Needed to get away after The Pig Party so I made plans to head North. First I had to make Jerky, wash Bad Pig and make up some Breakfast Burritos




Hit the road early Tuesday morning and was on my way Not much traffic going North.



I get all Giddy inside when I get close



Stopped at a spot on The Lower Owens, no luck, water was a bit stained too



Got to the house and the next morning I rigged up my gear, going to be busy the next few days



We tried a local spot close to the house and I got a player on my little Dock Runner setup I dropped him in the weeds but he swam away to fight another day !




The next day we did some exploring up to Rock Creek, so cool to find new spots




Lots of walking which was tough on my knee but worth the scenery  




Thursday was more of the same, lots of driving and hiking to great spots along the creeks. Found some holes that were holding fish. We explored from Mammoth to Tioga Pass up in Lee Vining  Even had lunch at Tom's Place again too.










Had a change of plans and came home a day early. I left at 12:30pm on Friday which I normally don't do but I figured I would be home by 7:30 that night at the latest........WRONG ! Got to the Cajon Pass at 5pm where the 15 and 395 meet and it was gridlock!!! The Freeway was shut down cause a motorcyclist got killed    I sat at The Pilot Truck Stop till 10:30pm   I could see the traffic on the 15 starting to move again so I hopped on the 15 South with every Semi Truck that was part of the mess and I got caught up in 2 more accidents on the way home     Finally got home at 1:30am.... 13 hours of BS      Oh well, still had a great time, will be going back next month but in the meantime it's time to get some blood on The Cyclops !

 Janie had a week off so we left on June 19th and headed to The Sierras. On our way we made a point to stop and see the places we always say we need to check out, first stop was Kramer Junction, what a cool place this little Museum was






Next stop was actually on The 14 FRWY just a bit out of the way but worth a look, Indian Wells Brewery. They made Beer and Soda.






Since we were not really in a hurry, we gassed up in Bishop, hit the grocery store and decided to try the Canal behind Vons, the cows were in our way   Never seen them over here before
 


It was pretty warm still so we just headed up the hill and met my Buddy up at Tuff Campground and caught a few fish there before heading to The House



We got to the house and Tim and his wife went back to Simi Valley, they gave us the place for a week



In the morning I made Breakfast Burritos for Scooby Snacks to take on our daily adventures




We drove about an hour up to Bridgeport and checked out The Walker River, Bridgeport Reservoir and Robinson Creek. Found Fish in the creek Stopped by Ken's Sporting Goods too, it's a must !







I did BBQ a Tri Tip for Dinner one night, it was good



The next couple of days was just sight seeing, hiking and taking in the scenery. We went to most of the Lakes in Mammoth and then up to The June Lake Loop. Saw some cool streams and Waterfalls along the way in between the Lakes.








The scenery never gets old, there is water everywhere !







We went back to The June Lake loop and tried to hit some cool shops, ran into this guy that used to work with Janie's Uncle on the Sport Boats in Dana Point Harbor, small world and he was full of Knowledge 



We tried to stop at all the Lodges and General Stores to check them out, I started to collect pins from each place.






On the last day we went back to Robinson Creek, as we were walking out , The Stock Truck showed up with 900 Lbs of fresh Trout Time to leave, they ain't going to bite today



Back to Bishop to get some Jerky and Dinner at the Casino 103 AT 5:30PM down in Bishop Mid 70's up in the hills 








Always have to stop at Tom's Place





Time to head back to Valley Center   and on the way, Janie has to stop and look 




I grabbed a few things


Time to unload The Hearse


Hope to get some Salt Action soon

 Well, it's time to head North again, Father's Day and then my Birthday so we are making a week of it in The Sierras. Janie took time off and my buddy gave us the house again so we hope to see some cool places we haven't been to, along with some of the usual places too. Friday morning bright and early is departure time and hopefully gas will come down a bit to ease the pain    Hope everyone has a great Father's Day this Sunday

 Since I didn't do a garden last year (first time in years ) I had the itch to do one this year. Didn't plant till May 1st, the weather was funky up till then Got it all tilled up and put the drip system back in order




 Got some starter Peppers and Tomatoes from Home Dump


Everything is coming along nicely so far.....even the weeds     I got more to pull as you can see




Forgot to get pics of the Zucchini but they are in the middle, pics later as they progress

 I should have about 30 Dozen ears of corn, that seems to be what I always yield 

  Tomorrow I have to get a cavity filled     between a Crown and a back molar    Crown has to be removed to fix the cavity and then reinstalled so tomorrow ain't looking too fun

 It was time to head North to Bishop/Mammoth area for Fishmas, the season opener.Made a bunch of Breakfast Burritos, packed up Bad Pig and made my way on Wednesday morning



Had to make a Pit Stop and stretch the knee


This is always a welcomed sight


Arrived at a pre-fishing spot to get a feel for things, caught a mini version of the big one I lost


Made my way into Bishop, hit Vons to grab a few things and then fished the canal behind Vons Check out them Bananas
 




Went to another part of The Owens River just out of town, no players


On my way to Pleasant Valley Reservoir I stopped to grab some Elk and Buffalo Jerky, $3.31 an oz.



