Deep Jig

Have to ask, are these your buddies or employees on the boat or are you guiding?

What reel do you use for the Hudds? I can't decide what to put on my swimbait rod.

Have you have the good luck to befriend this gentleman or, and I am hoping against hope, was Dwight your fishing guide?

What size gloves do you wear, will give a better idea of the fish size because of perspective.

I had been itching to get out to one of my favorite lakes (hike-in only, no boats, no water contact) because it had been raining for weeks. I finally got out Saturday afternoon from 2:45-6:45 after completing a list of honey-do items. In those four hours I landed 13 fish : 1.5lb x 2,3.5lb x 2, 4.5lb x 2, 5lb x 4, 6lb, 6.5 lb, 7.5 lb. Best day of fishing of my life so far and I think I'll have a hard time beating it unless I catch a personal best. Here are a couple of the pics :

I have an odd situation about to happen here in the SF bay area over the next few days. The rain is going to come in for at least a week of non-stop wetness, but the temperature will be going up the whole time. Here's what it's going to look like : Day Low High Precipitation Monday 16th 30 50 None, sunny Tuesday 17th 34 53 None, mostly sunny Wednesday 18th 43 53 None, slightly cloudy Thursday 19th 48 54 Raining . . . . Tuesday 24th 42 59 Raining I don't think I've every encountered a period of time like this. Not sure when I should fish as I have limited time I can take off. Do I go Wednesday and try to hit the pre-frontal bite? Do I go Thursday when the low temp is going to be crazy high at 48? Will the low being so high activate the heck out of the fish? Nutty weather, just not sure how to handle it. These are mountain reservoirs with usually 20ft visibility that go down to about 3-5 ft visibility in the rain because of runoff from muddy hills.

It's my #1 spinning presentation from the bank ( I fish a lot of no water contact reservoirs). I leave about 24" between the hook and weight initially, and I prefer to use Jackall Flick Shake worms above all others, although I will also use baby Rage craws and chigger craws time to time.

In my experience Gulp and Megastrike are the best. Gulp > Megastrike for drawing strikes/bites. Megastrike > Gulp in that it doesn't wear off as fast.

I have more respect for the fishermen who place high in the standings without having Toyota's team of pre-fishermen feeding them the scoop by hiring the best guides available.

Yes, the bluegill pattern bite is on. Caught 15 on that pattern last week.

I think I know the lake, thanks Chris. You ever fished in Marin? J Francho - I wish I could get at lease a float tube on my home waters, they are all no water contact so hiking in/out from shore is the only option.

If you are losing skinny DS weights, take pliers and bend them into a mild banana shape, reduced the snags for me significantly.

Were you fishing a lake close to home or is that a part of the Delta I don't know?

Lipless cranks because I fish from shore and I can very easily control the depth even on short casts.

I've owned a few pair of polarized Oakley sunglasses and while they are extremely pricely ($200), after I started wearing Oakley's for fishing I never turned back. The polarization is baked right into the lens, not a coat, and I can't find a better pair for fishing.

I know a lot of people here fish from shore, as do I 90% of the time. I searched the forums and found people extolling the virtues of a lot of backpacks that are huge. I realize that my shore fishing is very unlike most other people's. I often bike in four miles then hike another mile or so over treacherous terrain to reach the water. For the past two years I've worn a big, bulky backpack stuffed with way too much gear and carried three or sometimes four rods (jig, spinnerbait, crank, senko/dropshot). It's just far too much and I am going to change my approach to bring less and target just a few presentations to facilitate that. For example I am going to carry: jig rod: 10 jigs for that rod, 2 chatterbaits, 5 hooks/weights/big plastics (7in worm) dropshot/senko rod: 3 packs DS hooks/baits/weights, 1 pack senkos/wacky hooks/EWG hooks cranking rod: 10 cranks, 5 topwater I think I can fit ALL of those lures and terminal tackle in approximately two plano boxes. What I cannot find to save my life is a front/back vest/backpack that is targeted at bass fisherman, they are all for fly fishing. Ideally, I'd want all my lures and terminal tackle to be front accessible so I don't have to take off the pack to get at my gear. I'd put extra clothing/food/water in the backpack portion. Here is the best I can find so far: However, it's really targeted at fly-fishermen. Does anyone know of one like this with a bigger front attachment or targeted at bass fishermen?

