on tw, and Cranks were coming back full of salads from all directions. After 2-3 Fish in
40min range my buddy says haha I’m going to beat you today. He was at like 6 or 7 landed and I was at 3 I think. And other guy at 2 I think. Lol I said not today. I bust out my
go to DS bait which I did not have To use all weekend. It was already 11:15 by this time. So I went from 3 fish to 30 fish landed total in that short 45 mins of fishing. I put
on a clinic and lot’s of back to back catches. It was a lot of fun and good way to end the trip. My buddy ended up switching to my bait after IGot to around 20 bass and he
started hooking up too. I think he ended up with 14-16 landed and 3rd guy under 10.
This place is def a maze and a highway of nonstop rivers. GPS is a must for anyone going here, it’s very easy to get lost. We saw some very cool scenery, fished in
some really cool areas, drove the boat through some crazy plants and caught a ton of fish. Floating mats FOREVER!!! We fished for 2.5 days and caught over 250 LMB
and a good 30-35 Stripers. We used a variety of techniques from top water lures, cranks, jerks, spinner baits, creatures & plastics.
Best past was, my little 17 footer/90HP boat handled the river like a champ with not one issue
We stayed in Stockton at a Motel 6 and had no issues there. The room was very clean, cheap cost and had some fast food spots right outside
from our room. I wanted to take more videos and take a lot more pictures but it was very hard too when all I wanted to do was Fish this cool place so I did do my
best getting pictures. I’ll def be back very soon. Maybe Beginning of Dec
1st Keeper ftw
1st striper of the trip
Double
Biggest fish OTD for the 2nd Win!
Double
Bahaha
Resting at the Docks (shallow water anchor at work)
Trying to get to the river up ahead
Tinsley Island
Tower Park Marina, Where we ate
San Joaquin River Monster
How I slept, lol
And last, how I plan to pass my next Inspection, Let's hope they don't catch this