Hobby Sports

In the morning The Major took me to breakfast after he had finished his PT. We headed south to Fort Hood. The Major had some business t take care of and asked if I wanted to tag along. I said sure I have nothing better to do, I can at least check out the base. We picked up two of his captians and one of his sargents to recon part of the base where they needed to plan a training exercise. This allowed me to see one of their urban training mock cities. Built in the 80s, the mock city is modeled after a typical Eastern European town. The Army has now converted it to look more Middle Eastern by adding Arabic signs and a mosque. "Looks like Bosnia now," I said. Eventually they were done and The Major handed me his keys to his truck.

I drove from Fort Hood to Nacogdoches borrowing my friend’s Dodge Ram Pick up. The truck ran great I actually liked driving it. I’m glad I visited my friend and drove the four hours as I saw some pretty country that I would otherwise never have seen. Ever so often while driving on the 7, a historical marker sign in 1 mile would be posted. After passing a few I decided to stop at one and take a picture of it if it was interesting. I was thinking it would be something cool like “Davy Crokett did this here…” When I stopped at a convenient one, I was thoroughly disappointed. I do not recall what the marker said but I was not impressed and wished that I had just continued driving.

I arrived at about 4PM at the range as I missed the barracks. At the range I saw a LMVT parked at the edge of the first range. Around it was a few of the reservists from Oklahoma. I jumped out of the truck and said hello. I talked with a few, some asking me what I did as I had a DoD sticker on the truck. They must have taught I was some contractor or something as I had unshaven (I forgot to pack my razor and was too lazy and cheap to get one) with longer hair. I let them know I was nothing more than a civilian and the truck belonged to a friend. I went to say hello to Paul who was at the other range. Paul let me know he was going to open up the barracks. So I drove back to the LMVT and talked to one of the Captains. I asked if I could take a look at the truck. The Good Ole Boy said “Hell you wanna git in it.” I replied hell yeah. He opened it up for me and I sat at the driver’s seat and checked out the layout.

After looking over the truck I headed out to the barracks to meet Paul. He showed me around and let me know where everything is. There were already 15 Army Reservists occupying the bottom bunks. Paul let me know about the clubhouse and let me know only one person was staying there. We drove to see it. After showing it to me he asked where I wanted to stay. I figured the house was fine since I was already there. He gave me the key and took off after a brief chat about the game on his property. I unpacked my laptop and noticed that I wasn’t receiving a WiFi signal. I drove back to the range and found Paul who let me know internet is only at the barracks. So I asked if I could stay there instead. No problems.

When I got went back to the barracks another Captain showed me around which bunks were free. He asked if I wanted to sleep in the same room with a bunch of stinky, dirty army guys, and if I did not he could move his men all into another room. I let him know you don’t need to accommodate me for anything and I’ll just pick a bunk. As the reservists started to make their way back, they introduced themselves.

Later on in the night as more people made there way into the barracks. Two guys dressed in Magpul t-shirts rolling their pelican cases with Magpul stickers. They entered the room I was staying in. I walked in to introduce myself and they let me know they both worked for Magpul. I had thought one looked somewhat familiar, I then recognized him from the precision rifle trailer.

Eventually after some introductions and BSing with everyone we called it a night.

More good stuff from France. If you like fine doubles and fine guns Laguiole may interest you as well. Each are handmade by one knifemaker from start to finish. Every knife has the artisans engraving on the spine of the blade, each unique to the individual knifemaker. Its like their signature. The more I read or look into these knives the more fascinating I become of them.

After coming up with the Salamander fly I thought it could make a good deep water swimming frog pattern as well.  So this is what Ive come up with so far.  If all goes to plan testing on both flies will be this weekend if not earlier.

Another Pig Redear on a Five Weight.  Weighed just a hair under 2lbs.

Even with wacky weather this past week, Chul and I hit MVL once more before he sets off to the Tahoe area to fish some "real" trout waters.  With rain, overcast and cold weather we were hoping the bass would not be lock jawed.  Theoretically the bass should be still in the three stages of the spawn but given the early warm weather this spring I was not sure if they spawned early and are now finished.  Speaking with the boys at the marina, the bass we still spawning and the bluegill were just beginning. 

