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…

October Crawdadin’

Monday October 15, 2024 – This year has definitely been the year of the crawdad. It seems like the minnows have taken a break at Big Lake, or they’ve been dodging my sonar for the past 10 months. I did see some fish activity today, though—it’s possible I spooked a school of shad near the…

Fleet Week 2024

Attending Fleet Week in San Francisco this year with Gina was a powerful experience, one that reminded us of the immense pride and respect we feel for the young men and women who have chosen to serve in our nation’s military. As we stood there, watching the magnificent ships glide across the bay, feeling the…

National Coffee with a Cop Day

Wednesday, October 2, 2024 Today, I had the pleasure of fishing with my good friend Steve. Steve is a retired San Jose police officer and Air Force veteran. He worked on F4 Phantom aircraft, much like my son-in-law Ryan does with transport planes. I’ve been waiting all year for a day like today. It’s been…

Doug Swisher November 7, 1932 ~ September 18, 2024

Doug Swisher is best known as a pioneering fly fisherman, author, and expert in the sport of fly fishing. He gained recognition for his contributions to the modern understanding of fly patterns and fishing techniques. Swisher co-authored the groundbreaking book Selective Trout (1971) with Carl Richards, which introduced innovative ideas about trout behavior and insect…