Salt Water Bass Grand Slam

Spotted Bay Bass

With a full moon this week, the tides are excellent in the morning and again towards twilight so Chul and I decided to take his pram out for some salt water action.  We arrive at about 4 pm and headed toward the mouth.  The optimal tides, at least on paper, started around 5pm to about 7pm.  We fished for the first hour without so much a s a bump but when the tides started to move we fish began to bite.  Chul was the first to get a fish, a calico.  His first ever.  When he was about to take a picture of it with his iphone his girlfriend called and made a cardinal mistake and answered it.  The ultimate jinx and he paid for it for the rest of the day. 

Sand Bass

It took me awhile after about an hour and a half to finally get my first fish .  The first was an ultra dink calico.  I have caught San Gabriel trout bigger than that calico.  At about 6 the tides started to really move and the fish became more active.  For the next hour and a half I managed several salt water bass of every species completing the salt water bass slam- calico, spotted bay, and sand bass.  None of our fish were all that impressive with most in the pound range give or take.  Chul on the other hand paid for jinxing himself for answering the phone and didn't manage another fish until the very end and that fish was more of a fluke than anything else.  Not only was the calico an ultra dink but he took it because he left his line in the water while he was trying to clear my line out of the trolling motor propeller.  I wonder if this place will ever return to it's old glory with 100 fish days.  I've told Chul about those days and the lack of serious fish is starting make me look like I'm full of shit.

My second Calico (Kelp) Bass of the day.  Slam is complete.

Punishment for answering the phone on the boat.  When its time to fish the girlfriend can wait.

Earlier in the day I walked the dog at Irvine Regional Park.  Lately I've been walking the dog here because after we are done I throw a few casts at the ponds looking for a largemouth to bite.  It looks like the bass are in post spawn and no longer guarding beds.  It fact they are cruising throughout the ponds.  None are willing to bite in fact they spook anytime the fly comes near.  I managed to have one take on Saturday but I was too slow to set the hook.  One thing I really like about IRP is the statue of James Irvine II.  The city is named after him.  What is now a regional park was at one time his personal hunting grounds.  This statue depicts him hunting with a side by side and two setters. Its a proper monument to the man.

A proper monument to a man.

Afterwards I had lunch with the folks and they took me to Tan Cang Newport Seafood.  Its been at least a decade since we've eaten here and since then they have changed ownership.  We used to have to park a few blocks away and wait in line to get a table so we were worried that when we arrived the restaurant was only 20% full.  We hoped the food hadn't gone downhill.  Our worries proved unwarranted though.  The food was excellent.  They must have kept the same chef.  The lobster as I remembered it was perfectly cooked and excellent.  The chef showcases the lobster and enhances the natural sweet buttery taste of the crustacean.  We also had squab and fish stomach soup which were also excellent and a couple other dishes that weren't that impressive.  It was great fuel for the afternoon fishing.

Lobster done right.

Roast Squab

Fish stomach soup.

SD Bay Video

Tag. Your It. SD Bay Jetty Wall Trophy Hunting

I managed to take advantage of an open invitation to fish San Diego Bay's jetty wall and after getting some intelligence from the guys at Marriott's yesterday I spent the entire night tying like mad.  I have plenty of flies to last a couple lifetimes but I have very few with weedguards.  I generally don't use them for the type of fishing I do. 

Although I've been itching to fish this bay for years, I've never made it down there.  Webb has been telling me all about it for years and what really sparked my interest is the small populations of incidental catches like bonefish and Jack Crevalle.  As I type this I'm in zombie mode.  I only spent maybe one hour last night before having to wake up and make the hour and a half drive down south. 

I met Scott at the ramp at 6am and I rigged my beloved 5 weight, 7 and nine weights.  Lined with 150, 250, 350 grains respectively I was ready for war.  Scott wanted to started at some shallow eel grass flats in hopes of landing a monster halibut.  While baitfish busted around the boat all we could mange were a few lizardfish.  Having never fished together Scott didn't know I was fishing a med flex 5 weight and when I connected with my first lizardfish with the rod bent to the cork he thought I was on a monster fish.  He even asked if I need him to get the net.  He laughed pretty hard after I managed to expose the dink fish.

