It has been way too long since I last fished. Between work and with school starting last month free time has become rare. To start things off, I bailed on the Diablo and picked up a Liquid Logic versa board. It is the same as the Native, only difference being the native is the "angler" edition and the Liquid Logic is not. I ordered it from ACK and it arrived quickly the following week. It was well wrapped and protected during shipping, ups to ACK!
Fast forward three weeks, I've yet to test out the new paddle board. Instead of taking the 3 hour drive to Port A I decided to try Calaveras Lake here in San Antonio, a quick 30min drive across town from my house. This lake is stocked with Redfish. That's right, redfish in a fresh water lake. They feast on Tilapia which is also stocked in the lake as a food source for the reds. There is a coal power plant on this lake, which uses the water from the lake to cool it. This makes the lake warmer than it normally would be which probably benefits the reds and helps their appetite. I dragged my dad out of bed and got to the lake at 9AM. We paddled over to the Crappie Wall after cast netting our bait for the day. I was pleasantly surprised how stable the Versa board was and how it paddled. Cant wait to try it out on the coast, after all i bought it specifically to fly fish the flats with . Love the new SUP!
As we paddled up the the crappie wall we saw some boats tied up. We found our spot and soon started to free line some tilapia. First cast my dad threw, no more than 3 seconds after it hit the water something blew it up! the fight was on! Happened to catch a picture while he was also trying to remove his PFD.
And the result...a FAT 34" red! A great start to the day!
For the next few hours we caught some solid fish, releasing lower slot guys and only keeping 4 that were 25+. Enough for a fish fry...or two
Around noon a storm rolled in, blowing pretty hard and bringing some rain with it. We hunkered down till it blew over, waiting to head back in.
After the storm blew past we headed in. What a great day on the water! I definitely regret writing off Calaveras. It's full of good fish, but you definitely have to change your techniques from fishing those flats down south. With it being so close I'll be heading back again soon, hard to beat these fat fish especially being so close to home. Next time i plan on bringing my fly rod with me. THAT would almost be too much fun. Till next time..