Fishing in the Central Valley: Listening to your hunches can help before trouble strikes

I’ve seen it work over and over again for me as an angler and it’s hard to ignore.

I’m referring to the hunches, intuition and instincts that usually show up out of nowhere and can turn the tide for you when you’re not sure what to do.

I was striper fishing at Millerton Lake a few years ago, in the main lake by the dam, hoping to see some boiling striper activity (on top of the water) as they chased the American Shad.

Cruising the shoreline, and using my binoculars to spot any telltale splashes, I had spent a couple hours waiting for the feeding line sides to come up on top, so I could quickly run my boat to the area and then cast my lure into the melee.

It was a great way to fish- if the stripers ever came up on the surface to feed.

I was motoring along the eastern shoreline, just north of the dam area, when I saw in the distance on the far western side of the lake what looked like a spray of water getting thrown into the air. I stopped the boat and tried to make out whether I’m seeing things, or whether that little bit of white foam was the result of a big striper smashing baitfish. The only reason I might be able to see a tell- tale, feeding splash that far away is because the water was perfectly calm that day.

I got out my binoculars, held my breath, and zeroed in on the spot that’s a good half mile away. Within seconds I saw stripers throwing water into the air and it was game on.

I started up my boat and roared off at full speed toward the action. My focus was completely on getting to the other side of the lake as soon as possible, before the feeding stopped. There was only open water between me and some big fish.

I’m getting up to full speed and was,about 100 yards from the eastern shore, when I suddenly got a weird feeling that something wasn’t right. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I ignored it and was only thinking that I had to get to those big stripers.

Then suddenly, it literally hit me like a ton of lead, I needed to slow down, now!

Where did that thought come from? What could be wrong? On the other hand , the totally calm “ deep” water ahead of me “ didn’t seem right” to me?

Caution hit me and I slowed to a crawl. Sonar said the water was over 100 feet deep but as I looked at the patch of water ahead of me and it didn’t look normal.

It was dead calm but all of my alarms were blaring.

I came to a full stop and saw something in the clear water just 20 feet away. Just a few inches beneath the calm water surface was a 9-inch high concrete foundation that had been built on top of an island right where I was headed.

The calm clear water was only about 2-3 inches over the top of the 12’x 12’ square concrete form that would have taken the bottom of my boat’s hull off if I had hit it.

It was a perfect trap and there were no indications of its presence. There were no buoys, waves or anything to give it away. How had I sensed and avoided the danger?

I just didn’t think that where I was that the water level was just mere inches over the foundation. I’ve never learned why they built that island there, it was not on my radar and I had forgotten about it completely.

That little voice has saved me many times. I think most anglers have had experiences like mine at some point in their fishing lives. I don’t pretend to understand it but I think it’s important to carefully listen to your intuitions and hunches. They seem to be what guide and protect us and help keep us on the path we’re supposed to take. And they help us to never give up.

This story was originally published September 10, 2024 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Fishing in the Central Valley: Listening to your hunches can help before trouble strikes."