One of many calico of the day

 We moved to the wall, now switching to my 9 weight Sage RPLXi and within the first handful of casts I managed my first legitimate fish at SD Bay.  While not the trophy we were hoping for it put a nice bend in my rod and pulled much harder than what its size would indicate.  Scott was fishing a new experimental fly which was basically a deceiver type fly with a worm bass hook.  He was after pigs.  I was using most of the time a fly I got from Calhoun when I borrowed his heavy line rig.  A goby imitation that I don't know the name of, I'll have to ask him the next time I see him.  I tied a boat load of them last night.  I lost count of how many fish we landed it must have been around a dozen or so.  All the fish were around a pound give or take.  No whoppers and no big halibut that Scott was wanting.

Tagged Kelp Bass

I did catch a Calico that was tagged.  That was a first for the both of us.  Having not kept up with happening of our coastal fisheries, there is a lot of controversy regarding whether one should report the information to the biologists.  Fishermen simply don't trust that the information will be used to help fisheries rather be used against them and thereby closing more sections of water.  There is a pretty good article regarding this found here.  I think I have to agree with that author at the end:

For those of you still unsure of whether or not this data will eventually be used by anti-fishing groups to further their campaign against us, all I can say is I'd rather give them actual data to use against us than allow them to manipulate the lack of data by making preposterous and terrifying proclamations about fishery collapse. Those moves helped get the MLPAs established in the first place.

Now lets see if I win that $200 gas gift card.  At current gas prices that will fill up the Land Rover once.  All in all it was a pretty good day despite my lack of sleep.  I now know how Chul must feel like fishing after his third shift work days.

Scott fishing in front of an "audience"

Bass Thumb, a sign of a good day.  Even taping my thumb didn't help me.

A Colorful Calico but not the trophy we were looking for.

Scott's Carp belt buckle that he CNCed himself.



Since I was on Rosecrans St.  I decided to hit Adalberto's Mexican Food on the way home and order a California burrito.  I used to come here back in my college days when I visited friends attending the surrounding universities.  While it filled my empty stomach I recall it be much better back in those days. 

Thanks for the good times Scott.  We'll have to do it again.  There's a hog or two with our name on it.

Just some of the flies I was tying like mad the night before.

Expect Changes At Bob Marriott's

The owners of Rainbow River Lodge in Alaska have purchased Bob Marriott's Fly Fishing store from Bob.  While Bob will stay on board there will be many changes.  Some are already in effect such as increasing inventory.  Others scheduled for the future are a complete remodel and the return of the Fly Fishing Fair.  Vendors and fly fishing celebrities have already been contacted.  It should be exciting times.This group has also purchased Grizzly Hackle in Montana and Kiene's in Sacramento.  All three of these stores are expected to be premier fly shop destinations if they are not already.

And So It Continues...

Early this morning before the winds picked up I spent an hour walking up and down the banks of my local brown water looking for some carp.  Clarity is next to nothing and looks like a toilet after a meal of all you can eat Indian buffet.  Not one carp was visible I did see one trout sized bass that would have been impossible to cast to since it was in the undercuts and there was no possible cast I could make due to all the vegetation surrounding me.  What a waste of time.  I'm considering putting my fly rods back in storage and just concentrating on shooting sports.  Of course that is next to impossible as right now ammo is about as easy to find as gold.  Geez, give a brother a break...

A Rough Season Continues

We fished MVL this afternoon and like most of our recent outings it was brutal.  A pair of dink bass for the both of us was all we could show for our efforts.  Tight lipped bass were not  our only problem but strong winds that prevented our boat from making a decent drift and playing havoc on our casts.

Stress Relief

Despite having it for months, I finally took my Glock 19 Gen 3 FDE out for the first time at Handgun Challenge last night.  Groupings were great despite not having sighting it in after changing sights to Trijicon HD night sights.  I was a bit shocked how well the groupings were since I haven't shot the pistols since last summer.  A LAPD vet even asked me what I did for work.  He was shocked when I told him what I did, I guess he thought I was in his line of work.  One thing I still need to work on I need to stop my support side thumb from glancing the slide release so the gun can go into slide stop after the last round.  This Glock 19 actually shoots better than my other one.