I gave Chul the Sage DS2 590-2 I built him and he fished that first with a gurgler.  Armed with my RPLX 10 wt, I started with a monster rattle popper Webb gave me.  The Charleton Reel, I was using was loaded with an ancient shooting head.  So ancient that the running line wasnt even integrated into the head.  This set up sucks.  Do they even still make set ups like this?  I certainly hope not.  I bored rather quickly with the 10 wt, as I usually do when I fish big rods.  So I switched to my recently repaired T&T 5wt.  Ive said it before and I will say it again, I absolutely love this rod.  Going from the 10 to 5 wt was like night and day.  I felt like I was casting air.  After seeing some bass in the shallows Chul switched to his 6 wt and sinking line.

The Days Arsenal.

Chul continued to get short struck until he finally landed a trout sized juvenile bass on an olive clouser.  I had snagged my Gourmet Silverside Minnow fly on some submerged structure thereby losing that fly, so I switched to a lightly dumbell eyed  purple wooley bugger.  Within a few cast I got hit hard.  I yanked him to the surface and it was another monster Redear.  Unlike the last time I caught one here, this one had a prominent red mark behind this gill spot.  This one measured just barely under 2lbs.  Although I come to MVL for the bass, I will never turn down monster panfish.  Both of us would missed a few more hits here in this location until we decided we should move.  The boat was crapping out on us so we had to go back to the marina and get a new one.  Very disappointing.

From then on, the rest of the day it shut down.  Literally.  Hundreds of casts and various flies produced not even a single strike.  The sun was starting to poke out of the clouds by then.  For whatever reason the fish became lock jawed and would follow the fly for a bit but refused to honor us with a take.  We did find two other locations that held monster bass.  I would guess at least 10 lbs maybe bigger.  Its always hard to judge fish size when they are in the water, they always look smaller than they actually are.  Towards the end of the day we did find a bluegill nest with at least 10 huge bluegills in the immediate area.  They were fighting, mating, spawning, or protecting but none wanted to open their damn mouth.  I have no ideal what happened to the water and why it just shut down.  Although the fishing sucked after having to come back to the marina, we at least managed not to get skunked.  We found 2 new locations where some of the monster bass are located.  Chul got to fish his new rod and I managed to fish two of my favorite rods that are now finally back in my arsenal (Sage RPLXi 890-3 and my T&T Helix 5wt S).

Someone was out float tubing in pure darkness.

Yesterday I had planned to fish Los Alamitos Bay at night but a last minute call from The Major changed that idea.  Since it was his last few days in California before he gets reassigned to the War College, I met all the boys at the local brewery instead of getting my line wet.  So today I decided I would make up for that.

Its been forever since Ive fished the surf especially at night.  The last time was years ago when Kyung and I slammed the corbina around midnight.  I believe that was one of the first corbina I ever caught on a fly.  With the tide charts predicting a strong tide, I was confident Id get on some fish.  Casting the Long Beach Leader system took some getting used to,  I hadnt used that system in such a long time, it was hard to get the timing down.  Trying to cast your entire floating line with 20 or more feet of straight mono is a pain in the ass.  No wonder I stopped fishing here years ago.

No luck tonight.  Perhaps another night.

Fishing tonight was slow.  I arrived just after the sun set and fished to about 10pm.  Not one strike.  I did see a very small bait fish swimming everywhere .  With the headlamp I could see they were greyish with blue eyes.  Not sure what they were though.  I tried a hoonie, hoonie 2 and a small clouser after I noticed all the small fish.  None proved effective.  Decided to call it quits as I need to wake up early for trout tomorrow.  I did see another flyfisherman out there in a tube.  What a nutcase.  Speaking with him briefly on the way out, he let me know that he managed a few dink sand bass.

Mission Viejo Lake looking toward the dam

The Carnitas Wet Burrito Lunch special at Olamendis Express

A pair of 5 pounders taunting every fishermen who passes the marina.

