Photo: Liz Steketee

In the past week the stripers are from three-to-seven pounds with an occasional nine-to-ten pounder in the Stockton and Discovery Bay system feeding on larger six-to-seven inch Warpath "Tamahawk" patterns.

We are talking about an exploratory mission and the talking is a big part of the fun.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessekruger/

It was a classic South Park morning, buffalo and antelope in the mist and a fresh skiff of snow on the meadows back lit by the rising sun.

Photo: Tim Romano

You never know what you might bump into while dredging. There always is hope that some beast is foraging in some deep slot.