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.

Quote from: Tim524 on February 16, 2026, 08:10:20 PMAre you putting pics in these reports cause for some reason they aren't showing on my end ?

They are showing up on this end whether it's my phone or my computer.

Buck had a belly full of plastic worms...

I was super stoked to get a text from Steve about trout fishing last night.  I checked Google and it looked like the park opened at 7:00, so I'd meet him then.  At 6:20 I hear my message alert on my phone and KNEW right away that it had to be Steve and the Lake was probably open at 6:00.  My assumption was 100% correct.

Plan was to fish before the rains got here and we met up at one of the many go-to spots I have at this point at the Lakes.

Steve locked down my favorite spot, so I had to alter my set up since he was here first so got top choice of rod holder placement.



It was actually quite beautiful out soon as the sun started coming up.  We had no bites but a few missing worms I believe.

Then My SI drops like a stone and I'm on!  Definitely a really nice colorful Rainbow! 

I immediately cast out my "spare" rod just in case that one had a buddy around.  Soon as I finished getting the Rainbow in the cooler I look up and the rod I just casted was on again!  I had my drag a bit tight for 4#, but it was another really nice quality fish!  I almost thought I saw Steve going for his knife to cross my line, but  it was just me imaging things.  LOL



We got a few small bites, but the wind kicked up really strong.  It was tough trying to keep our lines from bowing and then the rains started.  We started packing up but I left the last rod out until the last minute...

and...

It worked again, even if Squatch was dismissive.  LOL



My first Pond Chicken of the year.  hahaha



That was it for us.  It was great fishing with Steve again and you need to come back down Steve-O!  You need redemption!

Well, back on the job hunt, so untilnext tide... or next puddle trip....

I decided my wife was going to eat good for Valentines Day.  I still have no job, so I have no money to take her out.  I figured a big dinner the night before, a great breakfast and a bomb V-day dinner should do the trick.

I started with a Yellowtail Volcano. 





I butterflied the tops and stuffed it with seasoned crab.  I also made some crab cakes and some chilled seared yellowtail with a dipping sauce.



Next morning... It was Ultimate Breakfast Bagels!



Then for V-Day dinner... just the straight up Surf-N-Turf!



I think I have enough brownie points to get out fishing again.  LOL

I've used the hercules and it's not bad.  I've switched up a few different brans but also have liked the Beyond Braid 8 strand.  Probably my go to brand as the last 3-4 years.

Well, I needed to get some more fishing in since it was trout weather out there and raining. I went to my spot but saw no signs of life and decided to try a different lake and see if a change helped.  There were Pelicans and Cormorants everywhere!

I get the two rods out and just turn around to head back to the truck and get out of the rain when I heard something creaking!  Both rods doubled over already!  I grabbed the rod that I thought had the biggest fish and fought them in.  I kept one and released the other since the hook was only caught in it's whisker and easy to get out.



I send out two fresh baits and get back to the truck when I look back and another double header!  I got both in, but one squirmed it's way off the hook and slithered back into the puddle when I was taking care of the other.



I put two more fresh baits out and eventually catch two more although they kept getting smaller, so I decided I really wanted to spend the rest of the morning on a trophy trout hunt.

I moved back to the other lake and had a few mystery bites that did the same thing Dave and I had the day before.  Huge hits and gone the moment I grabbed the rod.  I did finally get a little catfish, so that was 7 fish for the morning so far.

Then I started putting everything in the truck to leave as I was hungry and no trout anywhere.  I was just ready to grab the last rod out when it just got crushed with a bite!  I for sure thought this was a cat since it felt heavy but never came to the surface.  It was dogging me and had less then impressive runs so it HAD to be a cat...

Then I saw it... HOLY CRAP!  A Big Hook-jaw Rainbow! Holy sh!t!



Just over 4# on the lip gripper.

What a "Last Cast" fish!

I even came back in the afternoon, but EVERYONE on the lake was fishing the spot... apparently everyone saw me catch it so I moved around and tried other spots for no luck.

Well, I just had a great interview so finger's crossed!  Thanks for reading!

Dave really wanted to get out trout fishing again so we planned on hitting the lakes when they opened.  Well, I get to the lakes literally 2 minutes late and the only person in there fishing was on the spot I was going.  Grrrr....

Unfortunately, I was limited to where I could go since Dave is not super mobile so I needed some flat ground.  I decided to hit a spot that I caught a bunch of fish earlier in the season.



I got slammed 4 times but they all dropped it the minute I grabbed the rod.  Dave was having some fun with me by saying I should be using trebles!



Well, finally got one to stick, but I knew right away it was the wrong kind and pretty small.



It was about time for me to head back, but Dave stayed.  Before I left, I watched him get two huge hits that doubled over his rod just to drop the bait!  HA!  It made me feel better since he WAS using trebles!  lol

Well, I left and Dave had 3 more hook ups that all magically vanished the second he grabbed the rod.  Oh well...  I really wish I knew what was going on there.  This happens way too frequently in the puddles, and I have no answers since the bait always comes back perfect!

I made a bunch of tacos on the Blackstone, but I spent a lot of time working on the ribs.  I thought per the recipe that I could get them done in 3 hours, but LIES!!!!!