Falcon Lake?

I have looked at that bait a number of times, but I worry about the quality of construction/hooks.

I do a lot of bank fishing, but I have to hike in far from parking to the lake. That said, I usually carry 3-4 rods (jig/bigworm, spinnerbait/paddletail, crank/topwater, dropshot/senko) and 1 tacklebag (15-20#) with most of my gear in it. If I am targetting a specific presentation/place, I go down to two rods and half the gear in my tackle bag. I don't encounter enough rattlers to bring a hook, I've seen one ever and you can always shoo them with you rods if you need to. I do carry a combat knife though, on the off chance I ever have an encounter with a mountain lion or crazy person.

Numbers : Weightless Jackall Flickshake 5.8", Dropshot Size : Football(5lb) and Swim Jig(4lb)

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I'm still debating mentioning it to my bass club for the disbelief it will raise as I have the reputation of estimating fish in the water to weigh about twice what they do (due to my excitement of hooking them or the desire to) on the scale .

I was fishing for dinks. I knew it even if I didn't want to admit it to myself, I just wanted some bites and to hold a few bass in my hands. So there I was, from shore, throwing a wacky-rigged flick shake worm on a small circle hook catching a bunch of dinks around 1-1.5 lbs. As I was dragging/hopping/swimming it back I would let the worm fall next to any structure I could see (very clear water). In about 10 feet of water, I let it sit next to what looked like a big chunk of wood when the worm promptly disappeared. I thought it was current maybe that had pushed the worm into the wood, not so. What I thought was a big chunk of wood was a big female who had been sitting stock still for minutes. She swam slowly away until I put pressure on her and I got a head shake that I was sure would break my 6lb flouro. I have had 2 lb bass break this line when they rub their noses into the ground abrading the line. My heart was racing but all I could say to myself repetitively was "don't break, don't break..." I was in a bad spot, lots of rocks for the line to be cut on, 6 lb test on a huge bass, and she was full of energy. All the skill I've tried to cultivate in the two years of bass fishing I've had went into trying to manage her. She jumped. I had no choice but to give her at least some slack when she did lest she break the line. I did not think I could land her because the shoreline would give her ample chance to throw the hook or bust off. I thought my only chance was to wade into the no-water-contact reservoir up to my knees and that's exactly what I did. Luck must have been with me because she soon swam right at me with a slightly opened mouth and I didn't waste the chance. I got my thumb in her mouth and... elation, jubilation, hallelujah! I had her and I wasn't letting go. My previous personal best was a 7lb 5 oz California Delta toad, and this fish could have fit that fish's head in it's mouth or so it felt. I unhooked her and dropped my rod on the shore to pull my cell phone out of my pocket and get a video of this personal best and brute I had just landed. Disaster, heart ache, and ruination... my cell phone was out of battery. I am not the kind to hoot and holler but that is exactly what I started doing hoping someone within earshot would hear me and have something to take a picture with (I had her in the water at this point). After about a minute I realized no one could hear me, I choose to fish where I do partially for the remoteness of the location (no roads, no boats, no water contact, no bikes allowed). I weighed her. 9 lbs 14 ounces. There was, for a moment, a thought of keeping her as proof, but only a moment. I let her go and she sat there in the water for a moment before she realized she was free, when she did, she bolted off into the deep. I have no pictures or video to show for it. No way to share the experience in the most visceral of ways other than to relate it with words. Telling the story to any who will listen (or read) and may disbelieve feels better than not telling it at all.

Skill meets opportunity. Awesome fish.

No real preference other than what's dictated by circumstance: Net Bait Paca Craws (all sizes) Berkely Chigger Craw (all sizes) Rage Tail Craws (all sizes)

Dropshot wacky finesse worm Wacky weightless finesse worm Small crankbait shallow to medium diver