BassChump

With the warmer winter temps around Phoenix, I'm curious as to how the winter bass fishing is in the lakes that are mentioned? Thanks

This is the first and still the largest bass I've caught in my life. I've caught several that were very near this size but this is still my personal best. Not huge but it works for me. I spent 6 or 7 months fishing and couldn't buy a bite. Once I caught this bass, I haven't been skunked since.

Hi, Yes I not only replaced the my fathers boat trailer, I built it myself. It was much cheaper and it was NEW. The boat was a 22 footer so it wasn't just a little boat. It was big and heavy. I used 3 inch tube steel, took it to the welder and the bent it to my specs and I used a mobile home axle. I wouldn't recomend building your own these days. The price of steel is prohibitively expensive so if I were you, I would just find somebody that is selling an old boat around the size you need, get rid of the boat and customize the trailer to your needs. Easy.

Well yes, I guess I am looking for my own "paradise". I realize no place is perfect. My point was just that I was looking for a pleasant region that I might start researching since I have several years. I would much rather live in someplace that gets warmer in the summer than a place that has 6 months of snow. I do enjoy warm weather and 90+ degrees is fine with me. I also know that I won't be able to fish 24-7-365. Where I am now, it's pouring, driving rain virtually 9+ months of the year. I had thought about the Reno/Sparks area of northern Nevada or the Clear Lake California area. The weather is good around 9 or 10 months out of the year but other than Clear lake, I don't know about any waters around those areas. I can deal with heat and sun much better than I can deal with cold, driving rain 9 months a year. I haven't traveled much in my life. Just the 10 western states so I'm not familiar at all with anything east of Arizona. Right now I'm open to anything as I have time to consider someplace to lay some roots. I'm just doing some exploritory research for the future. To answer what Hawk said, I can do several things. I've been a contractor for years and I've been in the RV business for the last few years as well. Unfortunately both of those are not doing so well right now but I'm hoping the next few years that things will turn around again. It's a long story but I'm finally getting my life back together so I'll probably be looking for a home in the 250K range, give or take a little. My needs and wants are few so I don't need a huge income to be comfortable. I'll have some great things happening in these next couple of years so by the time I am in a position to relocate, I will be doing great. Things are looking really good for the future and I'm really happy about that. As far as the fishing is concerned??? I just like fishing in any form. I prefer bass fishing since I have the boat but just time on the water with a tight line now and then. If I could find someplace with better weather, a good area, some close fishing, I'd be pretty happy. I'm just tired of all the rain. I've even thought about someplace around Lake Mead. Perhaps Henderson Nevada. I can take the heat much better than I can take the cold and pouring rain. Anyway, I'm not picky, I just want some better weather, a bigger city with a decent economy than what I'm in (800 people) and some fishing. I don't think that's too much to ask, is it????

I'm widowed, father to a 15 year old daughter and I also take care of my 81 year old mother. I live in a small town on the Oregon coast. I bought an old Bayliner Trophy bass boat last year but I had never caught a bass in my life. I learned a lot about bass fishing this year from this forum and I had a very successful year thanks to all you people right here. There are 25 lakes within 10 miles of town, all have bass and 17 of them are accessable by boat. Great bass fishing around here but the weather SUCKS. I grew up in southern California and I just can't get used to all the rain. It's very depressing. We AVERAGE 119 inches of rain per year. Most of which falls or maybe I should say POURS between November to May. Being so close to the ocean the summer temps are usually no warmer than the low 70's and that is usually for only a week or two and the wind typically howls year 'round. There is all kinds of fishing around here but I'm thinking of moving in the next 3 years. My daughter is doing so well in school that I have decided to stay in this area until she graduates and my mother wants to stay here so she can be with her friends. Can't blame her for that. I figure in a few years when my daughter is off to college, I can move on to greener pastures. My question is where I might like to move. I have no idea where to go. I'd like some warmer weather but not blazing hot. I was considering northern California, northern Nevada around the Reno/Sparks area but I have 3 or 4 years to figure it out. I could move anywhere actually. I'd like someplace warmer that has a few good bass lakes nearby, someplace I could fish at least close to year 'round. I have 3 years to figure it out so I thought I'd start here. Any suggestions???

