Rack Fever after 8 days of Quarentine

March 5, 2025 – Somewhere in the Wild Bureaucratic Hellscape of California Another bout of rain looms on the horizon, but the real storm already passed—an eight-day exile at the hands of California Parks and Recreation. Banished. Quarantined. A punishment so absurd it could only have been conceived by a government agency with no clear…

February Stripers with Dan

Monday February 24, 2025  –  February striper fishing these days is a roller coaster—a transitional circus of nature gone mad. The rains have come down like a curse, swelling both Forebay and Lake to surreal levels. Water turbidity is off the charts, with murk reducing visibility to a mere 1–4 feet, and a bitter cold…

First Striper of 2025

January 5, 2025 January has always been a challenging time of year for me on the lake and forebay. The lively blitzes and the big schools of bait are long gone. The fish have moved deeper, leaving the shallows empty and lifeless. It seems like the only ones catching fish now are the trollers, consistently…

Cold Water Stripers

Sunday November 24, 2024 – The first major atmospheric river of the year swept through the Bay Area this week, and as in past years, I made an effort to hit the Forebay after the first big rain. Fortunately, today’s weather cooperated—flat water and sunny skies made for an ideal day on the water, even…

Fall Striper action at the Forebay

It’s really frustrating that rebanding is no longer allowed, especially now that they’re inspecting boats as they leave. If the goal is to prevent mussel contamination in other bodies of water like the Forebay and the lake, inspecting boats on the way out doesn’t make much sense if. your not rebanding.   I timed my inspection…

Viva Las Vegas

November 7-9, 2024 – Over the years, Gina and I have had the pleasure of sharing many live music experiences, including season tickets to the Paul Mason Concert series. Live music has always been a big part of our lives, from our first real date at Grant Park—where we enjoyed a symphony practice over a…

The Dawn of a New Era

Can you feel it?  The tide has turned. The blitz to make America Great again is on!   Lessens learned from last night,  Let success be your revenge. Trump wins and its the dawn of a new era,  but more about fishing – specifically fishing Blitzes.  October through December is Blitz time on the lake and…

Algae Lines and the Silent Blitz

  Monday October 21, 2024 – It was one of those days where the universe seemed hell-bent on screwing with me. Saturday had me in a sour mood, hunting for fish like some kind of desperate maniac and coming up empty-handed. The only glimmer of hope came in Portuguese Cove, where a brief blitz yielded…

No such thing as a moderate republican..

I use to think that there was no place for politics in retirement.  That I was too old to benefit from or get hurt by staying out of politics but I find myself more concerned about what’s at stake in this months election as a grandparent.    I get it that abortion is a big…