Quote from: jrodda on February 25, 2026, 06:11:22 PMI feel that victory may elude you this year...

I've heard that many a times... Until the clock struck 12:00 and the winner was announced!  lol

When I was in Rancho Leonero, I think they called them Pinto Spiny Lobsters.  The two I remember looking weird was that and a Green one... but I'm pretty sure this is a Pinto.

We're coming for the trophy again, Jeremy!

Some guys have been catching reef lobster with the California Spinys here in San Diego.  So weird, but I would totally love to get one of these guys one day in the nets!



You can see the Cali ones below it.

I wanted to get the boat out since it's my last week before starting up work again.  The ocean seemed to be quiet, so I decided to do an easy trip on the SD bay.

The gas has been sitting there for a month, so I needed to burn some....

I get down to beautiful conditions.  Plan was to hit the halibut grounds and hit it hard for a big back bay hali.



I get there and there is already a boat there so I move up the line a little.  I set out the trolling motor and realize my remote control was dead!  Batteries were dead and I didn't have any on board!  Ugh!
I make a few casts and see clouds of fish on the sonar...

It's been a long time since I've seen this many Lizards!



I decided to run back to the truck and look for AAA batteries.  I saw my headlamp and thankfully had 3 in there... Perfect, they work!  Back out to the spot!



First real fish was a Sandy and I got to hit the clicker.



I had a hard time finding them.  It was all lizard fish so I kept working North until I could find a pocket and I did.  Tide was moving and the fish were biting!



They were pretty small, all in about the 10" range with a few about 11".

I decided to troll since the grass wasn't floating yet and yep...  These things were like piranhas.



I'm looking towards TJ and see a black cloud forming.  It was a lot clearer in person than my picture but whatever was burning was big and a lot of black smoke.  The Cartel is at it again!



The water was really dirty and not easy to see down into it so I switched up to a bright swimmy and it actually did better than my natural colored bait!



The bass were even bigger and got one over a foot.



Then I felt a doozie!  I knew it was a halibut and it took me around the boat a few times.  I saw a faint outline of it and it was BIG!  I had it 3 feet from the surface and could barely see it.  It dove down again and gone.  Reeled up my swimmy and everything was there.. WTF....  Oh well, I hit the spot lock and decided to work this area hard!

A few casts later and I hook up again!  This one had more head shakes, but the bite was very hali like.  I got him to the net and success!  Nothing huge but a few inches bigger than my net opening at 18", so I'm calling 20". 



He was all calm so I set up the phone to get a picture and removed the hook in the net.  Then a Three-Stooges moment happened.
I went to pick him up and he exploded forward and hit my trolling motor... then bounced back into my arms.  I was bear hugging it upside down and it slapped me in the face with its tail, bounced off the deck and back in the water.  GRRRRR!!! 

I stayed in this small area for the next hour and caught a good amount of bass.



I switched baits since my swimmy was torn up, but stuck with the chartreuse color.  Immediately got some more bass and a third butt.  Postage stamp sized.



Well, the tide stopped and so did the bites.  The wind picked up and my shoulder was dead from casting, so I called it around 11:15am.  Not a bad total of 31 bass and butts.  I probably also got a few dozen Lizards so it seems like I caught a lot more.



Really weird thing was I get back to the ramp and was greeted by the warden.  I opened all the hatches and cooler, but was thinking "what are people keeping down here, pee-pee bass?".



In any case, It was a fun morning and I have a few more days to squeeze some more fishing in before the real world grabs hold of me.  LOL

Thanks for reading!

I'll most likely be at the SD one.  Bill said he was going to the SD one this year when I was up in Washington in October, but when I saw his list of events recently, it only said OC.

Good time to buy a Pontoon!

Good luck Tim and looking forward to seeing you and the AZ hoof for the Bat Fight!

As for the MRI tubes.  I f@cking hate them.  I feel like I'm going to freak out everytime.

I'm pulling out some tech to help out Team SD again...  The eye in the sky sees all!

Roger got out yesterday to test out a different spot... Not even a tentacle shaker.

I'm going to go down later in the week and use the drone to find feeding mud clouds or feeding holes.

I bet the guy was stoked to see that butterfly ray.  He was probably also happy for the help.

Nicely done and nice signage.  I'm still waiting to see you with a trout picture....

Anyone doing any pre-fishing?

After signing the Offer Letter, I went to the puddles to fish in the rain.



The morning was wet and the water was muddy.  Ended up getting a average stocker before heading home for lunch.
I filleted him when I got home and Holy Crap! A big senko in her belly!



I headed back down at 3:00 to try and get myself a big one or a Lightning, but the wind was terrible and the lake was a mud puddle.  I moved to another lake that was a little bit more protective and got a few bites, but nothing stuck.  Oh well, at least the trout earlier pretty much paid for my permit.

One week left before I start work.  I have a lot to get done beforehand, but pretty excited to start getting a paycheck again!

Quote from: sasquatch on February 19, 2026, 05:47:19 PMAbout f@cking time! Congrats.

Thanks boss. 😂

It's been 6 months since I've worked or made a paycheck.  Applied to 123 jobs and only had 4 interviews.

Mike gave me the best lead, and I thought I had it, but I only came in second. (Thanks a ton for that Mike, I really appreciate the help getting in the door).

I fish with Steve and he wants me to get a job, so I don't keep posting fishing reports every day.  LOL

Last week I got a call from a QA Director who came across my resume...  30-minute interview right then and there and was told to keep my eye on my emails. 
Next day I have an online interview with HR, and they approved everything I wanted for the position. 30 minutes later and I get an email saying to come in for a face-to-face interview with some of the directors... in 4 days!

Get to the interview yesterday and think I did really well.  They asked when I could start and I said, "Next week if you need me".  They literally look at each other and say Monday good?  I couldn't tell if they were joking or not but smiled and thanked them.  I got home from the interview to see another interview scheduled for today with the team!  I interviewed and within an hour got an offer letter, even better than the last 60 positions I applied for. 

I just signed and submitted it.  I'll be starting on March 2nd, but plan to fish my ass off in my remaining time as an unemployed deadbeat!  WHEW!

That was the most brutal job hunt I've ever had, and really excited to start getting a paycheck again.  I'm actually excited about the position also since it's a slight pivot to what I've been doing the past 10 years.

Trout... Stripers.... Dolphins (Team).... They all are giving you a rough time.  lol

Congrats on the last cast bass though!  It sure has some crisp fins on it.