Before heading towards the house, I got fuel to top off my tank   


They were letting water thru the Power Plant so I didn't fish this spot today but it's usually good for a few nice Rainbows



Got to the house, still snow on the deck from the last storm, hoping the stairs weren't still frozen, ate sh*t last time





Thursday and Friday we fished Lower Owens and did some sight seeing and BBQ'ing too








Not a lot of fish this trip, seems like they weren't stocking the river as usual but we kept plugging along. Saturday was the Opener so we hit The Upper Owens this time and we got skunked   Still fun just being out there







We hit Convict Lake on the way back home and fished the creek, I got another small one. The storm was coming


Headed home Sunday Morning, had to navigate the ice again on the damn deck and found myself at this place for Lunch !



Great time with my buddies, I will be going back in June for my Birthday, I was given the house to Janie and myself for a week by ourselves so hopefully we find more fish and do more exploring, might even head back up to Bridgeport and fish The Walker river

 Tomorrow is the day, Janie and I are going to check it out, anyone else going ?

 I got some cool Pics of The Cyclops while we were fishing La Jolla on Monday, Glenn (AKA) San Dog, was flying his drone on Richard's boat and filmed a video on his Youtube Channel. It's always cool to see what your boat looks like on the water cause they are few and far between

I took this pic of them two on Richard's boat


The Cyclops (Max is laying up front)





Rain for the Weekend, might head up to The Anaheim Boat Show

 Well, it was time to try the Knee on The Cyclops and get some Rockfish. Max and Myles had the day off work so it was a go 


We launched out of Dana Landing and headed North, Max was 1st on the Board


Soon after, Myles and I doubled up


We jumped around and found a few more, nothing huge but still fun




Max made it till about noon, then Ralph and Hugo showed up  


Myles kept adding to the Kill Bag, Max not so much  



My Buddy followed us up to LJ and he wanted to head in at noon I still had spots to fish but since Max was not up to snuff, we headed in too and called it a day. My Knee was pretty well done and probably good we came in early, I could barely walk when I got home   Next outing will be Bishop and Mammoth in a couple weeks, then more Cyclops Adventures

 Well, I was supposed to squeeze in a trip prior to Fishmas just to get away for a week but plans changed So I rescheduled and coordinated with my buddy and we decided to head North on the 22nd and come home on the 27th. Opening day isn't till the 25th so we will fish Lower Owens and Pleasant Valley Reservoir (PVR) in the meantime Looks like I have time to get in some Rockfish action on The Cyclops until then Hope everyone has a good season this year 

  We went to the Show in OC, it was cool and this is the first year at Del Mar this Thursday thru Sunday. Great deals on everything, cool T-shirts and just a fun overall event. We are going on Saturday, anyone else going ?

 Well, Max was so AMPED after helping Tom land his monster Bat last weekend that he wanted to redeem himself and actually catch one, since he only got a Butterfly Ray at The Bat Fight. Yesterday (Friday the 13th) he and his buddy, Van hit De Anza Cove and set up shop at 6am I had PT for my knee so I couldn't be there till close to noon and I invited Jerry to join us too   We were all soaking Yellow Tail and Jerry's rod goes off, solid hookup and a nice fight. The Bat flew out of the water and did a huge Belly Flop infront of a Pontoon Boat that was anchored up....The kids swimming around the boat got out of the water really quick After a few good runs, the hook pulled out and we were all bummed



I never got bit but it was cool to sit and watch Max and Van catch a few fish on the lighter rods



 
They both got a  small Halibut too




Max was chumming the water with my Chum Tube and catching Smelt, then using them for bait, Van hooks into a small Shovel




Jerry left and I lit a fire cause someone left some wood and all of a sudden a group of Middle Eastern people show up and start lining up 30 candles on the sand right behind Max's rod Then they fill up a bunch of helium balloons and create some sort of Memorial right next to his rod... WTF!!! The whole beach was open all the way to the Bathrooms and they set up Shop 5 feet from us   Then they made some Hot Air Balloons and sent them up while catching fire and finally falling back down, again, WTF !!! Apparently the fire I made was now theirs to use for cooking their potatoes so I called it quits and packed up and left for home !