It's Official, This Place Does Suck

If anyone I know ever asks me "Have you ever fished Puddingstone,"  my response will be "That place can suck my..."  Seriously, I don't think I've ever hated a place more.  Chul and I hit this water one more time despite our last lack luster outing a few weeks ago.  Since Chul managed a bass on topwater and I missed two bass on my last two casts I have wanted some revenge on this lake.  Just like the last time we were harassed by Ricky Rangers that if they did not have a book of regulations their life would have no direction.  I have been on that pram more than half a dozen times when Ed owned it.  Our buddy Kyung has been on it a hundred times when Ed owned it.  Never had we ever been harassed about the decal colors or numbers on the boat, registration or anything like that.  And we've made thousands of drifts directly in front of the Coast Guard station at NHP. Never once did the Coasties who happen to be staring at us give us a hard time and yet the Ricky Rangers on this lake (who have no law enforcement capabilities) give us grief.  Fishing was poor despite seeing several good bass and monster carp.  None were willing to take a fly.  Chul missed a couple and I only had one strike the whole day that I missed.  I did have one eyeball my bluegill pattern a while but refused to even make a charge.  What a waste.  I rearranged my schedule and Chul missed out on sleep for this crap.  Never again.  I don't care if fish are jumping into the boat, I shall not return. 

Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwich.

We hit Bruxie Waffle Sandwiches for lunch afterwards and while it was okay it was hardly anything to write home about.  My sister raves about this place and goes to the one near my house every time she visits California.  I really don't know why.  It wasn't bad but hardly impressive.

Only Chumps Use Fly Rods...

I guess anyone who spends money on a fly rod is just an idiot...

Are you kidding me?

That's impressive.

In Hoonie We Trust

Upon returning from their debauchery bachelor party week in Mexico, Tuck emailed Chul and I that he and Joseph are abandoning our plan to fish Dixon Lake on Saturday.  I guess they had too much of the "donkey show" and were wiped out and needed some time to recuperate.  Without the boys I was in no mood to wake up early and head south.  Chul and I debated and decided to stay local.  After some discussion we choose to fish Newport Harbor.

Even though I took a hiatus from fishing this water, I know this water.  I really know this water.  If I call any water a "home" water, I suppose it's Newport Bay.  Last year I fished it twice and it disappointed me deeply.  Those 20-50 fish mornings I expected, those that Yosh and I experienced years ago didn't materialize.  Earlier this year I asked Capt. Bill Calhoun what's the deal with this place now and he let me know that the dredging screwed up the fishery pretty good.  Since last year's outing and hearing Bill's comments I've been somewhat skeptical of this place.  Nevertheless we decided to take the pram out to check it out.  Tides were not optimal but adequate.  The skies were overcast and it was somewhat cold.  Water temps are around 50 degrees.  Not at all optimal conditions.

We managed to get on the water sometime after 7am.  Since Chul hadn't recharged his battery from our last outing, I lead him toward Coast Guard section and not to my usually starting point near the mouth.  I didn't know how much juice his had left in the trolling motor.  I didn't want another experience like Ed and I had rowing that pram against the tide back to the launch point.  It took a few hours before we got any bumps.  We were fishing in some eel grass so we were getting hung up on very cast.  On one cast I originally thought I was hung up but I saw my fly line moving away like a halibut take I set the hook.  At first I thought it was just the tide moving the fly line until I felt a shake and then the line went loose.  I stripped the line in and noticed that the leader had broke at a wind knot I was too lazy to fix earlier.  The rod went heavy and I initially thought it was just a hang up but knew that it was a fish after I noticed the break.  I put on a new leader and a white and pink hoonie fly on.  My go-to fly.

Now drifting through the moored boats my rod went heavy again.  And again I thought I might have hooked up on some eel grass and as I stripped line the rod finally shook.  I knew by the fight it must be a halibut.  I pulled him up and finally saw the 15 inch halibut.  Every time I tried to land him he ran.  He eventually turned the boat and Chul's line and mine crossed.  Right after I shook Chul's fly off my rod the halibut came loose.  After leaving this section and drifted near the Sherriff's dock I managed another halibut this time of smaller dimensions.  I managed to land this one. 

By this time the tide was starting to move albeit not as fast I would have preferred.  We drifted by the boat club and Chul foul hooked two baitfish sized fish.  Initially I thought they were corbina but after a closer look the mouth and head were obvious indicator that it was something else.  I looked at it again and thought perhaps a baby white seabass but the upper fins were different and there was no barring on the body.  We normally don't photograph our foul hooked catches but since I had no clue what it was I took a pic.  I emailed it to Ed and he let me know its a queenfish.

