Debra and I traveled to see our daughter in Quincy CA. recently. It is good to be vaccinated. We spent some time in the high desert which I have grown to love. We spent a nice afternoon at Frenchmens Lake where I caught a very nice Brown Trout.

Frenchmens is an out of the way but starkly beautiful lake off of 70/395 near Portola CA.

We briefly considered a jaunt to Genesee Valley by way of Beckwourth but were afraid of the cows

Here is the view from Aubrey’s front yard looking out towards Quincy

On the way back we hit Table Rock near Oroville for the most spectacular wildflower show I have ever witnessed. All pics clickable BTW

It has been a while….

Debra and I toured the southeastern waterfront on a lovely February afternoon. We miss being in the city.

I fished Don Pedro for a change of pace Feb 6th. Stellar weather. Slow fishing. Spent most of the day in Six Bit Gulch.

For my 4th fishing trip of 2021 I tore myself away from Melones to try Berryessa. I picked a good day as the weather was 65 degrees and no wind to speak of.

I was determined to find some bass so I ran from one end to the other.

Started seeing what I was looking for all the way up Putah Creek

Lots of bait birds and boats

Found some nice largemouth under those baitballs. No trout for the day. Fun watching the seaplanes touch and go.

This end of the lake burned hard

Finished up with a moon shot

Off the water at 3 PM.

70 degrees in mid January. I could not stay home. In our county traveling 120 miles or less is permitted for recreation purposes under the current stay-at-home order. I have hit Melones 3X 2021 so far and the month is not over. I intend to get the most use from my fishing license this year. Lake is still looking good despite the drought.

I set up in Angels Cove looking for baitballs that my intel had tipped me off about. I saw them on the meter near the closed Angels Cove launch.

Birds in the area as well But several passes only yielded some nice crappie.

We were met by recently retired friends Debbi and Mark who had a certain post retirement glow about them. They were socially distancing in their badass Robalo.

We ran way upriver into the canyon

Some action upriver but overall slow.

We ended up in Mormon and caught a few more. Kind of a lazy day but a real stress relief.

Second trip on my 2021 fishing license. It’s easy in Mormon Creek arm. Toplining needlefish with a trolling weight 2 MPH.

Another coastal adventure in the books. Tryin to keep sane in a insane world.

So many people I know are fleeing California. Yet I despair I will ever leave. I lived in Arizona for a brief time. Being that far from the ocean caused me a lot of anxiety. Nowadays I am drawn to the ocean constantly and feel at home on the beach. We recently camped at Coastanoa between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. Spent some time at Greyhound Rock. I have been walking that beach since 1973. Still gets to me.