I have a friend that is considering a move to Phoenix Arizona from Oregon. I'm just curious if there is any fishing in the middle of the desert????? I haven't been down there in years. I don't recall any lakes or resevoirs around there.

This is my ride and I'm very proud of her. A 1984 Bayliner Trophy. Only a 16 footer with an 85 horse engine. She isn't fast or pretty but I got her dirt cheap, it has all the stuff (2 livewells, 2 fishfinders, trolling motor, storage, etc.), everything works, it's easy to tow and easy to fix if needed. I can put 3 gallons of gas in and go all weekend and more on that. Much more actually. I haven't had to put fuel in for the last 5 outings. I don't have to worry if she gets a scratch or something isn't cosmetically perfect. I want to fish, not worry about how she looks. The only improvement I've had to make to her is to extend the front deck. Originally the seat was far to close to the bow. I didn't have enough room for the foot pedal so I extended the deck to the rear of the seat. I remounted the seat about 2 feet farther back and I'm thrilled with how it turned out and it only cost me a small piece of plywood that I already had and a few 1x2s. It even created another storage space. I don't know why Bayliner didn't do that in the first place. I learned everything I know about bass fishing from this forum and I'm very thankful. I had a great summer fishing with my daughter and I have all you fine people to thank for that.

Yup! I've used mine for crabbing in the mouth of the river. It worked fine for a crab boat until the swells got big and the wind picked up. The 3 foot wind chop sent me back to the docks though. Not an ideal crabbing boat but in a pinch????

Well, I'm sad to say it's started. Living in the Pacific Northwest means a guy has to deal with rain and wind. Particularly when living right on the coast as I do. We average well over 100 inches of rain per year. Usually around 120. I picked up bass fishing just this year. It was a blast and I don't want it to end. The water temps are still above 60 but dropping fast. I figure I have two, maybe 3 weeks of fishing left before it gets too cold and too wet for me. (Call me a whimp.) I fish from a boat and usually fish fairly large coastal lakes althought none of them are very deep. So any tips for fishing in the rain as the temps cool down?

From what you say, it sounds like th charging system isn't doing it's job. The battery runs low because it has to provide the energy to keep the engine running but when it gets discharged, the spark will get weak and make it run like it's starving for fuel. That's my guess. Try charging the battery, see how it runs and if it runs well with a full charge, check the alternator or whatever charging system you have on that. Just my .02.

Definately equally important. I fished a minimum of several times a week for better than 6 months before I caught my first bass. Patience, patience, patience!!!!! Once I caught a few and figured out a few things, I gained confidence. Now I am confident every trip that I WILL catch fish and so far, I do. I haven't been skunked again. So far. With cooler weather on the horizon, I'm sure I will get skunked again but at least I'll do it with patience and confidence. lol. Both are equally important.

I'm new this year to bass fishing and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I've been fishing a few small local lakes in addition to some more popular lakes in the area. I've been doing very well this summer catching not only fair numbers of bass but good size as well. One of my favorite lakes is a smaller lake with lots of weedbeds. I've had success lately throwing a senko off the lilly pads and particularly the smaller dollar pads. The water temps have been dropping lately with temps now in the lower 60's. The pads are starting to die out for some reason the fish are GONE. I still catch a few off the docks but where would those fish go that were once in the pads????? Just curious. As the water cools off, do the bass go shallow to feed??? I seem to be catching more in very shallow water lately.