We moved toward another section of moored boats and after a few casts I managed a spotted bay bass just under a pound.  As with all saltwater bass this little guy pulled harder than his size would indicate.  My T&T 5 weight was bent to the cork and the little guy even managed to turn the pram as he fought.  After releasing him I made a few more casts and missed a quality bass.  It took hard and fast but I managed to miss it some how.  That fish was solid.  I gave Chul my last white/pink hoonie and told him to put it on. 

After a few drifts he managed to get one on and after he pulled him up from the depths it was another spotted bay bass.  It was about if not bigger than the one I just landed.  The Hoonie fly it never fails.  I've never been skunked on the Hoonie.  This is my favorite fly for the surf or the bay.  It is Ed's also.  We are firm believers in it because its a producer but also because it was created by our good friend.  The Hoonie has for whatever reason lost favor among the SoCal surf/bay fly fishers.  I'm not sure why that is, I guess it's because it's creator, Kyung Kim, is in fly fishing exile and that all his friends (Bill, Webb, Joe, etc.) including myself and Ed don't fish the surf much anymore, so no one is really promoting the fly.  All the new surf fly fishermen have gravitated to newer flies but they are missing out.

The Crow Boy Burger

Duck Fat Fries

Chul and I fished some more and missed some nice fish before calling it quits after our casting deteriorated to crap.  After loading the pram into the truck we headed to Crow Burger Kitchen on the way out for a Crow Burger and duck fat French fries.

It's Going To Be a Bad Trout Year In Our Local Mountains

Not even Ganesha could help us.

A nice trout that refused everything we threw at it.

Fishing has been rough lately.  Bass have been inconsistent and lately rather tight lipped.  So this afternoon we decided to see how our local trout waters were doing this year.  Trout fishing proved not much better than bass fishing.  Actually it was worse.  Water is low and most of the downstream water is gone.  Fishing was tough and Chul and I only managed two dinks a piece.  I lost a solid fish twice as my leader sucked and broke off at the fly both times the fish took.  Chul desperately casted to Hog Johnson that played Chul like a fool.  Rough fishing all around.  The quality we saw last year in our local waters has diminish drastically.  Trout fishing here at home is gonna suck.

At least someone is getting some action...

Snow Peak Cutting Board Set

Awaiting at my door when I came home today was another Snow Peak item.  This time it was the Snow Peak Cutting Board Set M.  The set consists of a natural wood cutting board that folds in half by a piano hinge and houses a Japanese made knife held there with strong magnet.  It's perfect for outdoor adventures that will prevent the knife from rattling while driving off road.  Rubber feet located at each corner prevents the board from moving around while chopping or slicing.  Snow Peak recommends rubbing olive oil to the unfinished wood which I did tonight.  The blade is thin and made of stainless steel with plastic handles riveted to spine.  The set comes in two sizes medium and large.  I ordered the medium and will be perfect for lunchtime use.  Generally field lunches for me are a more simple affair usually consisting of sandwiches or cheese plates.  So the smaller blade and board will work well for slicing salami, tomatoes, cheeses and the like.  It also fits quite nicely within my Engel fridge cover's front pocket so its readily accessible when its time for a quick meal.

Snow Peak Hozuki Lantern

USB port can be used to power the light

Fashion forward looking lantern

The look at the light.

In table top mode

At 100 lumens the lantern does well lighting up a room

Lit up

Without a doubt I'm a fan of Snow Peak products and when the Hozuki Lantern came out, it's intrigued me.  As my REI 20% coupon was about to expire,  I choose to use it on this Chinese paper lantern and Hozuki plant inspired fashion forward led lantern.  At about $90 before discounts, it's not a cheap light.  Lighting is variable with three brightness settings allowing up to 100 lumens at high power.  The light can be used as a candle placed upside down with even flickering with the wind.  Unlike most led lanterns made today, it is actually made in a first world nation while that may not mean much to some, it's a big deal for me.  Four AA batteries power this light and depending on setting allows for 8-80 hours of operation. 

Pro:

• Bright and at 100 lumens, it lights up a tent or campsite brightly.
• Unique design.
• Can be powered by a mini USB but not rechargeable in this mode (which is a con).
• Made in Japan.
• Hanging hook allows more hanging options than most lights.  Can be hung on branches, doorways among other places.

