DELTA FISHOUT REPORT
by Denny Welch
We had the Delta
fishout on Veteran’s Day, November 12th. It was GBF’s first
trip there and I really didn’t know what to expect. When we first
announced it I thought we might get 4 or 5 boats and maybe 10 anglers.
As it turned out, we had 11 boats and 26 anglers!
The boats, like us,
were in varied stages of decay. Some leaked, some didn’t. Some rode
really low in the water and appeared on the verge of collapse. I won’t
mention names (Bill Avery), but some didn’t appear to have any fly rods
on board, while others seemed to have every gizwiz known to mankind
dangling throughout the midships. Most of the motors started the first
time, but others sputtered and spurted and smoked and belched out that
acrid, foul smelling junk that seems to collect in the bowels of an
engine that hasn’t been used in years.
Only one of us got
lost, but I won’t mention any names (Pete Peterson). I fully expected
someone to try out for the Wet Fly Award while boarding their boat. I
was ready with the camera, but, alas, no excitement.
We left Tower Park
Marina about 7:30 a.m. and took the short trip down Little Potato Slough
to the Mokelumne River. Close your eyes and imagine our little ragtag
armada motoring one by one under the Highway 12 Bridge humming to the
tune of Anchors Aweigh. The Naval Academy choir was singing softly in
the background. Larry Goodell led the pack with his bib overalls
(looked like the Gorten fisherman), Rick Radoff standing on the bow of
the boat with his best Napoleon pose, a misty eyed Sturmer White tossing
rose pedals on the troubled waters in tribute to fallen heroes. The
only thing missing was our loving wives and small children waving small
flags atop the bridge as we crossed beneath.
We split up after
that. Some fished Sycamore Slough, some Hog Slough, some Beaver Slough
and some the Mokelumne. Some even split off and fished their own secret
places. About 15 minutes out I hooked my first fish…a small striper. I
should have been more proud because it was my only striper of the day.
Rick did well as did Ron Hayashi who brought new meaning to the Golden
“Trout” award….all 28 pounds of it. Some of the guys were fishing three
to the boat and it took on a comic atmosphere with three guys trying to
dodge each other’s flies.
We stayed out there
most of the day and I think almost everyone got into fish. Those that
did had a great time and those that didn’t also had a great time. We
swapped some lies in the restaurant/bar afterwards and everyone there
said we should do it again. Maybe we could do an annual Veteran’s Day
Delta trip. If I had to change one thing on this trip it would be
Sturmer and the rose petals. It didn’t work. Instead, I’d probably
change Sturmer out for someone else…maybe Ron English.
…and
that’s the way it was, Veterans Day 2007.
Photo Gallery
Paul Egan captains one of about 10 boats that participated in GBF's first Delta Fishout
Pete Scaroni & his first striper
Update as of November 8: Meeting
location has been changed to the
Tower Park Resort Marina
(See link to map above). Meeting time has been changed to
7:00 AM. Come early
and meet in the restaurant.
According to Denny as of the November
General Meeting, there appears to be some additional spots open if Karl
Wolfe goes ahead with a party boat rental. It is supposed to accommodate
up to 9 people! Call Denny if you're interested.
Be sure to have a
personal flotation device for yourself. This is required. Also bring
a cell phone and a 2-way radio if you have one. We will
use Channel 6 to coordinate the action. Also bring your camera
as we anticipate abundant opportunities to capture some Wet Fly Award
candidates in action! And remember, the owner of the boat is the
Captain! Obey his or her commands or walk the plank!
Planning Meeting:
Monday, Nov. 5, 2007 -
6:00 PM
at
Round Table Pizza,
6811 Douglas Blvd,
Granite Bay
The Delta
trip is shaping up nicely. It looks like we have about 20 people
confirmed. There are still some, however, that I have not heard from.
If any of you would still like to go on the trip, but have been unable
to hook up with someone with a boat, please give me a call and I’ll do
what I can to help. Don’t forget about the rental boats. I know that
Karl Wolff is getting one.
I’ve
scheduled a meeting for Monday, November 5th, at 6:00 p.m.
It will be held at Round Table Pizza located at
6811 Douglas Blvd,
Granite
Bay. That’s the one on the corner of
Douglas and Auburn/Folsom Road in the Raley’s shopping center. At the
meeting we’ll discuss all of the particulars of the trip…..meeting place
… times…. flies…rods…lines…gear…clothing…PFD’s, etc. I’m going to try
to squeeze a couple bucks out of the club to buy pizza and soft drinks,
but plan on kicking into the kitty if I’m unsuccessful. You might also
want to jot down any questions you might have so we can be sure to
discuss them at the meeting.