After this weekends stellar trout fishing, Chul invited me again to fish MVL to redeem ourselves from our last poor outing here.  We met for lunch At Olamendis and afterwards hit the lake. We spent less than 3 hours and we on the once we hit our favorite cove.  The cove where Big George and Martha we seen the first time we came.  While those two beast did not show their faces, we managed a pretty good bite on juvenile bass with the best weighing in at a pound.  We caught a few within that range and a few less than that.  After about 10 or so we moved to the other side of the lake and hit the area we saw the two other beasts (8 pounders).  This time we saw three of them all within that size.  Both of us missed a couple here, when Chul noticed a lone 8 pounder cruising below us.   We didnt have a good angle for a cast, not that it really matters.  Ed once told me that those big shore runners generally dont eat.  Most people catch those mammoths in the deep water as the guy at the marina later confirmed to us when we chatted him up.  I casted all my stripped line at an angle that the fish was taking and started to strip.  The line began to jerk and I set the hook.  It didnt feel big but it was fighting.  It turned out to be a respectable bluegill.  As the wind drifted us Chul again noticed a pair of bruisers cruising just to the Port side.  The two were at least 8 pounder.  Again we didnt have the right angle to make a decent cast but we tried anyways without any luck.  We called it a day after that and while we didnt get any impressive fish, we had a good time killing a few hours after work.  Today was our best day here in terms of numbers so we cant complain.

Today was an interesting day. This is the first time Ive ever had a miserable carp outing and was not upset about it, well up until I snapped my favorite T&T Helix 5WT SW. Thats the second time Ive busted this rod. The first time I snapped the tip by slamming my clouser at it while fishing Newport Bay with Yosh a few years ago. At least that time I was casting to fish. Today on the other hand I broke it retrieving a plastic bag. A PLASTIC BAG!!!! Up until then I was actually having a good time even though I was not hooking up with any fish.

The carp are spawning and have taken to the tules to mate. They are making quite a ruckus and its very entertaining and quite scary at times when youre not ready for it. Its the same feeling when a quail suddenly flushes at your feet after a long day of seeing no birds. It startles you pretty good. I literally saw 100 carp today. Most were thrashing in the tules. Others were chasing others off. I saw a pod of about 6, shoulder to shoulder causing havoc, splashing water everywhere. The fishing was near impossible. Firstly the wind was out of control. The 5wt was quite the chore to cast. Secondly most fish were in the reeds and the garbage, both natural and man made, in the water was excessive. Youd hook up on something almost every other cast. Its was annoying. Not that it mattered as the fish were all tight lipped and refusing even the most perfectly presented fly. There was one giant thrashing about in the center of the water that probably provided me the best opportunity for a catch. Unfortunately he was bit out of casting distance although that did not stop me from trying to get a fly to him. I got in the water in an attempt to give me better casting room. In doing so the muddy ground started to give and I started sink slowly until my wellington boots started to fill with that nasty ass smelling water. I managed a few casts where actually good ones too but he refused all my offerings before I repositioned myself. He was big, may have been as big or bigger than the 9.5lber I caught just a few days ago.

The carp were pretty tolerant of my presence and not nearly as spooky as usual. In fact I had several near my feet before rushing off. I even had one bump my Wellingtons. Eventually I realized that these fish had no interest in eating so I mentally quite fishing although I did throw a line here and there. That is when I should have stopped. I made one cast and got caught up in a plastic bag. Foolishly I yanked it to shore thereby snapping the tip section. GREAT. I guess its off to Marriotts to send it back to T&T.

"All good things come to those who wait." If you had told me that days ago or even earlier this morning, I would have probably punched you in the crotch or at least told you to F-Off. But I guess that old saying has alot of truth to it.

I awoke around 7am today and let the dog out to piss. Originally I did not feel much in the mood to go out and attempt another try at carp. Ive been just too frustrated lately. After all Ill be fishing one of the best bass fisheries in all of California tomorrow. But since there was absolutely no wind today I thought what the hell.

Once I hit the water, I saw two carp feeding together only a few yards from me. I threw out a cast and promptly plopped the fly right in front of them with a big splash. Spooked, the fish bolted. Great I thought way to F-up that great chance. Much of the day went as such. Several of the first few fish I saw I was getting way too impatient or too cute with my casts. Id either splash the fly too hard, hit them in the head with the fly or line, or just throw a tailing loop. If it werent any of these Id hook my backcast in the cattails every 10 casts. In my mind I was cussing up and down the river. I kept my line in the water and walk up the river. When I retrieved my line, I noticed a bass fry on the trailing San Juan worm . Well I thought at least Im not skunked for the day.