Max didn't get Redemption this time but he will eventually 

 Well, we all had a great time as usual. Cheez came out on Thursday, we BBQ'D and then hit The PCS Show on Friday. Got up Saturday and headed to Mission Bay. The kids were there early and we set up Shop with The Crew. A gusty breeze showed up for a bit, then it all mellowed out which was nice. I really thought it was going to be another uneventful day as not much was happening till Myles landed a nice Bat on Jerry's rod ( Thanks, Jerry !) Then the bite turned on and Tom was The Hot Stick for a while with a couple sharks and a bigger Bat. I finally got hooked up and it felt good to finally tug on something other than a hand rail in a handicap bathroom stall Nice chit chat around the fire and things were slowing down so I figured it was time to head home. Of course I get a call from Max before we even get to the freeway that Tom is on with a Monster !  We could hear the excitement over the speakers in the car, Max was worked up more than Tom I think   A 53" Bat hit the sand for the GRAND FINALE !!!  My boys have progressed from playing the sand, to out-fishing Dad most of the time, they put lots of time and effort into it and it shows! Thanks again,Tom for putting this event together !  Hope your shoulder isn't wrecked too bad but at least San Diego can carry the Torch for another year while the other teams up North are cleaning their sand blasted gear

  Next week is the PCS Show in Orange County, always a cool event. Then it comes to San Diego. I plan on going to both shows just in case I missed something   Anyone else going ?

 Last week was time for my annual brain MRI to monitor my brain tumor that ruptured back in 2014. You would  think I would be used to them by now but they can really get the anxiety kicked into overdrive !
My head gets placed into this small cage, then I get lifted and slid into the machine for 30 minutes
I do have a Panic Button that shuts it down and I get pulled out but I've only had to do that twice in 12 years   This is an Open MRI Machine,the regular ones are just a tube and due to Claustrophobia I use this one. They both SUCK !!! Glad it is over till next year !  I will get the results in a couple weeks, till then it's time to focus on The Bat Fight 

 Well, the kids are growing fast and making me old   Aaron will be 29 and is now a Journeyman Electrician for SDG&E working on all the Sub Stations and has one of the highest paying jobs in the company (Dangerous too) The Twins are going to be 20 and are working at Albertson's as they figure out what they want to do when they aren't fishing   Today Max signed up to get his Boater's Card and Myles is going to get his too, I told them a couple years ago it would be a good idea to have it and they actually listened to me     Is this a ploy to overtake The Cyclops   Time sure did fly by and I am approaching 60, seeing my kids grow to be responsible and productive is a good feeling and a proud moment as well     We are all looking forward to The Bat Fight and hanging with The San Diego Crew once again !  Hope everyone else is doing well too, this site seems to have slowed down a bit so I wanted to add some reading material    C-Ya 

Well, this has to be the most difficult of my 8 surgeries. My eye was the worst but physically the knee has been the most challenging since I've aged by 10 years since the eye   It's been 5 weeks and the knee is looking better. Physical Therapy twice a week has been helpful as well and I hope to get back to walking my 3 miles a day soon (I know...baby steps) The Bat Fight is just around the corner, I will be there !






I ditched the cane, now to get my strength back and get The Cyclops wet 

 Haven't been on the site much cause my office and computer are upstairs along with my bedroom, I just cant get comfy in my bed yet so I have been sleeping in my recliner downstairs. I saw the Doctor yesterday and he removed the bandage and gave me the go ahead to start Physical Therapy, here is my current status






I have an Ice Machine that pumps cold water around the knee and keeps the swelling down




Hope to start walking with a cane this weekend and start driving when I run out of Oxycodone  Pain Pills

 Well, it was time for a Total Knee Replacement so I went in on Dec. 3rd and got busy


The food of choice was a plate of Fries and a Diet Coke but they only had Shasta   (NASTY)



Had to stay overnight cause Vitals crashed a bit so I came home on Thursday.





Can only lay around so long so yesterday was time to conquer the stairs



The walker is getting old and cant wait to 86 that thing, in the meantime I Pimped it out with a cup/rod holder 



PT 3 times a week and living on Oxy, oh boy ! I see the Surgeon on the 16th and then hopefully get the green light to drive (no Oxy )   

 Max and Myles had the day off yesterday so we hit MB at 6am in search of Bats, not long into it Max's rod goes off



A few more screams on his reel but they weren't fully committed Time to regroup and keep trying.


My line went slack and started moving so I set the hook   Click the pic, it's a video 



Looks like someone stayed out too late with his girlfriend 


A couple more drag burners but no hookups other than a Spotty for Max.


Back home by 12:30 pm so Myles could get to work on time