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Fish Reports for July 2007
Friday, July 7th, 2007
Our family spent a week on Southern California and did the amusement park visits and a trip to the zoo. We also
spent a little time on the beach. I had the opportunity to fish with famed guide Jim Sammons of La Jolla Kayak Fishing.
He took me out to the deep waters off La Jolla just before first light. We managed the small surf and headed for the
outskirts of the reserve. On the way out we had a few dolphins nearby who broke the surface. A couple of them
came clear out of the water! It was amazing! Then Jim made bait just past the bouys getting some mackerel that
were in the 10-12 inch range. We then headed out a little bit further and put the baits in fly lining them. Jim
got a few Barracuda some that were very large! I got one on and lost him on the way in. Sometimes they just hang
on to the bait but are not hooked. We then headed past the kelp and paddled hopefully to hook on to a nice Yellowtail
or White Sea Bass. No such luck today but we did see a fellow nearby land a nice Yellow at 20 pounds. I then hooked
a nice cuda and got a picture of it.
Also landed a few small Mackerel. There were quite a few kayak fishermen out in the area. I have been
kayak fishing for 10 years and never experienced anything like this before. The swell was not large but for a greenback
like me seemed huge. It was like looking at the sandhills without grass. I heard a lot of guys get seasick out
there but I didn't at all. It was fun looking down in the water at times. I saw a huge bat ray and flashes of
fish at times. Going in was easy too as the tide was gaining. The whole trip was actually kind of effortless.
The bouyancy was incredible. It made the paddling very easy. You feel kind of like a cork out there.
Jim explained to me the strategy for getting through the surf and then to the beach. It was actually very easy.
( I listened carefully!) I saw people getting dumped everywhere and getting bonked on the head by their kayak. (These
were the tourists who rented kayaks and had no idea how to handle them in the surf. Quite entertaining) There were other
fishermen who landed a few Thresher Sharks as well that day up north near the Scripps Pier. If you ever want a great
fishing trip and a very unique experience I would hook up with Jim Sammons. He also runs a Baja Trip for huge fish.
He was the guy who hooked a Marlin of La Jolla years ago and it towed him out to sea 8 miles before he landed it. His
website is at: http://www.kayak4fish.com/
| Kayakjak with Barracuda off La Jolla Coast in CAL |
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| Thresher Shark caught off La Jolla |
Monday, July 9, 2007
Ventured up to Enders with my 11 year old son (Christian) for some paddling and fishing in the early evening. Christian
did very well paddling his own kayak today. We didn't go out too far so our fishing was limited. We went scoreless
this evening. The water is still very murky from the big rains last month. There was no topwater action.
Temps were in the 80's with a SE breeze.
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| Christian paddling near sunset at Enders |
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Took client out to Enders for some early morning fishing. Very cool morning with several storm clouds present.
It shut us down for about an hour because of lightning. There was very little topwater action. We did manage a
couple White Bass and a small Wiper. This lake seems very dormant right now. I will try it again this weekend.
We used Lytle's Secret Lure. Only fished a couple hours. Temps in the middle 70's. Water very warm.
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| Obbye from Arizona hunting for White Bass |
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 (PM)
Took client to Rock Creek for some late afternoon early evening fishing. It was a beautiful day at the lake.
Lower 80's and slight breeze out of south. The Bluegill and Red Ear were very cooperative as we caught huge numbers
of them. Most about 5 inches. Got 3 Nice Bass but lost one that broke the line. The two other bass were
16 and 14 inches caught near the edge of weedbeds with a bass fly.
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| Stanley from Lincoln, NE paddling at Rock Creek |
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Took same client out in the late morning hours and we caught numerous Bluegill, Perch, and Red Ear along with a few small
Largemouth. Also got a couple real nice sized trout and 1 Rock Bass. The Bluegill are really growing now with most over
6 inches and some in the 8 inch range. We used small jigs at the North End fishing the open pockets among the weed beds.
Stan even got a nice 10 inch Perch! We had Rib-Eyes and Scalloped Potatoes with Bisquits for lunch.
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| Look at those lucious Rib-Eyes! |
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| Stanley with nice 10 inch Perch |
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| Scalloped Potatoes covered with Bisquits in a Dutch Oven |
Sunday, July 15, 2007
We camped the weekend at Enders and rented the kayaks out to a church group. They looked like they were having
a lot fun. I fished the early morning hours from around 6:00 AM to 8:30 AM catching several white bass on the surface.
I used a Rebel Popper and casted to boils. There was not much organized schooling just random boils. I got one
white bass at 15 inches and the others were in the 11-13 inch range. Did get a couple deep with the Lytle secret
lure along a dropoff. Very hot day!!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Traveled to Enders early this morning around 5:00 AM. Wind was from the ENE at 10-15 mph. The temp was in
the high 60's with overcast sky. The sun did break out for awhile and then overcast most of the rest of the morning.
Paddled to south end of lake to a point just outside of the south bay. Saw a little topwater action and this water was
a bit fishy looking. Caught several White Bass that schooled near the point. When they were not up I fished a
Lytle Tailspinner deep and hooked a few more including a small Channel Catfish. Hooked into a couple Wipers that spooled
me and broke the line twice using a Rebel Topwater Popper. Boated a couple nice Wipers in the 18 inch range and the
White Bass were in the 12-14 inch range. Also, broke a personal record for the smallest White Bass ever caught in the
2 inch range. The lure was as big as the fish! It was a great morning to paddle and fish!
