camman

No, I’m lazy and leave the split rings on. I sometimes tie directly vs using a speed clip so easy option is to leave the split rings on the bait. I’ve never had an issue.

In a full year, I probably use 80-90% of the lures I own. Some of them I don’t use regularly as they are for seasonal use, example I don’t use frogs in the winter months. Through the years I’ve purged a lot of tackle I don’t use and just try to keep it to what works. Like most I do try new things but I find that after a season or two it doesn’t make it into the normal rotation I get rid of it. I use to have 10 different colors of plastics but now have 2 or 3 colors that I know work.

wow that sucks, I remember seeing a number of 10lb+ bass in Mission Viejo.

As mentioned the OC was sent the best spot outside of the suburban lakes. Irvine Lake use to be really good for bass, nothing big but good numbers. They use to allow boats in there and it was primarily a catfish/trout lake so not much pressure. The other lake which was good but private was Lake Mission Viejo. You need to know someone that has access and it use to be pretty cheap to rent a boat. Imagine fishing in your bathtub as the water was super clear. Haven’t fished there in 15+years as I moved to NorCal. The one saltwater place I would look to get to fish is Newport Harbor and fishing for spotted bay bass. You can use a lot of your existing freshwater tactics like jigs/dropshot. I use to love fishing it off my kayak and hitting the docks or grass beds and having a blast. Head more towards the front of the harbor and toss jerkbaits along the rock wall for Calico bass or barracudas.

Basspro use to carry a tungsten jigging spoon, I don’t see it on their website anymore. These spoons work perfect for casting and yo-yoing back to shore. The smaller profile and heavier weight match well together. The amount of stripers I catch on them is ridiculous when they are chasing bait.

Practically any plastics work for rockfish, I usually prefer to use the cheap plastics I can find on sale for $1. A few years ago I found a ton of zoom 4” grubs for sale at $0.50 a pack, I think I bought around 40-50 packs and have been my staple rockfish bait since.

On the boat I have a plastic box which is the size of a shoe box. I toss all my baits in there throughout the day and when I get home I let them dry and will replace any hooks if needed. I can tell when it was a tough day as I’ll have a lot of baits in there. Also have another box which holds all my trash (line, used plastics, bad hooks, etc).

Wind can kick up in the afternoons as well at Clear Lake. I've had some wet rides in my boat getting back to the launch sites. With a kayak just know your capabilities and don’t push it. Stay relatively close to shore and you should be fine. If it’s blowing hard in the morning it will usually continue throughout the day.

My nephew caught his PB at just over 5lbs on a part of a nightcrawler as well. He was fishing for bluegill and we saw a large bass just cruising. He had maybe 1/4 of a nightcrawler on and threw it right in front of it...we watched as it sucked it in and kept swimming. I don't remember the hook size but it was small and just 1 split shot to be able to cast and sort of flyline the crawler piece...it was a fluke but made his day.

I use the 3700 Deep box and try and keep the soft/hard separated and it’s been fine. I’ve noticed a little kink in the tail doesn’t impact it at all.

Work well on the CA Delta

This time of year on the Delta….Ive destroyed a few too many Visions 110s as I’ve stumbled upon schools of stripers.

I’ve fished these style of baits with the blade at the back of the jig. I’ve found my hook up ratio is pretty bad and have stopped using them.

I’ve gotten into pretty decent number of smallies on the Delta above Isleton. Nothing big, probably largest was around 2lbs but a surprising catch

In my old house the space to store rods was a weird dimension so I ended up buying rod holder clips off of Amazon and made a custom rack to hold the rods and maximize storage. When I moved I took the rack/clips and again made my own rod rack. I like the flexibility as it hold the very light rods to my saltwater stuff with no issues.

I would have to say Abu Revo Premiers I think the 2nd generation ones…Wish I hadn’t gotten rid of them years ago. I also loved the old E series Curados, the only reels I sold for more money than I originally paid new…lol

I do this as well. Makes the price on things more reasonable and the gift card stretches a bit further. I probably have $100 in GC that are a few years old as if I only spend it on stuff I’ll use.

My favorite swim bait is the top hook Hudd 68 ROF 12 in trout. I’ve done well at places like Clear Lake or the Delta that don’t have trout and fish still bite it. Personally I don’t think the color really matters. I’ve found I usually do better dragging them along the bottom so that’s why I prefer the 12 over the 5. I do have a few of the weedless rof5 but I don’t really fish them that much.

I think it was at 3 I started taking my boys out on the boat. At that time they were in the child vests. I don’t know brand but I remember taking the older one to BassPro and he picked the one he wanted. I always wear an inflatable life jacket when I’m on the boat so he always saw me with it on and had no problem wearing it all the time. When my younger one started going, he used his older brothers vest as he had outgrown it and saw his older brother wearing it and always kept his on. Also both of them have been in the pool/lake with the vests on to see how they work.

I use a rubber net. I picked it up years ago on clearance at Bass Pro Shops and works perfectly with the Stripers.

Reminds me of when I was a kid. My buddy had a next door neighbor who had a pool but didn’t use or keep it maintained. It was all green and filled with rain water. My buddy asked if he good grow crawdads in it and they said no problem. I remember helping him catch a dozen or so and toss them in. He would throw in some food and we had a good supply of crawdads for a couple years until they tore it out.

Why don’t you just buy a larger spoon and grind down?

Not fishing through ice, but we use them for suspended bass in the summertime. Usually when they are 30+ feet deep going after baitfish, we will fish the tail spinners and spoons vertically and do really well.

My buddy uses a white one for bed fishing…I’d imagine you could use it for that as well

While I haven thrown this bait, I’ve thrown a bunch of other baits that were “supposed” to be similar to a Hudd 68…I always end back throwing a Hudd, IMO it’s one of the best swim baits in the market.