I can't even put into words how much I've progressed this year. Late last year I bought a bass boat on a whim. I got it dirt cheap with plans on selling it and making some money. I took it out on the lake with a friend, caught a couple of bass with a small blue fox spinner and I was hooked. Before that I had never bass fished or caught a bass in my life. With the help from members of this forum and all the information on here, I've learned a lot. After it got colder around here, it took me a solid 6 months of fishing before I caught another bass. I just couldn't figure it out and I was getting very discouraged, ready to sell the boat and forget about it. And to add insult to injury, someone stole some of my gear and my trolling motor from the boat. Only with the help and support from members here did I get to continue fishing and it was the best thing that has happened to me in many years. I'm a widower with a 15 year old daughter and we haven't done much since moms gone until we started fishing. It's brought us much closer together and I can't explain how much that means to both of us. I've been catching loads of fish with the help and guidance of this forum. Everything I've learned was from here and it's been great fun. I went out a couple of days ago on a small local lake and caught about 12 in a couple of hours. Several in the 4 pound range. It's been great fun, spirital at times and I can't thank all you people enough. Still got a lot to learn but I'm looking forward to it and I thank all of you for all your help.

The faster an engine revs, the more fuel it uses. If your engine is dying only at WOT, then it sounds like a fuel filter problem, maybe a weak fuel pump or perhaps it's just a fuel pump diaphram. If the fuel filter is somewhat clogged, then it won't allow the needed fuel to go thru at WOT. If it's working well at all other throttle settings, I'd check the filter first. First and cheapest thing to do is replace the fuel filter. I'm guessing that would probably take care of the problem.

I've been fishing some new waters the last few days. The water is gin clear. It's a small river that is no more than 18 feet deep. I fished a couple of docks and I got my lure stuck on a dock so I cruised in to get it off the dock. After I got it unstuck, I looked down and within a few feet of my boat, I noticed a couple of bass just swimming along like I wasn't even there. I didn't think much about it. I figured if I can see them, they aren't going to accept anything I threw at them from a few feet away. From there I saw a promising spot directly across the river on the opposite bank. I just used the trolling motor as it was only a couple hundred feet to the other side. Right in the middle of the river, I happened to look down and there was a small tree branch at the bottom and right next to it, in plain sight, as clear as day was a beautiful looking bass just sitting there. I went right over the top of it. It was just sitting on the bottom. The FF said it was 14 feet deep at that point. Yes, the water is that clear here. I could see it plain as day like it was in a fish tank. I figured what the heck, I'll drop a Senko on it's nose and see what happens. I didn't have any confidence at all that I would get bit. Well, a few seconds later, BAM!!! It grabbed it and ran. I got a good hookset and it fought like a lion. The hardest fighting bass I have caught so far. Not the biggest I've caught but certainly the biggest fighter. Several minutes later I finally got it in the boat. It was the most beautiful 3 pounder you ever saw. All this finally leads to my question and I know this will illicit a response from RW. lol. I have heard about deeper bass around structure but I have no clue as to how to fish that way. I'm relatively new to bass fishing and I've been successful fishing the banks but it was interesting to see and catch one in deeper water. I have a Hummingbird 565 FF so what do I look for as far as structure. How do I identify it (what would it look like on the FF), how do I know there would be bass there and what do I throw at them? As I say, the water is gin clear, surface temps around 67, less than 20 feet deep and this place is usually wind protected. Typically just very light winds as the river is in a valley. There are also lots of places in this river that has submerged weeds. About 2 feet below the surface and they end abruptly to deeper water. A definate submerged weedline. I've fished that weedline around some pilings and while I've got a few bites, I haven't landed anything from the weeds just yet. I'm hopeful that the weeds are productive as well. ;) How's that for questions?? lol.

