gobig

One of the best swimbaits made. They catch fish of all sizes and they will hold up well. Remember with your soft swimbaits mendit is your best friend.

Start fishing pro/ams. Its the guided trip with a chance to cash a check.

I believe things in nature cycle and those big bass will be back again. One thing that hurt California is fish and game put a halt on planting trout in non native lakes for a few years. I am seeing certain lakes really change, some for better and some for worse. In fact I wouldnt be the least bit surprised to see a world record spot come out of California in the next few years.

The Parris fish is still pending as far as I know and looks like the actual weight was 18.2. http://www.sdfish.com/news/freshwater-fishing-news/1340-new-lake-record-pending-for-lake-perris The New Malones fish was caught by Kyle Gentry in the Anglers choice western rookie league. http://teamccmarine.com/c-and-c-marine-ranger-dealer-news/124-kyle-gentry-catches-fish-of-a-lifetime.html

This statement is not correct. Pyramid just kicked out an 18.80 and last year 18.11 was caught in a tournament at New Malones. Both of which were lake records and certified. If I am not mistaken the fish from New Malones is the largest fish ever caught in a tournament. I am not 100% on when the fish were caught or if they were certified but Butch Brown has two bass on film in the last 2 years. One was a 19.5 and the other was an 18 and change. The guys who are regularly hunting fish this size have pretty tight lips and by exposing a fish like this to the public jepordizes chances of beating the world record.

Generally I agree with J but in this case I am with senko77, Stasher1 and RangerPhil.

It is the most versitile soft swimbait I have come accross.

Alberto knot is all I use for joining braid to mono or floro. I throw $100.00 Swimbaits with this knot and I have not had one failure at the knot.

Both

Quality glass blanks are almost as light as graphite now and with a good blance point they will not wear you out like the old days. I throw all of my square bills and med divers on a Lamiglass SR705R. This is by far the best crankbait rod I have used.

The reallity is this... If your hooking fish solid over all your probablly not doing anything wrong. Sometimes they just come off, It's the nature of the game. Can you tear their mouth? Yes. It really depends on where they are hooked. If the hook is in the hard part of the mouth it should be game over. One thing that can happen with bigger fish is they get the bait in their crushers and an under powered hook set does not generate enough force to move the bait, resulting in poor hook penetration. When you talk to different people you will get different answers. Here is what works for me when it comes to fliping heavy grass. I use a 7'11'' heavy rod with a moderat fast taper. I feel with more parabolic bend in the rod I get more fish to the boat. I use 65-80lb braid. If I need a leader I will add one using a Alberto knot. On the hookset I reel and sweep the rod at the same time. This type of hookset with a long rod generates alot of energy and moves alot of line. I do not use a snap hook set. With heavy jigs and punch rigs I missed way to many fish. I feel the heavy weight knocks the mouth open. I was also breaking 65lb braid like it was 6lb test. As far as getting the fish out of the grass, its just something that is learned through trial and error. To much pressure on a fish hooked in the soft part of the mouth can tear their lip or a make a fair size hole. When I hook a fish in heavy grass in many cases I will keep pressure on them pinning them against the mat and go in after them. Hope this helps.

What baits are you going to use?

I use glass on my lipped cranks and graphite for lipless. I dont think you will dislike the length. You will be able to cast a country mile. Glass is to soft for my liking when im ripping a lipless through the grass.

Bingo

I am not have a problem with fish hitting the baits with the bent in hooks. Run less weight on the the bent hooks and tune the rig by bending the wires. The baits will the open hooks should run on the bottom. The other option is to use screw locks.

Subtle depth changes can be huge when there is no prominate structure. A point, ditch or a hump that changes a foot or two in depth can be the ticket. If there is any cover on the lake such as weeds, trees, boat docks etc... look at where they form a point.

I have used an Alberto knot for several years with out one knot failure. By far the best line to line knot ever invented in my opinion.

I don't think it ever came out but you can find videos if you use google. He is definatly an authority on big bass.

That is my favorite Paycheck baits video. The drunk guy in the boat makes it. You can do the punch skirt on a dropshot also.

I would have to say this is a regional thing and even varies lake to lake. This weekend I am fishing a pro-am at Oroville where 10-12lbs a day will most likely take the tournament. Then there is Clearlake, which is just a few hours away. I know in the last three Anglers Choice team events up there 25lbs (for one day) does not even cut a check and half the field weighed a big fish over 5. Right now its taking a 30lb sack to cut a check up there. Not to mention if you went up there and fished shiners this time of year your almost guaranteed a 5 or better.

I think it would be narrow minded to not throw a jig into the mix. One of the reasons a jig is known for catching so many big fish is the simple fact that it is one of the most versital baits out there. It can mimic several types of prey and they can be fished in so many situations its crazy. The first thing that you need to understand is that a jig is not a technique. It is simply a tool that is applied to techniques. There seems to be some sort of misconception that there is a magical way of working a jig that needs to be learned. This is simply not true. I am not saying that you cannot hone your ability to work and become intimate with a jig but If you can fish a spinnerbait you can fish a jig. If you can fish a texas rig you can fish a jig, this list goes on. Don't over complicate things. The next time you are going to throw a spinnerbait put on a jig instead and fish it just like you would the spinnerbait. Same goes for dragging a worm, switch out the worm with a jig. You are simply using a different bait that is applied to a technique you already know. You will gain confidence in a jig fairly quick if you approach it this way. The other thing mentioned is flipping. Flipping is a technique, plain and simple. Notice there is no mention of the bait. You can flip a tube, a jig, a swimbait, a dropshot, again the list goes on. Once you learn to flip you can use what ever bait fits the situation and conditions. I know it seems like splitting hairs but I think it is important to differentiate techniques from tools. As already mentioned you can kill two birds with one stone. You could learn to flip with a jig.

you know your throwing big baits when poeple say " look he's got one!"

You will get different answers depending on who you talk to. The first question is where do you want to fish them in open water or over mats? Here is a short list of the good rat baits out there. Nezuma rat PB rat Any of the Rago rats JSJ Pack rat (weedless)

I just wanted to say thanks to Mike D and Big Bite Baits. I was one of the five winners in the lunkerville facebook contest and today I received this nice little care package.

I have no problem buying used as long as its quality. That is how I got my calcuttas. If there is a problem with them its not that hard to find guys that work on them and if you are somewhat mechanically inclined its not that hard to do it your self.