mudcatwilly

In September through December of 2005, I went twice a week, 6 to 8 hours per trip. My wife thought I was nuts. Lately, I've been getting out for 2 or 3 hours per trip and she is glad to get me out of the house for awhile. The conclusion is, if you are married and especially with kids (I have three), either take the kids or limit your fishing time to whatever is OK with your wife. If you are single, fish your tail off as long at it doesn't interfere with your daily responsibilities.

That's a good technique

My dad started me out trout fishing in the Yuba River in CA when I was a kid. We then graduated to striper and sturgeon fishing in the CA delta. I took up bass fishing on my own at the age of 31. I found regular bait fishing to be a little slow for me. I caught a spotted bass on a plastic worm my first time out and I was hooked.

In the CA delta, we catch largemouth and striped bass. Pound for pound, the striper fights harder. I'd like to see some kind of tug-of-war between a smallie and a striper of equal weight. But then again, I don't really care how hard a fish fights, as long as I get it in the boat. I've spent 45 minutes fighting a fish in the SF bay and when I got it to the boat, it was a stinkin 40 pound bat ray. I would've rather spent 10 minutes fighting a 20 pound king salmon.

With little cover and higher water temps, I would think that the bass would be deeper. I would try to find a spot on the bank where I could cast into water that has a steep drop off.

I pretty much use Chartruese as my go to spinner color. In low light or muddy water, I like black with a big colorado blade. At all other times (and I fish mosty clear to slightly stained water in California) I go with the chartruese or white spinner. Sometimes in shallow water, I throw a chartruese spinner with a thin purple worm trailer. I've gotten some crushing strikes that way.

Once while striper fishing the SF Bay, I caught a good sized crab. Somehow, the hook passed under the crab and hooked the line around its body. I basically lassooed it.

Resolutions: 1. Fish with more patience. 2. Fish Clearlake and Franks Tract (Delta) 3. Don't drop my cellphone in the lake.

My resolutions: 1. Fish with more patience. 2.

Well, I remembered all the tips you guys gave me, I studied articles, I watched bass fishing shows on winter fishing, I bought some of the suggested baits, and struck out. If anyone has followed my posts, you know that I am relatively new to bass fishing. I had always took some "backup" bait with me to the lake in case the bite was cold (nightcrawlers, frozen shad, etc.). This time, I didn't take the backup bait because I was determined to catch fish with my vast array of lures, not wanting to give into the temptation of fishing with live or dead bait. Well I got to the lake and it was cold and raining. I went to a spot that produced some modest bass two weeks before, but noticed that the lake level was up several feet from two week ago and the normally greenish blue water was as brown as chocolate milk. I threw everything in my box at 'em. Deep and shallow diving cranks, lipless cranks, black, white chartruese spinners, t-riggged baits, drop shots, jig and pigs, darter heads, jerk baits. I fished very slow to very fast with all of them and the results were the same... NOTHING. Not a single bite for 5 hours. The rain and wind picked up to make it a little hazardous, so I left with a wet rainsuit and nothing to show for it. Does anyone else feel my pain? Bass fishing is the most difficult fishing that I have tried. I have never struggled so much to just get a single bite. Someone please tell me that my persistence with this sport will pay off. My dad, an accomplished striper and sturgeon fisherman, doen't understand my obsession with bass fishing. He says, "why don't you hit the slough and go after sturgeon?" My wife thinks that I am nuts for getting up at dark o'clock and driving an hour to fish in the rain. I need some encouragement from someone who has been there and suffered like this. Someone tell me that the bass will find my bait!

I live in Northern CA (Bay Area) and we have some world class bass destinations. Clearlake and the Delta in the north and Castaic in the south, not to mention scores of other lakes where the fishing is excellent, Folsom, Shasta, Oroville are among them.

Being fairly new to the bass fishing game, but an experienced angler, I stuck with what the guys who catch 'em say works. I caught the most fish on texas rigged worms on a stand up 1/4-ounce darter jig. Every time I tried something else with no luck, I went back to the good 'ol worm stand-by and found a taker almost immediately. What I took away from this year was that bass like to eat worms.

I am going to fish a lake in a few days (Lake Berryessa in Northern CA). The local report says that bass are being taken in 20 to 25 feet of water around drop offs and rocky points using green and purple worms. The area that I intend to fish (and I have had some success there) will have a rocky bottom with nearly vertical rock outcroppings coming out of the water. There are also some rocky shelfs near the shoreline where the depth goes from 5 feet and drops off quickly. The water is stained, maybe 4 feet of visibility and the water temperature is 54 degrees at 8 feet. I expect the skies to be overcast, if not raining. How about some bait and presentation suggestions from the salty winter fishing guys. The lake has good populations of LMB, smallies, and spots. Thanks

I will admit that sometimes when I'm at the boat launch alone at 4:30 am, I have occasionally found myself looking over my shoulder and keeping my eye on cars that pull up with no boat on the back. I have never felt like I was in danger though. On the water, I have always felt safe, but then again, I fish in California where snakes don't fall out of trees. The only things that scared me were times when I was bank fishing alone, well off of any roads and I heard the rustling of something large in the bushes. I don't carry a gun, but I always have a large knife strapped to me, not for protection, but for general fishing and outdoor purposes. If I ever felt like I needed to carry a weapon for protection, I wouldn't fish that location anymore. I try to not get myself into situations where I would need a weapon to get me out.

I am new to the bass fishing game, but have been an avid fisherman for the last 10 years. I have spent most of my time on the water going after striper and sturgeon and other bay or ocean fish in the San Francisco Bay area. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind hooking a 15 pound striper or a 50 pound sturgeon, but I was getting a little tired of sitting in the boat with my bait on the bottom waiting hours for a bite. Recently, I decided to try bass fishing in one of the local lakes. I read up on the subject and bought some lures and jigs and gave it a shot. My first day out, I fished from the bank and caught a 1 pound spotted bass in about 3 feet of water. From then on, I was mystifyed by bass fishing. I like the action of it. I like the idea of changing lures and trying different spots. The "fishing" part of bass fishing is what attracted me. To me, bass fishing is the most difficult fishing that I have tried because you basically have to convice the fish that your lure is real food for it. I have been struggling though, catching a few small bass. Sometimes I get one, often, I get none. I am going to stick with it though. What tips could you give an experienced fisherman who is new to bass fishing. Mainly, I want to start catching fish to get the hang of it and then refine my techniques as I go along. So far, and I have been fishing lakes from late fall till now, I have only gotten fish on texas rigged worms and nothing else. I have tried spinners, jigs, jigs and pigs, spoons, drop shots, carolina rigs and pretty much everything else except topwater and crankbaits. I could use some pointers to get me going in the right direction.