Well, I've fished this river again and caught several nice bass. Not huge. Only about 2 pounders but I'm pretty happy about that. It's close, it's right in town, there is a store, a hardware store and a pub at the top of the public dock, it doesn't get very windy because it's in a valley so what else could a guy ask for?? I've found several promising places with lots of pilings. One with loads of pilings with low overhanging trees, about 5 feet deep at the pilings but about 10 feet from the pilings it suddenly drops almost straight off to about 15 feet. I hooked a couple of fish but didn't get them in the boat. They felt huge but no way to tell for sure. The fishfinder is going nuts along the dropoff so I'm hopeful it will be productive. Anyway, I'm going to try it again this morning for a few hours. Stay tuned. I might have found my honey hole. lol. In any case, it's a pleasant and relaxing place to fish and it's so close I don't have to pay a lot for gas to fish it. And best of all, I'm the only guy fishing it for bass. No competition at all except for the salmon fisherman. I just tell everybody that asks, I'm fishing for blueback. I'm very happy so far.

Hmm. Thanks for all the information Sam. But your answers bring up one more question. Would it be better to fish this river when the tide is coming in, going out or when it's slack tide???? Yes, I feel pretty lucky to be one of the first to try out these waters. I've fished this river for salmon and blueback (sea run cutthroat trout) but I didn't know and as far as I can tell, nobody else around here has figured out there really are bass in there. I'm definately going to spending some time on this river trying to figure it out. As a little bonus, the blueback and also the salmon are just starting their run so a good time is in store I'm betting. Thanks again for everybody's imput.

Hi again, Yesterday I didn't have time to fish the lake I wanted to but I needed to be out on the water, any water. So I took the boat out to the local river. It's below tidewater so the water is brackish but where I fished, it was just below where the freshwater flows into the brackish water. I'm about 14 miles from the ocean so while it's still brackish water, just barely. Anyway, I wasn't expecting to find any bass as I have been told that there are no bass in these waters. With one exception. One of the local Salmon guides has told me that he has caught several bass with his salmon gear and it frustrates him when that happens. He has to re rig his stuff. He looks at bass, at least in this river, as a hassle because he is guiding for salmon. Well, it was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, very light breezes so I dropped the boat in and started fishing all the docks with a Senko. I only had a couple of hours so I was turning and burning and wouldn't ya know it? I caught a nice one from under an old dock that was falling apart. I had several bites there but missed them all except one. Extremely light bite but it was about a 2 pounder. I've lived here for 20 years and I've NEVER, EVER seen or heard of anyone fishing for bass on this river so I've got a few questions. The river is around 200 feet across, no more than 20 feet deep, water temps around 70, and it gets shallower the farther upriver I go towards the freshwater which is about a 1/2 mile upriver. The fish I caught was about 6 feet deep. How would you suggest I fish this river??? There isn't any structure that I have found in the deeper (middle) of the river and not all that much along the shoreline except for the docks and quite a few pilings that were used when the logging mills were open many years ago. What tackle would you suggest??? I'm assuming that the bass have been there for a LOOOOONG time so am I right to assume there should be some pigs in there???? How far downriver would the bass be since it would get saltier as you get closer to the bay... There are a few creeks that flow into this river but just a few. Should I fish the mouth of those creeks??? In a boat, I can only get a short way up the creek. I'm really hoping that this can be a real fun spot because it's so close and that the one fish I caught wasn't just a flook so any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I drove the boat about 35 miles to go fishing and the tires did just fine. As a matter of fact, the smaller tires made it much easier to launch the boat. I think I'll keep the smaller tires. On a different note, I did catch 10 today. Nothing of size but all good fish. It was a good day.

I put the 12 inch tires on it just to see how it rides and if I feel those smaller tires are safe. Looks kind of funny but I could get used to it. Also, I need to see how low the lower end of the engine sits when the engine is tilted down. If it's too close to the ground when I'm pulling the boat out of the water, then I'll stick with the 13 inch tires. The gas filler nozzle is in the middle at the back so I have to tilt the engine down to gas it up. I have a tendency to forget to tilt the engine back up after putting gas in it until I'm down the road so if it is so low that it hits the pavement on a driveway, that will make my decision for me. It looks like it will be fine as the smaller tires only lowered it a little over an inch. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm taking it out in the morning to a local lake.

