Me and Brian #2 decided to fish Carneros with Dave of the SB Bass Club via float tube. We got to the lake at around 8AM. I started out with a senko, Brian had a spinnerbait. Nothin on the senko, nothin on the spinnerbait. Brian changed up to the good old R&R Stroker's grub and pulled a little keeper, but it was one of them suckers that looks like a miniature 5lber, know what I mean? Just a little brute. I threw a speed trap for a little bit, then a reeper, then the baby brush hog, then a jig, and never got touched. Sometime in there, Dave showed up and threw a senko around but got nothin. He shortly moved up into the narrows, never to be seen again... Brian's early fish was the only one of the day, unless Dave pulled one without us knowing... So, by the end of our session, I started experimenting with new uses for my float tube. I realized I can kneel on the seat, backwards, like Pete's method of, uh, relieving himself (sorry, couldn't think of another more eloquent way of putting that...) and discovered that I can pitch and flip much easier from that position, and will also be able to site fish much easier. Down side, it's a little hard to balance while fishing, but not that tough. It is tough to keep your position in wind, or move. After that I realized that I can lay down, backwards on the float tube (so that my back is toward the sky, and my stomach is in the water, my head on the backrest, and my feet sticking out underwater in front of the float tube) and it's a nice change of kicking position after you've been kicking around the "conventional way" all day. I may look like a jack@$$, but my legs aren't tired!!! And another thing of lesser note is that along the same lines, still facing backwards, I can walk in shallower water and look through the opening in the seat and have a very clear view of the bottom (shut up, I was REALLY bored). So, an uneventful day at Carneros as you can tell.
-Brian

Hey Brian, im cracking up just imagining you doing that. Next time get a picture of it to post. Im sure you would get a few laughs. I swear if my friend did that, i would laugh so hard i would sink or be tempted to go push him into the water!! Keep up the good times!!

Till Later,
Joel


To fish, or not to fish, what a stupid question!!

man I must have been reading your mind Brian, I was going to post this morning and ask you when you were going to go check out carneros and I get here to post and you already went. har har. well it's a little while till spring still... Pouring rain up here right now. John is out on the Delta fishing the AC team tourney. I'm feeling thier pain right now.

Brian,

I've done all those things before. It actually does work quite well to move fast across an area as long as the water's calm (or you're wearing a wetsuit instead of waders which I don't think I'd do in Carneros - I've gotten water down the front of the waders and it's not that fun). Kneeling on the seat for sight fishing is very good also. Last year toward the end of when we were getting them in that one corner I was there mid morning and not having any luck. I went into that area and did that and sight fished a 15 incher (saw 3 of them).

If the weather wasn't so crappy this would be the time to start checking things out over there but who knows with all this cold and rain. Did you happen to check the water temp?

Pete

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You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

Pete,
Didn't have a temp gauge. Felt coldish, but not THAT cold. The water was surprisingly clear though.
-Brian

It's strange that it gets so clear in the spring - even after rains. Maybe there's some kind of natural filtering system? It's one of the things I love about the lake in the spring.

I just drove by it on Calle Real and saw that the overflow lake was filled (getting close to the road). The only time I think I've ever seen it look like that was back in 1982 or 1983 and I still don't think it was that high.

The high water level should make for some nice shallow water fishing come April!

After our nightime success at the trailer park I can't wait to hit Carneros at night. I've only done it a couple times in the past from the dam with a black jitterbug. If there are any more 9 pounders in there I bet that's when we'd get 'em.

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You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

I hear you talk about 9lbers in this pond. I have fished it a couple of times, but not in a few years since the last fish kill. I talked to a guy who said he caught a 10lber years ago but nothing that big in years. The biggest I have ever caught out of this pond is a 4lber. I hear you guys talking about sight fishing this pond but everytime I have fished it it has been pretty muddy. When is the best time to fish for them? What areas do they normally spawn in, the narrows up top or the flat by the small island? How is the fish population sinc the fish kill, is it on the rise?