 
Cons: 

• The silicone shade can come off easily particularly when turning the light off and can be somewhat a pain to put back on properly.
• One button for all settings is a pain.  I prefer simple on and off buttons, not ones that you need to tap, hold down, etc. to turn it off is a turn off for me.
• The bottom open face exposing the bulb means if I'm hanging it from my tent when laying in a tent and look up I'll be blinded by a light at 100 lumens.
• Candle mode maybe more gimmick than practical.

For me the jury is still out whether it's worth the price tag.

Another Blaser R8 Promo

I swear Blaser makes the best video promos ever.  Although I'm not a big fan of the thumbhole stock used in this video nonetheless it's an excellent video for an excellent rifle.

Would Have Been An Exciting Outing...

Last Saturday Chul spent the day taking his pram out with his girlfriend fishing Big Bear Lake.  While they saw fish, they got the skunk.  They should have went out yesterday.  It would have been way more exciting assuming they went unharmed of course...

From ktla.com:

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (KTLA) — A single-engine plane attempting an emergency landing Saturday morning instead crashed into Big Bear Lake, authorities say.
The plane went down just after 10:40 a.m. near the lake’s south shoreline, according to San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials. The plane carried a handful of passengers, several of whom were able to climb out and help the others to safety.
Paramedics treated two passengers on the scene for minor injuries.

If they leave that plane in the lake it would make good structure for the bass and the panfish.  I'd cast to it.

At Least I Got To Touch a Damn Fish

Fishing has been rough the last few outings.  I haven't eaten this much shit since I started fly fishing.  I can't believe how many skunks I've encountered in the last few outings.  The usual suspect and I fished Prado.  This is, at least on paper, spawning season for bass but with all this on again off again weather, the bass must be confused.  It seems every time a bass is ready to bust a load, mother nature splashes cold water at it's boner.  It's been making fishing harder than a twelve year old at the playboy mansion. 
Being a stubborn son of a bitch, I didn't listen to Chul and fish a floating line but rather my 150 grain line.  Perhaps that is the reason he got a fish and I left stinking of the skunk.  Rough day for the both of us but Chul managed a quality 2 pounder after about a gazillion casts.  I had about two gazillion casts and caught a child's sock that I initially thought was a magnum sized condom.  Either way I didn't want to be touching it.

 

Another Place, Another Slow Day

Back in the early to mid 2000s, the heyday of SoCal surf fly fishing, I must have fished Alamitos Bay hundreds of times from the shore catching every species imaginable.  I used to wake up early in the morning before work, meet up with the gang and we'd fish until it was time to go to work.  I'd shower at the gym and put my suit on there and head to the office.  Over the years the scene died with only a few stragglers left behind.  In the time I became very familiar with that area at least from the beaches.  I know a very popular spot has a huge drop off where fish would congregate.  If you were not able to throw your entire flyline in addition to the 20-30 foot leader you'd likely go home skunked. 

Now that Chul has Ed's old pram I wanted to return to this water and try it from a different angle.  Instead of the usual Long Beach system (floating lines, 20-30 foot leader and a heavily weighted fly), I am able to use a normal sinking line set up from a boat.  As my usual M.O. I chose to fish my 5 weight with 150 grain shooting head.  My plan was to drift that drop-off along that beach and slay all those hard to reach fish that eluded me years ago.  Like most plans though, it went to shit.  The afternoon coastal winds push us away from the beach too fast for out lines to even get to our intended depths.  I gave up on that plan and we went looking for some areas that sheltered us from the winds.

Tides were fairly good, at least on paper, so I expected us to get on some fish.  We found an area less exposed to the elements and Chul managed his first saltwater fish on a fly.  It was a small trout sized yellowfin croaker.  The skunk was off boat and not a bad start to the afternoon.  Since croaker tend to school up I told him to work that area some more but no more were willing to take our offerings. 

We moved to an area along the docks hoping to get on some Bay Bass action.  The winds drifted us rather quickly and the only fishing option was to cast into the wind with our backs against the direction of the drift.  We'd have to slow our strips considerably as we were stripping in the direction of the drift and tide and if you'd strip too fast the fly would be going warp speed.  Along this drift, I felt the bump and I set the hook.  The fish ran toward the boat so I raced to make sure the line was under tension.  Because of this, initially the fight weak but once the fish was under the boat I could finally feel the fish fighting.  I knew it wasn't a bass but wasn't quite sure what it was.  All I knew it had no quit.  Finally I exposed it on the surface and it was a mackerel.  These pelagic fish have no quit and are quite fun an a light rod.  I finally got it to hand.  It was not at all big but fun on light line nonetheless.