It seemed that every carp I saw and I saw many, that Id screw up somehow. Then I saw a lone fish while I was in forest of cattails. I had to cast high, so not to hook up behind me and shoot the line out. Landing in front of the carp, the fly was presented perfectly. It took, I strip set it and ripped the fly of of its mouth. Perfect, just my luck. At this point I was alittle pissed off, alittle meaning alot. I moved up the river and much of the same. eventually I noticed that I had a wind knot. So I changed my leader. All I had was a 9ft 0x, I had for years. Tying it on , I decided to forgo the trailing fly as Id been casting like an asshole all day. Better keep it simple.

I saw several more fish and Id make a perfect cast but none would ever take. So for every cast, Id wonder if the leader was too heavy and being seen by the fish. Since I had no other leaders but 5x, Id just have to make do. I eventually found a loose group of three and casted at least 30 time before one decided to take. Seeing the fish flare its gills but not feeling any resistance, I wondered if I should set the hook harder. The dilemma was if the carp had not taken the fly Id spook him off, I set it anyway and sure enough it took. It bulldogged me for a while and I thought perhaps Id hooked a bass. I reeled the slack line and then it decided to make some runs. In time I landed him and finally accomplished catching my first carp. Unlike Hemingways Santiago, it did not take my 84 days to get my fish. Thank god. As most people dont care for carp, I decided to keep the carp, I normally do not. Its been at least 15 years since Id kept a fish. I will use it for practicing Gyotaku.

Although the remaining fish had not spooked I decided to head home and end it on a high note.

Chuls Monster But There Are Bigger Ones Out There

Typical Sized Fish For Here

With a bad taste in our mouths from our MVL outing on Thursday, Chul and I wanted to head out for some fast action on wild trout.  Our plan originally was to hit a mountain close to home on Friday but since Chul thought rather than go after dinks we should head out to a further mountain stream where respectable fish can be caught.  I agreed and we changed our plan for a Saturday all day outing.  As I woke up on Friday feeling like crap I was glad that the plan changed, not to mention the fact that I have heard recent reports that serious fish are being landed here.

Saturday morning I woke and drove to Chuls and we headed out for the hour and half or so drive to the mountains.  Its such a pain to get here from where we live that I rarely fish here as much as would like especially since gas prices are what they are now but big fish live here.  I have personally witnessed a 18 inch fish spook out of the undercuts and have seen some photos of 20 inchers on the internet.  That is unreal for Southern California where a 10 inch wild trout would be considered a trophy.  We managed to reach our destination to find out that the second gate was closed and so we had to make a short hike to the water.  Once we made it to the trail we saw one fly fisherman rigging up on stream.  Our plan was to get in deep hiking on the trail til we found a decent entry point to  hit the water.

Viola.  Edible Flower With A Sweet Flavor

We finally found one and made our way down, cautiously looking out for rattlesnakes.  Chul lead the way and said at least if he startles a rattler it will most likely strike me as I followed behind.  Thanks pal.  Making it down without incident, we fished the first hole we saw.  I managed several out of my hole including one with a large bump on its head.  None were of the big fish we were hunting but nonetheless they were fun.  Much of the fish were the same as we moved upstream.  Chul managed to find a pig in some pocket water, we ended up spooking it but we managed to see its wide tall fat body flash as it moved.  Unbelievable. 


We continued, excited about seeing a beast while looking for another.  The fishing continued to be great and while we were catching several fish in the 8 to 10 inch range we were still on the look out for the pigs.  Although I considered fishing nymphs before this outing I decided to keep my intrgrity intact and stay with dries.  I refuse to fish subsurface on our local waters.  Simply refuse.  Chul rigged up a dropper on his stimulator.  We found a deep pool and I began fishing the mouth.  I landed several good fish while Chul spotted me on the ledge of a granite boulder.  With a good vantage point he spotted two pigs in the submerged structure below.  After my fly cooled down I told him to fish his set up.  In no time Chul had one of those pigs on his dry.  It was a bit comical trying to see him land this fish that refused to give up or even to let him take a photo of it.  Once he finally got his fish and picture we moved on. 