Friday, July 20, 2007
This was one of those days I dream about in the winter months for hours on end.  Took off for Enders at 4:30 AM this morning and got on the water by 5:30. Started paddling out and the water looked real
fishy on top. There was a lot of baitfish up. It was overcast and cool with a SE breeze, perfect conditions for schooling
White Bass and Wipers. I got to the middle of the lake as I was heading for the point where I caught a bunch yesterday when
the water erupted like a bunch of Pirahna were going nuts. White Bass everywhere, acres of them! I got the pole with the Rebel
Popper on it and brought in 5 fish in a row in as many casts. These were some monster white bass with a few 17-18 inch Wipers
mixed in with them. They were just gorging down the shad. Sometimes the shad would fall out of their mouth right in the kayak.
I had some fish almost jump in the kayak! The wind picked up and so did the fish. It was hookup after hookup. I ended up catching
52 fish in about 2 hours. (All released) No other boats on the lake. Very unusual for a Friday. A boat showed up around 7:30
and headed for Crappie Bay. I saw one bank fisherman as well. The fish shut down around 7:30 and the water went calm. Sorry,
no pics today. I am going out again tomorrow morning before the Jet Skies get going for the weekend. I'll try to get a couple
photos. There is nothing like paddling a kayak through those massive schools and hooking up fish after fish. 
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Fished at Enders again this morning at 5:30 AM. Clear skies and SW at 5-10 increasing to 20-25 mph late morning.
The water is really clearing up near dam. I paddled from boat launch to south end of lake after spotting some topwater
action by the white bass. It was very sporadic when I arrived but I still managed around 5 white bass and 1 nice wiper.
Also, got a channel cat. After about an hour I paddled to the west side where the water was breaking and fished about
20-30 yards offshore. Found some solid baitfish and fished near there. I got quite a few White Bass there using
the Lytle Secret Lure. There was little or no topwater action unlike yesterday when it was overcast. It was
lot of fun though. PBr's trolled very close to me checking out the strange craft on the water. I only saw one
other fish caught by a PBr and after landing a boat came in that had only caught one small white bass. I am headed there
again on Monday and Tuesday.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Fished at Rock Creek in late afternoon till dark. Brisk wind from SE until sundown. Hot in high 90's.
Water clarity is not as good right now and very weedy. I put on a Janssen Minnow and on the second cast I got a 17 inch
Largemouth near a weedbed and next to a stump. I got him in on 4lb test.
Caught a few more later with two being 14 and 15 inches and very big bellies!
I mainly targeted the Bass tonight but did get a couple Bluegill and Perch as well using a Blue Spinner Bait, Janssen
MInnow, and a Rebel Topwater Lure. Got a couple more blowups as well that didn't stay on. Fished the north end
and it is almost totally congested with weeds. Did see some fish and some very large catfish at the north end in the
25-28 inch range.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Fished at Enders. Not a lot of action in the morning but did manage a nice 20 inch Wiper and a couple nice White
Bass. It got hot fast today with lots of sunshine. I used a topwater Rebel to land the fish.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Fished with a friend(Jared) in his boat this morning. We really got into the Wipers. (Would have loved to of been
in the kayak!) We caught 14 over 18 inches and I got one Master Angler at 24 inches. Also, got a few in the 20-21
inch range. It was the perfect morning. A storm passed through about 3:00 AM and we were on the water by 5:00
AM. It was cool and overcast. We used Topwater Lures (Rebel and Skitter Pops) along with a Lytle Secret
Lure (1/4 ounce). The Shad were everywhere.
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| Kayakjak with Master Angler Wiper |
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| Jared and his 21 Inch Wiper |
Sunday, July 29, 2007
It was another incredible morning with this cooler weather and overcast skies. We went out an hour
earlier today. I left the house at 3:30 AM and was on the water by 4:15. Man it was dark! I paddled to the dam and kind of
scouted around. All of a sudden a few Wipers came up and started chasing the shad on topwater. I hooked up right away but
this first one broke my line! I grabbed another rod and got hooked up again this time landing a 20 incher. It was a very sporadic
morning unlike yesterday where the action was constant. We worked the dam area and caught several more Wipers. My largest
today was 21 inches but a guy I know from Kansas got a 26.5 incher. We saw some come out of the water that were just huge!
There are some big fish well over 30 inches in this lake! The wipers came up a few more times for just seconds and we dabbled
with a few more. Wish I had some pictures but after we thought we were taking them I forgot to put the data disk back in the
camera yesterday!  There were a lot more bent and broken hooks this morning. I would love to go out again this week but we have several guiding
trips booked for Rock Creek. Anyone know how Enders was this weekend? It had to be more of the same.  All a good reason to live here in SW Nebraska!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Met 3 clients at Rock Creek today. We had a brisk wind from the south and mostly cloudy skies.
The temps were in the middle 80's today. Water was a bit stained but still about 4 foot visibility. We caught
numerous Bluegill, Perch, Green Sunfish, Red Ear, and a few smaller Largemouth. Also, hooked onto a nice Largemouth
in the 15 inch range but lost him in the weeds. We used 1/64 oz. jigs tipped with a 1" Food Source mealworm. Also,
used a Zoom Fluke with much success. A storm moved in around 5:30 so we paddled in a bit early. We got more than an
inch of rain in Benkelman.
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| Judy paddling south on Rock Creek |
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| Kathryn enjoys the day paddling and catching fish. |
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| Liam from Texas with one of his many Bluegill |
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