We found an area behind the yacht club that sheltered us somewhat from the wind.  We drifted in between a row of docked boats and I felt a bump.  I set the hook, felt it get heavier and starting stripping line.  While the rod went heavy there was little to no fight.  With little effort I managed to get the fish to the boat.  I have no clue what it was.  Perhaps some sort of goby but I was not sure.  It had teeth and flared its gills like that dinosaur in Jurassic Park that spit in that fat ass's face.  *Edit* Fish is a Lizardfish.

We fished hard for three hours or so with little to show for it.  I think Chul only had one fish even take an interest in his fly, I missed at least two that I can remember.  At least both Chul and I added some species to our list that we never caught before.  So that was a plus even though I'm not sure what the hell I caught.  Hopefully Chul and I can get back to the "Pudd" tomorrow so I can enact some revenge on those bass that eluded me the last time.  Hopefully this hernia I got from dragging that damn pram to the water goes away too.

"Ricky Rangers"

With the skunk still reeking from last Friday's outing, I wanted to get on some fish.  The easiest and cheapest option is to fish my local brown water.  I had called Greg to see if he wanted to fish as I owed him an outing and he was in.  He managed his best outing ever with three to hand and three lost.  I, in the other hand, had one of my worst.   Skunked.  I had one on for a it's initial run but popped off.  I missed several more.  Carp is usually easy for me (at least here) but I'm having a hell of a time getting one this year.  Albeit part of the reason is I'm not fishing the most opportune times or gear.  Greg was fighting his last fish when someone who works for flood control came and told us we couldn't fish here.  I was done for the day and was in no mood to argue with him so Greg landed his fish and we left.  "Ricky Ranger" is so full of shit.  There are no signs stating that fishing is prohibited.  He claimed that DFG (now DFW) regulated them and "natural habitat" so its off limits to fishing.  It's protected.  Who the fuck protects carp?  No one.  Such bullshit.  When I got home Greg emailed me the regs that actually state that you can fish there.  What a piece of shit liar.  I knew he was full of it, I just couldn't prove it until now.  I knew this though:  Interfering with some one who is LEGALLY fishing (or hunting) is illegal.  It is known as the hunter harassment :

Fish and Game Code Section 2009. (a) A person shall not willfully interfere with the participation of any individual in the lawful activity of shooting, hunting, fishing, falconry, or trapping at the location where that activity is taking place.

So if I run into this know-it-all-know-nothing douche again, we'll have words.  And if he thinks he's right I'll challenge him to call the game warden and let DFG sort it out.  I'll then show him the code that permits me fishing there and tell the warden to cite him for harassment along with a complaint to his management.  I've concluded that this is probably his favorite fishing hole, he did claim to be a fisherman, and did want people fishing in "his" hole.  Or he is some guy who is on some power trip and wanted to flex some nonexistent muscle.  Or he is some PETA member that didn't want us "hurting" wildlife so he made up some cock and bull story about this is a "natural habitat" so no fishing. 

Greg, I've bogaed a lot of carp in my day, trust me that's not 10 pounds but it is a nice one.

Soured I went home showered the nastiness off and headed to MVL to meet Chul and his buddy to see if I could wipe off the double skunk off.  Initially, although Chul invited me to fish with him and his buddy I thought it was probably not a good idea.  But after Ed canceled tomorrow's outing to Irvine Lake due to sickness and the fact the weather was nice I changed my mind.  I called Chul and let him know I'm in.

Chul spent most of his time helping his buddy Brett with a drop shot rig as Brett is a neophyte angler.  I fished in front and managed to land two trout sized bass.  At one point we had a hog follow the boat and Brett was desperately trying to place his dropshot in its face. During this time I landed my second bass, which was the smaller of the two, I released him and watched him swim away when all the sudden the hog race out from under our boat and took the bass in on gulp.  I was shocked and asked if they saw that and they all did.  I only wish I got it on film.  It was the highlight of the day.  Everyone managed at least one fish before the lake's "Ricky Ranger" pulled up next to us and cited Brett for casting too close to the docks.  At least he was cited for an actual rule and not a made up one.