My Best Fish of the Day

Moving upstream we continued to get more fish, many in the 10 inch plus range.  I managed one at least 12 inches maybe more but not much in the mouth of another large pool.  These fish do not quit.  They continue to fight.  They do not like being held and struggle as you try to remove the hook out of its mouth.  Chul helped me land his one and held it just long enough for a photo.  These fish definitely have spunk.  We debated beforehand on whether or not to bring a net.   We opted for leaving it behind.  That was a mistake that we will not make the next time.  Toward the end of the day I was coughing up all my insides as the smog was unbearable.  The winds must have pushed all that to the mountains.  I was having a hard time not choking.  You try to escape the city and it still finds you such is life in and around SoCal.  It was a long day and I didnt get home until about 10pm after Chul and I had dinner near his house.  It was a long day but a good one.  Hopefully we make it back there before it gets Africa hot out there.  The plan though is to camp out there one night so that we can thoroughly work that water without being rushed to do so and find some more of those lunkers.  We both lost several good maybe even great fish today including Chuls last cast of the day.  That one was a pig.  We will be back for them.

Another Respectable Fish For SoCal

Because Ive been busy with work, I havent done much other than that. I was supposed to do some dog work today at Prado but I decided to fish with Ed instead. Ill save the dog training til Friday.



The last time I fished the East Fork, the river was running high and fishing was beyond tough. Although we managed a few, it certainly was probably one of my worst outings there until today. This time the river was low, making wading a breeze. Unfortunately the water was milky and once I waded through it, I noticed that the floor was completely covered in silt. Looking at that water I commented to Ed that we ought to be fishing for lake trout. It honestly looked like glacial river water. I figured the fishing was going to be poor. I managed several dinks on my first several casts. Perhaps it was not going to be that bad after all. The first hour fishing was not difficult, the river fished as I always remember it. Fish were where they were supposed to be and they came up to take a perfectly placed dry. One thing though is holes, pockets or any "fishy" water would only produce a trout or two at most before that hole died. Normally these areas would produce at least a dozen rises.



About an hour fishing, the fishing essentially stopped. Trout would rarely rise to a dry. In fact I managed only a few after that. Ed commented how warm the water was, I had a hard time differentiating as its been some time since Ive been on the water. This most have been the culprit. Ed managed more than me during this time as he fished wet and subsurface. I refuse to do so on this piece of water.





All in all I caught somewhere in the teens mostly all within the first hour. All were dinks. None had any vibrant coloration as the ones Ive caught in the past. All were faded. I asked Ed and he said the same was true with his fish.



Although I enjoy anytime on the water, today was a bit of a joke. I have never worked so hard to get fish at the San Gab before, I was a bit discouraged. I eventually quit really fishing after a while and mostly watched Ed fish and threw my line only once in a while. Disappointing. Too bad, I guess thats fishing.



Found this at the parking lot. What the hell?

With the economy lousy and the fact I barely went out this hunting season, Ive been dreaming of trips past. I remembered Id posted a trip report on a local forum years ago. I figured Id repost here just in case it ever gets erased from that forum.

This trip occurred in September of 2006. This was my second trip to Costa Rica and the first time landed a tarpon. I didnt mention how many I landed that trip on the report but if I recall correctly it was four. Ranging from 110 lbs to 150lbs.

From the forum back in 2006:



I thought Id share our fantastic Costa Rican trip. Bryan Webb, myself and company just got back from Casa Mar for some Poon fishing. The trip was truly epic and everyone got multiple shots at them. We managed a mixed bag of Tarpon, Barracuda, Jacks, string ray, ribbonfish, bluerunners, and a mix of jungle fish-snook, machaca, mojarra, tigerfish, a guopote. Here are some pics. Enjoy:

My first fish, I thought it was a tarpon when it jumped. I had no clue that Cudas did that. I did find it strange why it was so easy to reel in:

My first Tarpon:

My CR Whistler. The result of an angry tarpon:

Jumping Poon:

After fighting several poons I was ready to hit the jungle. I actually prefer fishing there. For one it is beautiful and it is more interactive. Rather than jigging blindly for tarpon you actual have to make good casts and place your shots.