The shackles on my trailer are 3 inches as measured from the middle of the two bolt holes. Do you know where I could get longer shackles??? I've called some local parts stores and the longest they sell are 4 inchers.

Good ideas but if I put the axle on top, that would raise the boat about 4 inches and that's a bit much. At that height, I would have to sink the trailer too much to float the boat off. Raising the fenders?? They are only about an inch below the side of the boat as it is. The fenders actually sit under the boat, not outside of the boat like on most boat trailers. I could add another 2x4 to the bunks and then raise the fenders. That would work. So should I just add another bunk or add a chunk of steel under the u-bolts? Either way, it sounds pretty simple. If I add another 2x4 to each bunk, that is cheaper. If I add a spacer to the u-bolts, I would have to buy new u-bolts as they are too short. It's a toss up I think????? Hmm, what about adding longer shackles on the rear of the leaf springs???? The steel bars the rear of the spring attaches to???? That would work wouldn't it????

I hit a culvert last week and damaged a leaf spring. I've replaced it without a problem but while I had everything apart, I noticed that the tires have only about 1 1/2 inches clearance under the fenders and the tires have definately been rubbing on fenders when I go over bumps. I was trying to figure out how to raise the trailer from the axle an inch or two since the spring has about 3 inches of travel and I found a sticker showing the factory tire size. I currently have 13 inch tires on this trailer but apparently it calls for 12 inch tires. As it turns out, I have a spare set of 12 inch tires and rims lying around so should I change the tires to what was installed from the factory??? That would eliminate the rubbing problem but they seem very small for the size of the boat and trailer. It's a 1984 Bayliner Trophy bass boat, a 16 footer with an 85 horse engine. I don't know what the boat and trailer weighs but the 12 inch tires say they are rated for 1045 pounds each. I can't imagine what the boat and trailer weighs so if anybody knows the weight, that would be a great help. If I changed the tires and rims out, I certainly don't want to overload such small tires. I have 3 options. I can raise the bunks and inch or two, raise the fenders and leave the 13 inch tires, I could add some steel plates above the u-bolts on the axle and raise it that way or I could install the 12 inch tires and be done with it. What would you guys suggest??? Any imput is greatly appreciated.

Hmm, I guess I made that sound worse than I meant it to be. The job went away but I'm going to start my own business with the help of family so that is a very good thing. It's what I've been doing for 4 years now so I know it's profitable and that I can do it so it's a very good thing. I'm a little tired of making money for others so why not do it for myself. The girlfriend???? Well, she is a wonderful woman and I'll always love her but hopefully I'll get over it and with a little luck, she'll either be back or I'll find someone compatible and if that's not the case, then I get more fishing time. Again a good thing. lol. My brother passing away suddenly is not something I can make anything good out of but he lived a very happy life with many wonderful travels, blue skies, warm waters and tropical breezes. I can be thankful for that and I'll miss him dearly. Mahalo Micheal. Aloha

Hey Nitro, I'm so glad you asked. My fishing adventures have been just that. Adventures. I've been catching some good stuff in every lake I try so far with the exception of one and I'll figure that one out soon I'm sure. Even the lakes I consistently got skunked on a few months ago are producing for me. I've been having a great time and I couldn't have done it without all the fine people on this forum and I'm very grateful for that. I took my daughter and a friend out the other day and we did very well. My friend caught a really nice 5 pounder. It was her first bass. Needless to say, she was pretty excited about it. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done this year without fishing. I've lost another brother suddenly a few weeks ago, a girlfriend that I dearly love, my job went away as well but I have my daughter, I'm healthy and the fishing has been good. What else could a guy ask for. On the lake with my line in the water is my solitude, where I think, plan and pray. I'd be lost for sure without that and of course all you folks to help me be there. All in all, it's been good and I'm looking forward to some very positive stuff in the very near future.