Berryessa Derby 6/12

[DWT]

Been fishing Berryessa for 43 years and have not seen many windy days that rivaled yesterday. 168 brave souls battled some awful conditions and only the larger and most experienced boats were able to stay on the big water and find some success. But word is they paid for it a little with water over the windshields and people throwing up. But they got their fish.

We stay inside the narrows with most of the other boats and managed a king and a koke, both around 16". Those were our only bites. I was alright with that as I wasn't wanting to deal with the 4-5' rollers and the side gusts that sent us 180 a couple of time just before the start of the derby. But we survived to fish another day. Congrats to the hearty souls who placed.

-DWT

[HiTechKoke]

Hey DWT..... I'll just repeat what you said in terms of the derby not being for the faint of heart.. I'm sure there were gusts to 40MPH at times as it actually whipped up spray from the rollers. We managed to get to the south end of the big island seeking wind refuge but got totally soaked getting there and conditions were still rough and eventually we bailed to the narrows and the dam to no avail as I was skunked and my partner managed 2 small Kokes at the dam.

I did stay for Sunday and will have a report on that tomorrow when I take care of some pictures. It was totally opposite conditions, calm and the fish were biting.

That derby will be one to remember. I heard only 40 weighed in overall.

Kevin

[DWT]

Actually Kev, none of us would have been there yesterday if it hadn't been for supporting the fishery. Without that derby, we all would have chosen to stay home.

[froggie]

OR...the commitment to C.A.S.T. which kept us from participating in the Berry Derby. But we had our own awful wind at Melones.
Froggie

[gon troln]

Glad no body got hurt or worse. It sounds like very bad conditions.