Fishing Report: Week of Nov. 4

Published online on Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, a central San Joaquin Valley native and local fishing expert.

BEST BETS

San Luis stripers boiling, Ly Tu said. Pine Flat bass limits getting heavier, Merritt Gilbert said. Bass Lake spots active, Patrick Movey said. San Joaquin River stripers hitting, Randy Pringle said. Rio Vista sturgeon bite good, Haps Bait said. Kaweah crappie steady, Sierra Sport Fishing said.

ROGER'S REMARKS

It's almost universal that some of the most frustrating moments at the lake happen at the boat ramp. It gets even more interesting when water levels are down and ramps become narrow and long, putting even more pressure on drivers who are "trailer-backing-up" challenged.

I had one such experience watching a man driving a van try to back down a very long (at least 150 feet) and narrow low-water ramp with a jet ski trailer. Complicating matters was the line forming behind him.

Backing a short-tongued trailer is tough enough, but doing it when you can't see the trailer in your mirrors and getting verbal and hand signals simultaneously from three unqualified people makes for a disaster. He would back down about 15 feet before the trailer was almost sideways, then he would pull up 10 feet to straighten the trailer, then do it again - with a net gain down the ramp of about 5 feet per try. It was clear this guy had no business backing down a ramp, and as the pressure mounted, he got more nervous. It was starting to get ugly because rather than calling it quits, he would try that much harder, making it even worse, while at the same time further infuriating the now hostile and growing line of boaters.

After watching for at least 15 minutes, my fishing buddy said, "Why couldn't we unhook the trailer and back it down the ramp by hand?" Good idea! We recruited two other guys and guided the trailer the remaining 75 feet to the dock, getting cheers from the relieved crowd.

One angler who was thinking saved the day for everyone.

- Roger George

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PHOTO GALLERIES

Check out catches from local anglers that have submitted photos from their outings ...

Gallery #33 (new November 3)
Gallery #32
Archived Galleries

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KEY:

* Try dynamite
** Have to work hard
*** Limits possible
**** Fish jumpin' in boat