5 hours later and they looked/tasted perfect!  I do like a saucy rib, so I painted them with some high end BBQ sauce and they were quite the hit!



I individually sliced them and two huge racks never stood a chance!



It was some great stuff!

Our little Pipsqueak finally wanted to stay with Grandma and Grandpa for a long weekend.  One thing she wanted to do was go to the lake to:  Feed the ducks, Fish, and go on one of the big paddleboats. 

We got there and the first thing she did was feed a TON of ducks, geese and coots!  I wasn't sure she was going to get out of that mob for a while!

Soon as she went through 2 bags of bird food, we were off to the big white swan!



We cruised by the kid pond and I noticed some trout in there, so I knew where we were going to cast!

We spent 30 minutes cruising Lake 5 and I was whooped since no one helped me peddle that beast!  lol

We got back and set up for fishing in the kids only area.  Lydia liked playing with the worms more than fishing.  She got mad at me when I ripped one in half to put it on the hook!



She was getting tired and hungry so I knew that the time was short and as she was plying with the worms, her little princess rod doubled over!  Well damn!  It was almost half of her size!



That was all she had left and wanted to go home so she could have snacks and watch her shows.  I have to admit I was stoked she stayed out there as long as she did!

Well, I'll be back soon to get my fishing in.  No adults allowed to fish the kiddie pond unfortuinately. 

I'm super happy the Seahawks spanked the Patsies, but one of my biggest "harrumph" moments was watching a Superbowl commercial.  My favorite commercial was the "Relax Your Tight End" by Novartis.  Unfortunately, they wanted to save money and terminated a hundred of us... but put out a 10-million-dollar (+) commercial during the SB. 

Oh well... it was a funny commercial.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do in the morning, but was planning or at least hoping to fish for an hour or two.  5:55am and my phone starts ringing!  WTF?

I see the number and it looks familiar so I answered.  Turns out it was a recruiter (from the east coast) having a potential job opportunity out here in San Diego!  I had to go from "Dead Asleep" to "Interview Mode" in seconds without a cup of coffee!  This was way more stressful than you think!

Interview done and now I'm a little stressed.  Trying to get interviewed in that scenario is not easy but I think I did well so it was time for a cup of coffee!

I grab my rods since I was wide awake now and head down to the puddles.

I started bass fishing at first but went back to trout fishing right away since I haven't seen a bass caught in a month around here.



I switched lakes and started soaking baits for a quiet morning... until a group olf old betties were walking by and blocked my view of my rod.  They were all turned at the rod, so something was going on.  I parted the "Gray Sea" and saw my rod doubled over!  I was hoping for a trout, but realized it was most likely a cat.  The ladies were more stoked than me!  LOL



I wasn't keeping this one so I let it go after a quick picture and hook removal.

Then it was as quiet as ever or possibly even more.  I did a last cast and set my 15 minute timer...

10 minutes... Nothing

5 minutes and I see my SI out of the corner of my eye get thrown into the lake!  UGH, that means a cat but Fish On none the less!

As I was fighting it, I started to change my mind about it being a cat.  It was making blistering runs and going apesh!t!  I then got eyeballs on it and it was a REALLY nice trout!  I took my time and there were no people or birds that could have messed it up so it was a really fun fight!

In the net and onto the scaled Lip Gripper!



Friggin beauty! at ~4.25# on the spring scale!



Funny thing it was a Cut Bow (What they were calling Steelhead)!  What a fun fis indeed, even though it looked like a normal triploid trout.



Well, I made one more cast and headed home.  My granddaughter is coming over tomorrow for the weekend, so I'm going to be Papa for the weekend and probably means no fishing for me.  I do plan on cooking a huge Super Bowl dinner though, so it'll make up for it.

Thanks for reading and I'm contemplating heading down for the final two hours today before the park closes.  I need to clean these lakes out of trout!

Well my parking permit expires today and I have to go in for my PRP shots.  No better time than to get in a quick lake session.

It was S-L-O-W!!!!  Basically 3 hours of nothing until at the very end.  My only action in the beginning was a Green Heron flying into my line and tangling up!  I reeled him in and untangled him.  My first Green Heron ever and one amazing thing about it...  It never ONCE tried to bite or peck me.  I was a little dumbfounded since I've never caught a bird that wanted to draw as much blood as possible!



Well, my 15-minute timer went off (old Sasquatch move to make sure we left at a decent time)...  5 minutes later and my SI dropped like an anchor!  Trout on!

Nice one, but weird coloration on it.  Looked like he might have been in these lakes for a while.  In any case, more meat for the smoker and another carcass for the lobster pots!



I got home to shower and head off to get my PRP injections.  Not a terrible procedure but not comfortable either.  Fingers crossed this holds me over until the end of the year so I can start working and get some more fishing in!

Thanks for reading and until the next Puddle Excursion!

Quote from: Chris on February 04, 2026, 10:02:10 PMHow do you like it now? I've been beating on the Komodo's in hopes Okuma would recognize me but no such luck. Lol. Iike them but always open to new gear.

I haven't really had anything to test it yet except for a few larger grade bonito and had to back down on the drag to make it a little more fun. I would totally have no issue throwing artificials at big yellows and tuna with it, although I'm not sure "how big" is to big yet.
Feels solid. Not as smooth as the Tranx 500, but $100 less so good trade off to me.