August 6, 2025
Lean Green and Mean
Today had all the makings of a banner day on the water—perfect wind, cool temps, and high hopes—but the fishing didn’t quite live up to the forecast. It’s been a couple weeks since I last hit the lake, and things have definitely changed. The water’s way down, and the Bay of Pigs is now thick with algae. That might sound like bad news, but a few weeks ago, the fish were stacked under those green mats, gorging on shrimp. I’ve always thought there’s a sweet spot when algae helps fishing—right before it sucks the oxygen out of the water and everything bails. Today, the stripers I caught off the dam had empty stomachs. Maybe the shrimp have moved deeper.
Water temp was holding at 67°F in the Bay. I had plans to hit the racks during the 11:00 a.m. solunar peak, but the usual hotspots were crowded, so I worked the dam from the Bay of Pigs all the way to Monument. Picked up six fish between the Bay and Guardrail—none past that. The difference? More algae on the Bay side. I really wanted to fish the dam-side racks since they usually produce better when the lake is pumping water out, and it looks like that’s happening now—lake levels are the lowest I’ve seen this year.
Just when I was about to call it a day, I glassed the racks and saw an opening on my favorite pillar. I zipped over and scanned with Livescope—sure enough, clouds of American shad were circling, and small packs of stripers were hunting around them. Not the usual numbers, but enough. Whenever I spotted a pod at 30–40 feet, I’d pull one fish from it. Managed six in a couple hours before the crowd rolled in again, and I packed it up. Final tally: 13 fish. For this time of year, I’d call it a grind.
While I was on the lake, I got word that there’s a last-minute opening at the Sapsuk in a couple weeks. Earlier this year, my buddy Steve Sakamaki said he wanted to go back one more time—at age 95. The guy left for Iceland on Monday, but I managed to reach him, and it looks like he’s in. I’ll be rooming with him on the river. The man is unreal—still lifting, still golfing, and last week I watched him stripe a drive 165 yards like it was nothing. I swear, when I grow up, I want to be Steve.
There is alot of construction going on around Dino Point these days with the Gonzaga Ridge Wind Project. It’s hard not to shake your head when you see those massive new wind turbines lining Gonzaga Ridge—towering behemoths that dwarf the older ones by more than three times in size. These aren’t just upgrades; they’re industrial eyesores planted right on one of the most scenic and ecologically sensitive corridors in the Diablo Range. Whoever thought it was smart to carve access roads into pristine ridgelines and drop colossal propellers into prime raptor habitat clearly wasn’t thinking about long-term environmental tradeoffs. Sure, they spin out green energy, but they also carve up viewsheds, disrupt wildlife, and turn what was once a quiet, natural skyline into a mechanical mess. Renewable energy is important—but smart placement is everything. And this? This feels like a blunder in plain sight.
I agree with Trump who has made no secret of his disdain for wind turbines—famously calling them “bird graveyards” and blaming them for everything from power grid instability to cancer. Now, he’s doubled down on his opposition, floating the idea of banning windmills altogether. These towering turbines are more symbol than solution—industrial blights that ruin landscapes, harm wildlife, and, in his view, offer unreliable energy at great taxpayer expense. Windmills are often marketed as a symbol of clean, green energy—but dig a little deeper, and the picture isn’t so pristine. Manufacturing a single wind turbine requires tons of steel, rare earth minerals, and concrete—all of which come with heavy environmental costs from mining and production. Transporting and installing these massive structures involves carbon-spewing trucks and helicopters, and once they’re up, they don’t last forever—most turbines have a lifespan of 20–25 years, after which their enormous blades, made from non-recyclable composite materials, often end up in landfills. Add in the damage to bird and bat populations, the disruption of natural habitats, and the visual and acoustic pollution they create, and it becomes clear: wind energy may be renewable, but it’s far from environmentally harmless. Green energy should mean low impact, not just non-fossil.