Emerson with his Machaca, a fun game fish that makes multiple jumps and has sharp teeth.

One of my several snook (if you notice I did get my T&T 5wt back in time for this Trip. Thank you T&T repairs!)

Emerson with a mojarra, a bluegill looking fish

My mojarra, the guide said that this one was a "true" mojarra (whatever that means, you can tell the difference from Emersons).

Brian and I managed to fish the jungle on the last day. Brian did invent a gurgler derivative fly that I must say is the best popper fly I have ever fished. It is multiple flies in one, part popper, part wiggler, part streamer. It is truly amazing. I will be fishing it more often here locally for Bass. I only regret not bringing more that two to CR.

After sometime in the water we got pounded by the rain

Here is some misc pics:







The trip was made great not only by the great fishing but the company. Fishing with great people make great fishing trips.


More pics that didnt make the original post:
Lunch at the Hotel Hurradura in San Juan on the first day:
Seabass cerviche

Great octopus, very tender Downtown San Juan



The next day on our way to the jungle


Arrival at the jungle airport

Boat ride to Casa Mar


Some lobster at Casa Mar, Thanks to Webb
Flies for the jungle and Tarpon offshore

The smallest of all the Tarpon I caught

Snack of shrimp cerviche at the lodge

Lunchtime at the lodge
Jungle fishing for Snook, Guapote, Machaca, Mojarra and such or monkey watching. All top water fishing

Don with evidence of his first tarpon. Guides take one scale from your first catch. I still have mine.

Emerson and I doing some jungle fishing.

Caiman.
Jungle traffic jam. Yield to crossing cattle.
On our way home was a little wet.
Waiting at Terminal C.

Last meal in San Juan.



I found my notes the other day when I was in my tackle bag:
Arrived in San Juan. Doug, Don and I chose to check out the city while the others took a nap at the hotel. Had lunch at the hotel. I dont blame them our flight was a late one. We checked out a local cigar maker, a shopping center and an outdoor swap meet. Came back and had dinner at the Japanese Benihana style restaurant compliments of Bill and Richard.
Guide Mario.
Day 1
Morning: Barcacuda orange and Black CR Whistler
Afternoon: 80lbs Tarpon Org/Blk CR Whistler
120lbs Tarpon Chart/Blk CRW
90lbs Tarpon Chart/Blk CRW
Day 2
Morning: 80lbs Tarpon Org/Blk CRW
Stingray and Ribbonfish
Afternoon: Jungle Fishing. Over 10 Mojarra on a red popper. Small Jack Crevalle and Sardine.
Day 3
Morning: Fished the Jungle starting with a red popper. Multiple mojarra. No luck with
Gurglers or frog patterns. Changed to Webbs popper and caught snook,
mojarra, machaca. Moved to the ocean late morning. No luck.
Afternoon: Fished with Neil from Texas who just arrived. Fished the ocean with no luck.
Day 4
Morning: Fished with Emerson, using webbs guide Manuel, in the Jungle for Machaca on the main river. Drift the boat downriver. No luck so tried to mojarra in the channels. Fished with Webbs fly. Took several mojarra. Then caught a snook that frayed the line. I was lazy and did not change the leader. Eventually hooked a bigger snook that cut the line and I ripped it out of its mouth. I tied on the last Webbs fly I had. Stupidly I tied on a 7lb leader, much too light. I hooked a good size machaca and got it near the boat. It jumped several times until it cut the line with its teeth right at the loop knot.
Afternoon:Fished with Webb. Rained like crazy. We tried our luck at Guapote. Several small strikes taht the guide believe most likelt Mojarra. Went to fish the same laguna that Mario had me fish. Webb several mojarra and bluegill. I only hade a mojarra on the last cast of the day. Guide Manuel made sure I had at least one for the afternoon.
Day 5
Travel day to San Juan to wait for our flight. The boys managed to get a hotel room until our evening flight. I was not feeling well so I napped while they went to visit a local mountain. The later told me it was freezing cold.