Happy Pride!

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Joulebox

Debra and I escaped the heat this weekend and spent it aboard the Mighty Peridot. The City was awash in color.

We ate Friday night at Marlowes at 4th and Brannan. This was the block we first met at in 1982. Used to be Rubys. God we are old.

We walked the city Saturday and put on some miles.After a killer lunch at Amber India Dosas! we ran by the new SOMA but we will let some of the hubbub die down before going. We whiled away the afternoon at Yerba Buena Plaza watching a kid’s circus.

The circus before the circus.

Travels with Bouncin Betty

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Joulebox

My father liked low budget road trips. Mostly out of necessity because we were a 5 person family living on a USAF NCO salary. We criss-crossed the country in various large Merican cars such as Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 etc. with possessions in tow as he was transferred from one forlorn city to another. Long Sunday drives to see what the surrounding countryside held were common. As such I have always enjoyed exploring California and Nevada with the wife. We chew up a lot of backroad miles in one of the best touring 4WD vehicles available, a Land Rover LR4. We do sleep in it with the rear seats folded down but it is not very comfortable.

Looking to expand these travel horizons to the western states, Canada and Mexico so we are trying out the Class B RV thing to see if it will work for these upcoming adventures. Meet Bouncing Betty on our first trip over Memorial Day. We camped the first night at Doran Beach in Bodega bay after an easy 2.5 hr cruise from Pleasanton.

Built on a Sprinter chassis in Saskatchewan. Turbo diesel 6,very frugal.

Just BARELY large enough for an extended trip not resulting in divorce. Doran beach is an excellent campground right on the beach. Clean facilities including showers. $40 a night. I fished the jetty for nada.

Next morning we headed towards Ft Bragg 3 hrs north on Hwy 1. An amazing stretch of road. We stopped in Gualala and generally dawdled.

The Land Whale made the trip well despite this being one of the curviest roads in the US. We stayed at Sportsman RV under the hwy 1 bridge on the Noyo river. Basically a dirt lot with hookups. Funky was the operative word. Noyo is still a working harbor but also has 4 restaurants, kayak rentals, party boats, fresh off the boat seafood for sale and a couple of “rustic” bars. We were told to park by the Sphere of Doom.

Proprieter claimed this was the original model of the Barnum & Bailey “Sphere of Doom” act with motorcycles riding on the inside of the ball.

Authentic Teardrop trailer

Hwy 1 and Noyo River

I fished the jetty until late afternoon for nada. We watched the Warriors win Game 6 at a wharfside seafood place called Silvers. The navigator approved.

I have wanted to do some boondocking for some time now so the third day out we headed inland on hwy 20 to Potter Valley, gateway to Mendocino National Forest. Famous for ummm growing things. We bounced 15 miles down a very dusty forest road to Lake Pilsbury.

Great campsite on the lake. I saw a large herd of Elk cross the northern end of the lake at dusk but was too lazy to get the camera. Long drive back Monday through returning holiday traffic.

Gold Country Wildflower Bombing Run

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Joulebox

Debra and I took a very nice ride through the Gold Country on the hunt for wildflowers. We were not disappointed. The route we took was as follows:

From Modesto we went Hwy 132 east towards Coulterville

Priest Coulterville to Old Priest Grade (What a fun drive!)

Down PGR to Moccasin (Watch out for cars with smokin brakes)

Jacksonville Road to Sonora (Lunch at Emberz)

Columbia to Parrots Ferry

Hwy 4 to Avery/Sheep Ranch

Sheep Ranch to Murphys (Wine Tasting at Hatcher)

Hwy 4 back to Stockton and home.

Sights along the way:

Tuolumne River at Hwy 132

Hwy 132 Tuolumne River

The old bridge

Old Bridge taken from the new Bridge

New bridge on the Tuolumne taken from the Kayak launch

Historic La Grange Arch Bridge

Looking east from the La Grange arch bridge. This canal comes from Don Pedro

lake Don Pedro from Hwy 132

My family’s old Lake house between McCLure and Don Pedro. It has seen better days.

Lake McClure taken near Couterville

Co-Pilot and Fighter Jet

Lupine

Pallette

Priest Coulterville Road display

More Lupine

Mining claim near Maxwell Creek

College Fund Mining Claim

Poppies

Lupine, Poppies and Indian Paintbrush

Mariposite in a road cut near Couterville

Lupine

Poppies

Maxwell Creek

Near Moccasin Point

Power station at Moccasin

Hetch Hetchy water coming down Priest Grade

Brood Stock

Purina Trout Chow

Water Thieves

Temple of Excess

Put and Take factory

Brood stock

Hatchery at Moccasin

East end of Don Pedro

Jacksonville Bridge on Don Pedro

Mariposite and Lichen

New Melones near Parrots Ferry

Parrots Ferry

Closeup Parrots Ferry Bridge

Murphys

Old Friend on Hwy 4

Crabbing out the Gate

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Joulebox

Mike and Keegan met my son and I at Pier 40 Saturday at the gentlemans hour of 8. Overcast with little wind made the ride out the gate easy. We dropped 2 pots in 60 feet off of Baker Beach and turned the corner at Bonita. We offloaded the other 3 pots NW of Muir and set up for Salmon.

3 rods on the rigger and 1 on a diver. Very little life on the meter, few birds no whales and no nets flying. Some brown water and skiffs by Duxbury. The wind was cooperating and swell was nicely spaced. It was a minefield of crab pot bouys out there but we kept it clean. 3 hrs later we gave up without a scratch and pulled the 3 outside pots for a handful of keeper Dungies.

The pots at Baker beach were a little better and we had 13 crab to work with. We dropped 2 pots back in at Baker and drifted for halibut for an hour outside. One last pull for zip. Back under the gate

We finished up at the Rockwall for several drifts but it was not to be on the finfish side.

Debra made garlic butter wine shallots roasted crab to rave reviews. Thanks to Mike for running a crab deck, salmon deck and halibut deck.

Melones Rising

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Joulebox

I made a list:

Crabbing out the gate
Delta Stripers in the mud
Melones on the rise
Melones won because I really wanted to see what the rain had done to the foothills. We bought two dozen jumbo minnows at Glory Hole and launched off the newly submerged concrete ramp. We found spotted bass at the south end
I lost a bunch of Senko fish. We half heartedly trolled for trout but bass kept hitting the plugs.

Delta Deluge

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Joulebox

Had my brother in law Ric out from Chicago and wanted to put him on the spring striper bite. We launched from Sugar barge at 7:30 to slightly jackass conditions, excellent cloud show and no rain. I figured and had friends confirm prior that finding clean water north, west or east would be tough so we started in North Franks. A very angry largemouth in 3 feet of water went for a early DWB in Bone.

Had some swirls on top but I decided to roll the dice and motor up the South Mokulmne. Chocolate city and hour wasted. Off to Mildreds. We started getting some action in the stumps. I got treed by a 20 lb class fish who swam off with my aforementioned plug. Enormous tail on that fish. It was wrapped 5 feet away from the boat in plain sight. I thought about letting it swim out of the tree but horsed it instead. We fished all over Mildreds and Mandeville. It was a 4 bridge day. We finished up in Franks in the rain. Quiet on top so we busted out bass gear and caught a few in the tulies.

Great day on the water.

Delta 02-FEB-2016-Global Warming has it’s advantage

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Joulebox

I fished south and east Feb 7 for a big fat zilch. Bass guys were doing ok. No pics, runs hits or errors.

I was able to squeeze in much needed water time on the Delta on Feb 15 after a week working a trade show in Anaheim.

Dangerous Dirigibles and I rolled over the Bethel Island bridge at sunrise.

Sugar Barge launch to clear skies and 60 degrees.

We headed northeast working likely spots on the San Joaquin. Incoming tide. All quiet in the usual spots. Further east we found birds, bait and a few lunging stripers working east of the Hwy 12 bridge. We commenced to pull on a few schoolies on swimbaits dragged right on the bottom. Spoon worked as well.

We did a lot of scouting down as far as Mildreds. Tons of bass boats up tight to the tulies but we wanted stripers.

I stopped on some of the holes draining out of Mandeville and worked a largemouth bite

Water temps ranged from 54-58 and clarity was still poor in most places. I will let the full moon pass before checking the delta again.

Puerto Vallarta Felice Naughty Dog

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Joulebox

PV was lovely this year. (All pics are clickable for large size)

We spent lots of time walking the Malecon, town and beaches. Things were being bought and sold at the beach. Lots of ummm things…Weather and clouds made photography interesting but rewarding.