If any of
you know of someone who might want to go have them give me a call.
Please
feel free to contact me via email or phone with any questions.
Office…786-2070 Home…530-889-8562
Thanks
Denny
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 11:34 AM
Subject: Delta Fishout, Monday, November 12, 2008
Hi All,
We have a
number of people who signed up for the Delta trip. Unfortunately, we
don’t have enough boats to go around so we’ve established a Plan B which
I’ll talk about in a minute. For starters, here’s a list of the
sign-ups:
THOSE WITH BOATS:
1. Larry Goodell 530-268-8160
2. Bob DeRoss (I don’t have
his email. Rich A. and Bill O…please forward this to him)
3. Bill Carnazzo 530-367-5209
4. Paul Egan 640-5126
5. Dick Shannon 354-0754
6. Gene Goss 962-7375
7. Denny Welch
530-889-8562
8. Pete Peterson
THOSE WHO HAVE NOT FISHED THE DELTA:
1. Mel Odemar 961-4435
2. Rich Artu
3. Tom Stephens 354-2393 (I
don’t have Tom’s email so someone please forward this)
4. Art Livingston
722-2992
5. Lew Archuletta 530-622-5790
6. Dick Howard 212-0170
7. Bill Avery
625-1637
8. Mac Hunter 791-0359
9. Rick Radoff 624-2107
10. Tom Pettey 966-3471
THOSE WHO HAVE FISHED THE DELTA:
1. Bill Ossolinski 354-8474
2. Rich Pontius 530-677-2149
3. Sturmer White 791-2618
4. Tony Hamamoto 530-642-9132
5. Mark Pinski 530-672-8397
6. Jack Ramos 774-9972
7. Jim Holmes 967-6709
We would
like to give those who have not fished the Delta the first shot at
going. It will be up to those who have not fished the Delta to call
those with boats and try to catch a ride with them. They will have
until Saturday night (tomorrow) to do that. Those who have fished the
Delta can then start calling to see if anything is available. This is a
lousy solution to a lousy situation, but it’s what we came up with.
With that in mind, let’s go to Plan B.
PLAN B:
We have
changed the meeting location of the fishout to
Tower
Park Resort,
NOT Sugar Barge as previously planned. Check with Denny or Karl Wolfe if
you are interested in sharing a spot on his party boat rental.
Now it’s
your turn to do the following:
-
Make your calls
re: getting a boat with another member
-
If you are unable
to hook up with someone, then contact Sugar Barge and see about a
rental boat
-
Keep me, Bill C.
and Pete P. informed via email on what you’re going to do
-
Feel free to give
me a call if you have any problems
This
Delta trip is a pretty big undertaking and there is a lot we haven’t
covered yet. I think the most important thing is to get the boat
situation settled first. After we do this, I’ll schedule a get together
at a pizza place so we can all meet and discuss everything else.
Good luck.
Denny
Hi All,
I’ve been a member of
the club for a number of years and I cannot recall ever having a fishout
on the Delta. A number of us talk about fishing the Delta on a regular
basis, but I don’t know that we’ve ever gone out there as a group. We
are going to change all that on November 12th.
The logistics of
planning this trip is pretty touchy because many things have to come
together. It is still a work in progress so I don’t have all the
answers yet. Please work with Pete Peterson and me and we’ll try to
make this thing work the first time out. We will have sign-up sheets
available at the October meeting. We’ll need to know certain things:
1. How many people have boats and how many anglers will the
boat accommodate? For example, I have a good size boat, but I will only
take one other angler on it. We’ll be tossing some pretty big flies and
it’s usually windy out there.
2.
If you are taking your boat, do you already have a fishing
partner?
3. Are you experienced in fishing the Delta?
4. Are you interested in going aboard someone else’s boat?
Answers to the above
questions are critical in planning this trip. Only when we have a boat
count can we determine how many others we can accommodate. One thing is
for sure. Regardless of the number of people going…we’ll have a
terrific time.
Lastly, our timing for
this trip is good. Tomorrow night’s speaker is none other than Mike
Costello. Mike is one of the preeminent Delta guides. He’s one of the
first to call when booking a trip and simply knows what it takes to get
into fish. It’ll be fun.
Denny
dennywelch@jps.net
530-889-8562
