Canyon Lake 7/25

[Bendo]

Late post, been rebuilding my Skiff from the ground up. For the last week I’ve completed 101 tasks no one will ever see, got stuck halfway in, under the forward floor, in between the two fish holds for about 20 thrilling minutes. Panic kills! Eventually but not without a major scratch and some bruising, I got out.
So I went Float Tubing with my buddy Rick again, and we hit the Lake 5:30 am. Not really the Lake but the “Jump Lagoon”as the main Lake has been severely impacted by a Golden Algae bloom and associated fish kill. We got in and each went our own way in this fairly small body of water. I bailed on Topwater and started off with a Shad colored Tiki Worm wacky rigged with a 4/0 Mosquito Hook. Yes, I fish bigger hooks than most. I may not get as many bites but I land more of my fish. On this trip I had to wait until my third cast to witness the line twitch and move off. Typically those before Sun Up fish are bigger but this was a frisky Little Bass that stayed in the air more than the water. I kicked along and spotted a steep bank with Tules growing out about 3 feet and put that Tiki Worm right in there, a perfect cast. Nothing happened for about 10 seconds as I have been dead sticking these baits more. Then the line popped and I reeled in to get tight line and I reeled and the Bass had taken off right underneath my Tube and out into deep water. Bass number two was long and lean. Great battle, this one stayed deep and grudgingly came up, mouth wide open for a quick thumb, photo and release. I got to say it was rather slow for the next hour, I got 3 more Bass. Then I came on a long section of steep bank where I got a fish on the short, medium and long cast, reposition the Tube and the same thing happened again. six quick Bass in ten minutes. I nailed one more on a solitary submerged tree before meeting up with Rick, just in time to see him set the hook and kick out into deeper water. This one took line and spun him around and turned out to be a thick, well proportioned healthy Bonus Bass. Definitely over 5.
We bailed on the “Jump Lagoon” but still had some fishing in us. We drove over to the “Ski Arm”. I quickly learned that I don’t like Wake Boats, I’ve never Tubed with them before but they make giant breaking wakes while not going very fast. I guess they think it’s OK to drive over and completely soak you with their wake in the no wake areas. I kicked way back in the shallows of a cove and nailed three Channel Catfish and a small Bass in about 20 minutes on a Pearl ZMan Streakz on a 1/16 oz.Lunker City Jighead. I kicked back out into the waves and on to the next Cove where I came across a field of Lilly Pads. I admit, my eyes lit up and I rigged up a ZMan ChatterStick on a 4/0 Spearpoint Hook, my Topwater slay setup. It looked fantastic as I worked that through and around those Pads. I wish I could say I had a huge roll or got my world rocked in there but I didn’t get a bite. Just to make sure I ran a Tiki Worm thru there on the same hook for not a tap. So 12 Bass and 3 Catfish. Not epic but a good day with a good friend. He got Jackpot, so for the first time in a while, I bought Lunch. Something about Lunch after 8 hours on the water. It is the best ever, every time.

[Midnightpass]

Excellent pics and some nice LMB... Too bad you had to pick up the lunch tab. ... It happens to us all... Maybe me more than most. ...
Butch

[Bendo]

Thanks Butch. This year, this particular Lake has been chugging along about half speed. It’s all I can do to get over 10 Bass on a trip. This after 5 years of 20-30 a trip. Kind of like my own private Barrett. I usually only fished the Springtime, Feb - June, so not much worry from the Skiers and Wake Boats. This year, my buddy, who lives one minute away, has me out there a lot. For me it is up at 3:30 am, 50 mile drive, fish hard, 2 hour bumper to bumper drive home. After I get the Skiff up and running, it will be back to Newport more, plus DVL, Perris, Castaic, Pyramid, Piru. Places I’ve fished forever but got off the rotation when my Mercury failed after 2600 hours. Then two kids thru College, one right after the other, got all the money. Finally I can have my passion back, with a modern Fishfider, Chart plotter, on board Topo Charts. It’s going to be a Fishfest!