The Ghost Arches looking back at the church from the Malecon

Sunsets from our front Porch on Conchas Chinas Beach were to die for Bicicleta Built for TwoBoca de Tomatlan
Boogie boarding local

Old and new collide. A burro, a bike, an Hombre and a Minivan converge at the Glamour Boutique near El Tuito

Up in the Sierra Madres south of PV The uneasy balance of courtship

The NavigatorHere is a better fisherman than I. He/She worked the cove off of our veranda every day of our stay. Miss Hibiscus 2015 at MismaloyaBottom floor suite (Guadalupe) at Quinta Maria Cortez
Night of the Iguana having seen better times Hyenacorrn Los Arcos Marge NombresThis pic taken on the road to Tepic which we were unfortunately detoured past in a monumental Mexican Mountain traffic jam. Our Lady of Guadalupe before the tourists woke up Plaza Right place, right time Our front porch. At high tide there was no beach Mosquito fleet at Punta De Mita Los Muertos Pier a hub of aquatic activity Saturday Stormin The gothic horror of Quinta Maria Cortez. Vampires live here. We had the whole bottom floor to ourselves. The Loverly Bell ringer in a blue shirt at bottom of pic Interior of our room was full of antiques and quirky original artwork.Pristine coast South to Yelapa Dos Arcos We never tired of the sunsets Muralo de Tortuga, Sayulita Volcano in the Sierra Madres Tilt shift courtyard

Pescadore below worked the rocks just outside the breakers every morning with hand linesPV was lovely this year. We drove South to Crucero De La Cumbre one day and North to Tepic another day. I love renting a car and taking off on sketchy roads with no GPS or cell service into the interior of Mexico. Navigating the steep, wet cobblestone streets of the city is very stimulating.

Highlights:

Having a week off with my Wife

Hotel Quinta Maria Cortez

Cafe de Olla

Christmas Eve dinner with Donna and Bill high above PV at Sunset

Fish for breakfast lunch and dinner

Endless margaritas

Delta Greenery

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Joulebox

Murderous Trebles and I launched little red from Sugar Barge Saturday with high hopes and high clouds.

3 of 3 early DWB “The Pickle”

We navigated up the North Fork of the Moke hucking wood and other TW implements. Stripers were shy but the pickles wanted to play.

Swimbaits on the troll during lunch attracted some attention.

Traffic was heavy

We fished North and South Moke, SJ shoals, false river, Washington Cut, Mandeville, MIldreds, and finally Franks at Sunset.

One Lane Into Pyramid

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Joulebox

Debra and I scrambled over Donner Pass Friday afternoon just as the storm was sputtering to life. We checked into the Silver Legacy after a stop at Cabelas. We met the Schaffers on the casino floor for some wagery. Dinner at Pearls Oyster Bar inside the Legacy (so so) and back to gaming. Debra did well on the slots as usual. Late to bed and 4:30 AM came too early.

Mike and I motored out Pyramid highway in steady snow. At one point the whole sky lit up green with snow lightning. It got more and more sketchy as we climbed up the ridge slipping and sliding in the pitch dark but we pressed on to Blockhouse.

http://youtu.be/zK4FE23MGLM

I debated whether to park up top but figured the snow plow would bury the car so we slid on down to the beach fully expecting to be found there frozen to death several days later. 10 MPH winds, snowing full on, 34 degrees at lake level. PERFECT for fishing Booty style.

We threw hardware from 6-9:30 for one small fish.

Snowed hard the entire time. 4 other trucks there but we saw nothing caught. I had 2 BIG followers practically beach themselves chasing a green/white little cleo but they would veer off at the last minute. We made the call to head north.

The Nets were packed with ladder nuts surfing the rollers.

We left the ladders and waders behind so we headed past Crosbys

Snow let up but it still rained on and off. The views were grand.

Just before Pelican I spied off in the distance a fish being netted so we wheeled down to the rocks just south of the ramp.

It was on. We saw 40 plus (no shit, ask Mike!) fish caught in a 4 hr period up to 20+ lbs. Copper john and small green fly off a dropper loop under an indicator was HOT. I ran an F5 frog flatfish carolina rigged about 2.5 feet below a chain swivel 1/2 oz weight. Water was about 20 feet deep and I was crawling this over the bottom. This worked! Fish juggling ensued

HARD fighting fish in spawning colors. Mike switched to a flatfish and got on board.

A guy next to us whacked at least 15 fish including this 20 lber!

The drive back to Reno was awe inspiring with the desert covered in freshies.

All lights were green coming through Sparks. We celebrated that night at Ichiban in Harrahs. Not bad.Casinos Saturday night were PACKED and money was flowing. Had a few beverages…………

I woke up Sunday morning a bit groggy and pointed us up and over the pass it was great to see snow down to 4500 feet.

I feel lucky to have hit a hot Pyramid bite. I may go back next weekend.

joulebox

Laser Cutting/Engraving, product design and manufacturing consulting.

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