2019 First Shad for JU!!!

Yes, I am told that it's too late for shad.  But hey, better late than never 👍

I kept dreaming about shad in the American River since I last fished with Kong.   I got all my rigs ready this time: pink and chartreuse.  These are the HOT colors for shad.

I arrived at 6 AM and ready to go.  I was the only brother out there.  I used pink grubs first, and on my third cast...  BOOM!  FISH ON!  I  was so excited, but the fight was short lived.  The fish got off 😒  My first solid hookup, and the shad got off!

However, a few minutes later, the tug was repeated.  It's not even 6:15 AM yet.  Opps, I forgot my net.  Shad have super soft mouths and they're nicknamed "Cotton mouth."  So I finessed the shad and was rewarded with the first shad of 2019 from the American River, from the bank.  Actually, this might even be my very first ever shad from the bank or at least it's been such a long time that I can't remember the last time I got one from the bank.  My shad fishing have been mostly from the boat with the Captain or PRO-Fisherman.  I was super jazzed to say the least!

JU's First Shad for 2019!

At around 6:30 AM, I was joined by two of Kong's friends.  The more fishermen, the merrier.  They fished with me for an hour and then took off.  They were not able to catch any today at this location.  They believe the shad are higher up the river, perhaps, at the Harrington Access.

Anyway, I continue fishing until 8:00 AM.  For two hours of fishing, I got FIVE solid grabs and landed THREE!  What a great way to start the weekend.  God is good!

Here's the video:

Peace out,
-JU

Scouting Fishing Trip to the Sierra

So on Friday and Saturday before Father's Day, the Missus attended a Women's Retreat at Zephyr Cove, NV.  This was an excellent opportunity for JU, Striker, Litter "j," and Lion to go fishing.

Well we couldn't go Friday because it was late when we were free.  However, we were treated to a spectacular sunset at Zephyr Cove:

Then on Saturday, the Missus attended the retreat from 9 AM to 5 PM.  This gave us the opportunity to check out some fishing holes in the Sierra.

We went to Hope Valley.  There were some fishermen there... but no one caught any.

Then onto some locations at the West Carson River.  "Nada."

Locations at East Carson River resulted with nothing also.

We checked out Caples Lake; it was still half-frozen.  About half a dozen fishermen were at the dam, but no one caught anything....

Finally we went to Indian Creek Reservoir (ICR).  The group camping site was packed with campers - the most that I have seen in the past 30 years!  Now that ICR can be reserved online, it's gonna be tough to make reservations for the group site.

Through out the reservoir were fishermen.  We fished to the east of the boat ramp.  We thought we might be skunked for the entire weekend, but that was not the case.  We used worms 3-foot under a bobber and landed fish left and right!  Unfortunately, the fish were not trout and we didn't want to keep them.  Lion and Little "j" had a blast catching and releasing fish for the rest of the day.

On the way out, I met a fisherman with a kayak.  He gave me the "intel" that he and his dad limited out on trout!  He said the trick was to get beyond the weed lines.  He and his dad were using power bait with a Carolina rig.

This is good to know for next month when we will revisit this reservoir.

Have a blessed day!
-JU

Video:

Bank Fishing for Shad from the American River

I saw a YouTube video last night showing shad on the American River at a location that I recognized.  So when I woke up this morning at 5:30 AM, I decided to go test it out.  Unfortunately, I was not prepared like I usually am because of an impulse decision to go shad fishing 😂

I got to the location at 6:30 AM and there was already a fisherman there.  I only had two split shots with me and lost it due to a snag about half an hour into fishing.  It was a good thing my new found friend had extras to give me.  He had been fishing since 6 AM.  He saw one shad swam by earlier, but had not gotten any bites.  The next hour or so both of us were taking turn tossing out our rigs....  Then there was a boat that sped by.  I got a hit right away, but miss the fish.  My friend caught and landed his....  He took off around 8:30AM

Catch and release: Lone fish of the day...

I tried for a total of three hours with a couple of hits, but couldn't land any?!?!?!  I lost about four or five rigs and decided to call it quits.

A fantastically beautiful day for fishing....

Here's the video:

God is good!

Until next time, peace out.
-JU

Two Simple Techniques to Put Bass in Your Live Well

Yes, there are probably many other ways to fish for bass from a boat.  That is why fishing for bass is a multi-billion dollar industry!

Grandmaster Fisherman (GMF) showed me two very simple techniques that consistently produce, i.e., using live minnows and roboworms.  I have shared with you all how to rig up from my previous blog posts and videos.

Once again, today out at Folsom Lake the wind was around 16 mph.  The water was very choppy.  However, we fished for three hours and were blessed with two limits!

God is good!

Chunky bass

From left to right: Smallmouth, Spotted, and Largemouth Bass

Video: