Fish Chris

There are several different kinds. I have caught about a dozen tagged fish in my life, the most recent being a 20" Striper that I caught in about March of this year. Most of these tags, including the Striper, were little round, or oval, plastic tags with a 6 digit number on them. I have caught a couple of the longer, thin, tube like tags. These are called spagetti tags. You can do a quick search on the internet, for photos of these, and other tags, used by the DFG. I used to send the tags to the Ca DFG, then they would send me a sheet with some of the info on that particular fish.... when it was tagged, where it had been released, size when released, etc. Plus, on about half of the tags I sent in, I got a check for $10 or $20. Nowadays, especially if it's not a money tag, I just record the tag number, the size and condition of the fish when caught, the location caught, etc, and then leave the tag on the fish when I release it. That way, the Ca DFG can get double duty from a single tag. Peace, Fish

For starters (and I'm sorry to sound like I'm making excuses) but these replicas both look SO much better in real life, than they do in a digital flash photo. Sorry for the glare. But anyway..... The first one is a replica done by Lake Fork Taxidermy. It was supposed to replicate my 16.5, but it was so much closer of a match to my 15.8 (the fish in my avatar) that that's what I call this one. I think Lk. Fork did a fine job with the paint. Only thing was, they had a very limited selection of really big bass molds to choose from (well.... you know, those little Texas bass ;-) Doh ! Sorry Texas :-) And this was the replica for my 18.4 which was done by Roberts Fish Mounts from So Cal. Of course he had tons of choices in the 18 lb range. I chose the closed mouth pose because A) it looked more natural, and it looked different than most mounts that you see. Never regretted that decision. Only thing about Roberts Mounts, is that guy is harder to catch than an 18.4 lb'er is in the first place ! After he did this mount, I tried to contact him, to both thank him for the awesome job, plus maybe start another.... like maybe my 30.2 Channel Cat, or a 29 lb Cali Halibut.... but after a dozen more calls, I gave up. Maybe some of you might have better luck. It really kind of sucks, because I believe he is the best taxidermist on the planet, with the best selection of molds..... and "he doesn't charge any more.... maybe even, as much, as places that do half the job" ! I always say he should charge triple what he does (because his work is worth it) then hire a secretary to return customers call.... But whatever. I just love my replicas :-) .....and fish art in general. BTW, I do have an old skin mounted 8.9 lb'er right here above my head from the old days..... but it doesn't look near as nice as my replicas. Plus, the really big difference is, when I look at my replicas I think, "Wow ! What a fish that was"...... but when I look at my old skin mount, I think, "Wow ! What a dum-bass I was" (I guess it's okay for me to say this about myself, isn't it ?) Anyway, live and learn. I don't think having a skin mount done in the past, makes me a bad person, does it ? ..... Previously un-informed perhaps. But come on, even back then, I would hold the door open for old ladies :-) Peace, Fish

this is kind of an interesting subject for me, because as much of a far left, fanatical, fish-headed whacko as I am in so many other areas, this is one of the few subjects I can see a reason for moderation with. You had said > The surprising fact to some die-hard C&R folks is that releasing all bass does more damage than keeping a few every now and then < Yes, of course selective harvest can be a good thing "in certain lakes" which have a problem with over-recruitment, and stunted populations. Of course every lake is different, and some other lakes would be absolutely best off, with 100% C/R in place. This is where study and research of your particular waters are in order. But when you said >and this includes trophy-sized bass. < I'm sorry, but I completely disagree with this statement. I think it's safe to say that you, myself, and every other angler reading this, would like to be able to catch a big bass some day. Removing even one big bass quite simply reduces anyone who fishes that body of waters, chances. If I remove a hawg from the waters you fish, you won't catch that fish later ! And that is a 100% gaurantee ! If I release that hawg, you might catch her..... and their is a better chance of this than most people might believe. Bottom line is, I have never heard of a lake which had "too many giant bass" to where it was causing a problem for the fishery as a whole (and believe me, I have serarched high and low, for the last 10 years)........ But if you know of such a lake, please let me know, because I'm moving there right away ! :-) BTW, I have read the article by Debra Dean, that you posted the link for, and she makes some good points, but she is also mistaken about it being okay to kill a giant. I e-mailed her a few years ago and told her so too. For this reason, I think my article(s) on C/R and / or / Selective harvest are better than hers. So I'd have to say, if these guys only read one or two articles on this subject, they ought to read mine ;-) Peace, Fish PS, Whoa ! I just went back and read that article again ! Turns out, it wasn't Debra Dean who said "big fish need to be removed" ! It was this other guy, "Key Puckett". I'm going to try to track this guy down right away. I feel totally compelled now, to tell him, "There is NO SUCH THING as a fish which is TOO SMART to be caught. Difficult ? Sure. But impossible ? No way. I'd like this guy to e-mail my buddy (who caught my 18.4 lb'er, 2 years later, when it still went 17.2 lbs) and tell him why it would have been better for me to have kept that fish !

Yes.... Of course every year, without exception, somebody (or several) will end up sticking a big old 15 plus Cali hawg, then post the garage, kitchen, or bait store shot of it, and the threads are always SO predictable. Ususally a couple of, "Wow ! Nice Catch ! What a hawg" posts.... meanwhile, the world holds its breath :-) Finally somebody says, "That's a hawg, no doubt....... but...... and then "IT" hits the fan :-) Actually pretty entertaining sometimes. Of course you have to stop and think about it...... If the angler knew very much about big bass in the first place, they would already know the outcome of a post like this in the first place, and then they would either not make the post at all, or lie about it, and say the fish was released unharmed, and say that the lake is right there on the "other side of that fence" :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One more thought on this subject does come to mind though; People (and I 'used to be' in this boat too) will often get bent out of shape about somebody catching and killing a big bass, in a place that they personally will never fish ! Huh ? Why should this bother them ? If a guy wants to single handedly reduce his own odds at catching big bass in his own waters, well, as strange and as foreign as this seems to me, that's his own perogitive I guess, but it's quite simply not my problem. Ya' know, I had said that my reasoning for releasing the big(gest) bass is primarily selfish. I do it for ME. However, when I take the time to do a post like this, it is totally for the benefit of others. Chances are good, I'll never fish 99% of the lakes I read about on the internet anyway. But the way I see it is, it's a Karma thing. I try to help people to do everything possible to increase their chances of catching big fish, because I honestly believe that what goes around, comes around. I'm sure that I have helped a lot of guys to catch big bass (going by their e-mails) and I have also caught a lot of big bass myself. So I guess it's working :-) Peace, Fish

First off, that is a really nice trophy bass there tmwadswo. Congrats ! And about the guys getting all bent out of shape about keeping it, Geeez ! It was "your" fish... Who cares what they think, right ? Okay, lets just forget about everybody else, and hold that mindset for just a bit. "You" like to catch big bass, as evidenced by the fact that you proudly (and rightfully so) displayed this one on the World Wide Web. An 11 lb'er is a big bass to be sure. There might only be a handful of them that big, in the areas you fish. In fact, this 11 lb'er might have been "the only one" that big, on the rout you typically fish on that lake, and since most bass, especially the largest ones, are very territorial, you might not even be fishing past an 11 lb'er each trip now, as you probably had been, until you finally caught this one. What I'm trying to say is, "Heck yea', there will always be some guys out there (maybe jellous guys ?) trying to tell YOU what YOU should do with YOUR own fish.... But ya' know what ? To heck with them !!! Instead, think about yourself ! If YOU like to catch big fish, then I think it might be a great idea, to do whatever you can to increase your own odds at sticking an even bigger bass in the future ! If the C/R of a big bass happens to increase the odds, for the anglers around you, to stick a big bass, well.... lucky them, huh ? But do it for YOU ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All of this said, my buddies and I continue to re-catch monster bass that we have previously C/R'd. Not even a very big deal to us anymore. Two days ago a good trophy bass buddy of mine called to tell me he had stuck a 29", 12-4 bass ! Geez, that's a long one huh ? And in August no less. He didn't even bother to say what he caught it on... So that means the Hud ;-) Anyway, I remind him of a REALLY long, completely spawned out bass that I caught on the same exact point, earlier this year....... and we both get to thinking..... How many 29" bass are using that same point year round ??? So anyway, he hasn't gotten his (funky ol') film developed yet, so we can compare photos, but we are already 90% sure it will end up being the same fish. Again, we wouldn't get all tripped out like we did several years ago, but still, its kind of cool to know that a big one that I caught a few months ago, is still alive and kicking :-) Oh, also of course I'd like to pat myself on the back a little bit, for allowing a good buddy to add yet another big one to his list, but I wouldn't kid him, or anyone else..... I let the big ones go, first and foremost FOR MYSELF !!!! :-) Peace, Fish PS, This very same buddy (the guy is a big bass stick !) caught my 18.4 lb PB bass, almost two years after I caught her, and it then became his PB as well. Unfortunately (for him.... but lucky for me, since I still have the lake record :-) she was on the old age decline, and was only a 'little ol' 17.2 lb'er when he caught her ;-) Anyway, I know it might sound cocky to say... "Thanks to me".... but could it be more true ??? Oh, and I absolutely love my 18.4 lb replica ! Best job I have ever seen !

of course I'm not a scientist, or an ichthiologist, but I read as much stuff from those guys as I can get ahold of. In-Fisherman has done mulitiple stories on the very subject of fish feeling pain. The conclusion is, of course they feel pain, but they do not have the brain, or central nervous systems required to process it at the same level as higher life forms. Here's what I'm saying; A few hours ago, I grabbed ahold of a hot pan (no, not just to make this point.... I REALLY did ! And my hand is still sore !) but anyway, before I could really stop to think > Hey, wait a minute ! This pan is very hot ! I better remove my hand from it before it cooks the meat off of my fingers < I was already yanking the heck away from that pan.... and yelling expletives ! The difference between a higher life form, and a fish (relating to pain) is that a fish "never does stop to think" ...... It's all to do with that initial "thoughtless impulse" to get away. Again, we have the same initial impulses, but the difference is, how we deal with the situation afterwards. Peace, Fish

Geeez, that's a really tough question. For Bass, I guess it would have to be the day I caught my 18.4 lb PB, and new lake record. Just a thousand times more memorable than any trip from the old days when I caught 50, 80, or 100 plus smaller fish. Best trip this year though (and partly because it happened on my home lake, which many people do not consider to be a trophy bass lake) was when in three hours I caught a 9.2, a 10.3, and an 11.5 lb bass, plus an 18.9 lb Channel cat, all on the Hud :-) Geez, that was fun. My 300 lb Sturgeon was especially memorable too, as I caught it only about 5 miles from where I sit...... and again, these waters are not generally thought of (like the Columbia River is) as producing lots of the really huge fish. For Channel Cats, I guess it would have to be the day I caught my 30.2 lb PB...... and besides that one fish, we caught 54 more, for a total weight of 775 lbs, all on micro-light gear :-) That wasn't the best "total weight" day though. That was a few days earlier, when we caught 71 of them for 935 lbs ! Talk about fun ! :-) Just can't wait for "my next" best fishing trip of my life !!! :-) Peace, Fish

I'd love to have some good topo maps of my favorite lakes too, and have searched high and low, but personally speaking, I have not found "any" that I am satified with :-( Just not enough sharp detail. Hopefully, as technology improves, the topo maps will follow. I'll keep watching to see what happens.... Peace, Fish

When I read posts like 30 bass today ! Nearly 50 bass today ! We caught more than 100 bass between us ! etc...... I hardly bat an eye. I used to fish my home lake Berryessa with crawlers, and 50 to 100 fish a day was no big deal. Granted, most of them would be dinks, and a legit 3 lb'er was a hawg ! But that got boring really quick (and it cost me a fortune in crawlers !) The next step was fishing at Clear Lk. with tiny live dads and micro-light gear, for an average of 10 to 20 bass per day, with a legit average weight of nearly 5 lbs each. That was fun for a while, but in time, that got boring too. Now I'm down to about 1 bass per trip (sometimes maybe three trips in a row without a bite, then 3 fish in one 'hot' trip), but the average weight per bass, is getting very close to a legit 10 lbs. Sure, I could go back to catching 50 to 100 bass per trip (and you could too, if you fished the places I did, with the same kind of numbers methods / baits) but BIG bass are so much more rewarding ! Getting skunked is really not a bad thing. Just paying the dues. Heck, of course I know I could have caught 50 dinks on crawlers, but I wouldn't feel much more accomplished than had I threw a swimbait all day and got skunked. Still no photos. Nothing to brag about. Nothing to remember by the end of next week. But when I do stick a DD.... or even more so, a "Teener".... heck, while I'm dreaming... a "High Teener", now theres something I can relive and enjoy, until my final day ! Don't worry about numbers. Just have fun. Peace, Fish

No problems whatsoever JT. Apology totally accepted. I wish I could tell you that I had never over-stepped my mouth ! ....but I wouldn't want to get struck down by a bolt of lightening, for lying :-) Their is a very simple reason we sometimes get fired up over certain aspects of our favorite sport...... Because we are passionate about it ! Peace, Fish PS, Any dum-bass can get excited and lose himself on a public forum, but only a real man will recognize this later, and then come back and apoligize for it. You have my respect buddy.

I almost always fish lures (swimbaits) which I know will not catch the most fish. But then, I'm not after "the most fish" anyway. Will I fish a lure that does not increase my odds at the biggest fish ? Almost never. To me "fun" is the C/P/R of a giant. If I do anything that lessens my chances of that, I feel like I'm spinning my wheels, and wasting valuable time on the water. Peace, Fish

is "hoping that everybody else uses a white, or an otherwise brightly colored lure, that they can see easily". This way, hopefully, big momma hasn't already been clued in, by the time I find her. Myself on the other hand, I want something that resembles a Bluegill... the biggest threat to a Bass' nest. I used to use a Castaic baby sunfish, but nowadays, I have switched to a Basstrix Bluegill, rigged on a 1/4 oz jig. I don't need to see it at all while I'm fishing it. I would rather see / feel my line. In fact, for many of my biggest bed fish (which are almost always the spookiest also) I prefer to drop a small marker buoy straight out behind the bed, then back way off from the bed (read: to far away to even see the bed, or the big female anyway.... with the water glare and all). I might miss a few little light hearted nips at my bait, but when she actually sucks it in, and tries to move it out of the bed, I'm sticking her, and shes coming into my boat, no if's, and', or but's ! Being able to see your bait (like most guys prefer) increases the odds of setting the hook too early... barely lip hooking her, and losing her, and that might just be your only chance. ....of course I ain't stuck a bass over 10 lbs, while sight fishing, in the last two years..... but this used to work for me anyway :-) I did catch my PB while sight fishing, plus my 4th biggest also. 3rd biggest was questionable as to whether she was spawning or not... Peace, Fish

I have never "broke off" a big bass that I know of, leastwise, one over 10 lbs. Oh sure, I have lost several up to 16 or 17 lbs, but those always came unbuttoned, and more often than not, I didn't really feel that their was anything I could have done about those. I use 30 lb braid with a 20 lb Fluorcarbon leader on my medium/ light weight stuff, and 50 lb braid with a 25 or 30 lb mono leader on my heavy (swimbait) rod. The mono leader acts as a shock absorber with my non-stretch braided line. My rods are a little lighter / softer than most guys might use, plus I run a lighter drag setting. All of these things working together, result in zero breakoffs. But like I said, they can still come unbuttoned. Peace, Fish

Well ya' know what..... I think "all" of these new, high-per bass boats are just absolutely beautiful pieces of machinery, merged with true art. I look at them the same way as I do the bikes on OCC..... That is, with total interest and amazement. But would I ever own one ? .....even if I hit the lotto ? No. Just not for me. Way too big, heavy, and flashy. Now don't get me wrong, I could dump 100K into a pick up truck (if I had tons of cash in the first place) without ever thinking twice. In other words, I'm all for going way overboard on stuff that "I want" even if I "don't need it". But with my fishing boat, I want it to be light. I want it to be camo'd. I don't want it to have a big ol' steering console in my way. I don't want to ever spend any time cleaning it. In other words, I want it to be "pure function"... and no glitter ;-) So hey now, if this is going to turn into a dream boat thread, here's mine :-) It's my G3 V143T .... and its paid for..... and it uses an average of about 2 gallons of gas for an 8 hour fishing trip :-) I just cant tell you guys how much I'm loving this thing.... Oh.... and yes, I do talk to it regularly :-) LOL Peace, Fish

I think if you have a lake with big Florida strain bass, and hatchery trout, it's always worth trying a swimbait ! In fact, (being the trophy bass whacko that I am) I would be inclined to say, "It's not worth throwing anything else" ! Ya' know, your post is very intriguing to me, as I think most people, myself included, often consider the trout-eating Florida bass phenominon, to be strictly a Cali thing. I guess I have heard of a few trout planted lakes in other states, which also contain bass.... You just don't often hear about guys throwing nothing but swimbaits and sticking the big ones on them regularly. Not sure why. Anyway, yes, I do think all of that pre-dawn racket could have been bass feeding on trout, and I think you need to give swimbaits a good, hard shake ! Of course I'd try a Hud, but if I were going to try a swimbait anytime between dusk and dawn, I'd also try an MSslammer.... which are loud, obnoxious, basically top water swimbaits. Good luck, and be careful out there at night, Fish

When I read your first line > As a spotted bass guide here in Georgia and having fished for them for 20+ years < I thought, "Oh no ! He's gonna' rip me to pieces" ! But I was pleasantly relieved as I read on :-) So hey you guys, listen to Triton Mike !!! :-) Anyway, yes, Spots can be a great sportfish, "when properly managed".... but then they can be a pretty much 'hit and miss' proposition too. Lots of luck involved. Like I had said, my home lake Berryessa has a bunch of Spots (mostly small) but still produces a decent number of trout-eating Florida strainers also. Then their is another lake near Sacramento called Lk. Folsom, which produces a big Florida hawg every now and again, AND it produces some really really nice Spotted bass too ! 5's are fairly common. Then, I will even have admit, that their was once a trophy Spotted bass lake down in So Cal called Lk. Perris..... until somebody put Florida strains in there, and the Floridas wiped out the Spots ! (only case of this I have ever heard of) but the point is, the way Spotted bass mix, with other species / fisheries, is a very unpredictable thing. Another thing I hate to admit, is that in many respects, the Ca DFG actually likes having Spotted bass in a lot of our lakes, reason being, that then, a lot of guys who might have a very hard time catching finicky, trout-fed Florida strain bass, will actually be able to go out and catch something, even if the fish are small. {That was a direct quote from a Ca DFG senior biologist... a buddy of mine} Oh, but yes, Spots often hurt Smallie populations even more than Largemouths. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So with all that we have discussed about Spotted bass in this thread, I just have to say it again; I love to catch good sized Spotted bass, just as much as I do Crappie, Carp, Sturgeon, Halibut, etc, etc...... I just don't like the effect they have on many fisheries. But where ever they do well, and don't adversly affect the other species.... Fish on ! :-) Peace, Fish

I have heard that Spots prefer cooler water, but again, they will survive in warmer water too. On that note, San Pablo is quite a bit cooler in the Summer, and warmer in the Winter, than most of our other Nor Cal lakes, because of its close proximity to the Pacific Ocean. A great temp regulator. This is another one of the factors that I think made Pablo such a great trophy Largemouth lake in the past. Unfortunately, it will probably benefit the Spots in the very same way. Hmmmm, Fish

Thank you Glenn. Ya' know Captain Cali, that is an interesting question. I have read that Spotted Bass prefer clear water, with rocky substrates. (of course like most bass, they will often do well in less than perfect conditions). Anyway, they sure seem to be doing pretty darn good at my old favorite San Pablo.... in spite of the muddy water, and soft mud / silt bottom. The thing about the Spots at Pablo, that is of particular concern to me, is the fact that this lake was never a "numbers" type of place to begin with. I always felt that Pablos low recruitement of bass, was a large part of why the ones that did make it, got so large ! More food and space for the few that made it....... and this already low recruitement was "before" the introduction of Spotted bass ! I'm telling you.... That place is doomed ! :-( Fish PS, But just to prove that I can step back and look at this situation from a larger perspective, I will have to admit.... When the Spots do eventually take over, there will probably be a large group of guys who never caught bass from Pablo before, at all, who are now catching 10 or 20, or more Spotted bass per trip (granted they might only be 10" to 12") and are just tickled to death because of it :-)

I think jtbassman probably has his mind made up already, about Spotted Bass, but for everyone who wants to know more.... Often times people think.... "Oh, well this is coming from Fish Chris, and all he cares about are the giants anyway"...... Okay... there might be some truth to that, but check this out; With those couple examples I gave (Lk. Shasta, and Lk. Oroville) Both of those lakes used to kick out good numbers of 3 to 7 lb Northern strain Largemouths, and lots of Smallies to 5 lbs. Honestly, that was before my time... leastwise, before I was old enough to drive / pull a boat. But I have heard countless stories about how great "the tournament fishing used to be" ! 20 to 25 lb limits were very common. Then came the introduction of Spots, and things just went downhill from there. Nowadays those same tournament guys (or their kids) are lucky to get a 10 or 12 lb limit (although swimbaits are kind of changing that, but that's a whole different subject...... I can't imagine what swimbaits would have done at Shasta and Oroville "before" the introduction of Spotted bass !) Admittedly, there are lakes which still have a good population of Largemouths, even some trophy sized fish "in spite of the Spotted Bass" (my home lake Berryessa is a good example of such). Talking with two of my fisheries biologist buddies, I have found that there are apparently no hard and fast rules, which can determine ahead of time, which fisheries will be devastated by Spots, and which will not. Its pretty much a hit and miss. Maybe about 50/50. The bottom line is, at least in Western lakes, Spotted bass DO overpopulate, and become stunted, quicker, and more often, than Largemouths, and they DO ruin a fairly large percentage of Largemouth fisheries. Peace (no, really :-) Fish

I would put my fisheries knowledge against yours anytime...... .......but I might have a hard time, having a legitimate, friendly interaction, with anyone who started their reply to my post with >>> WOW IGNORANCE AT ITS FINEST. <<< I would just hope that 'your' fisheries knowledge, is greater than your people skills. Fish

Did you ever say a mouthful ! Those overpopulating, trophy-bass-destroying little pieces of #$%@ ! Spotted bass have ruined so many once great fisheries over here in California, its just sick :-( Now don't get me wrong, in the right places, (and their are not really any hard and set rules, as to which places will be the "right places") Spotted bass can be great sportfish. They are pretty. They fight hard. They are agressive, and easy for the general bass angler to catch. The big problem with Spotted Bass is that in so many places, they will overpopulate, and the ravenous little juveniles will outcompete the juvenile Largemouths. Now, little Spotted Bass have no "direct" effect on adult Largemouths. In fact, if a 1 lb Spot got to close to a hungry 10 lb Florida Largemouth, it might even become dinner. However, ovbiously you have to have little Largemouths thriving, and surviving to adulthood, to replace the big trophy Florida bass, as they die off from old age, and of course sometimes, meat hunters, and wall hangers. With some research, I could provide you a mile long list of previously great bass fisheries here in Cali, which have been basically destroyed by Spotted bass, but just off of the top of my head, here are a few of the more well known places: Lk. Shasta, Lk. Oroville, Camanche, etc. My old favorite trophy lake San Pablo Dam Res. was invaded by spotted bass about 4 years ago also, and I personally believe the trophy Largemouths will be completely gone from there within 6 to 10 years. Remember, it takes a while for this to happen, because any Largemouth bass which are already 4 or 5 lbs will not be affected, and they will be able to live out the rest of there full life.... but when they are gone, they are gone. With nothing coming up behind them to replace them, that will be the end of the line. ......and once Spotted Bass have taken hold, there is nothing short of draining a lake, which can get rid of them ! IMPO, Spotted Bass are MUCH more detrimental, to a lot more lakes, than are the common Carp, which so many people complain about. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now, if you had a lake with no Largemouths to begin with, which was managed well (Selective Harvest) and which produced a lot of nice 3 to 5 lb Spots, with the occasional 5 to 7, or maybe even larger, that would be all good. (except that you will always have some idiots who want to pretend like they are the F/G, and will illegally transport, and introduce Spots from one place to the other :-( Urgggg.... Fish PS, Even completely aside from what Spotted bass often do to a trophy bass fishery...... Spotted bass tend to overpopulate really quickly, and you will end up with a stunted population of underfed little dinks. Unless the place has tons of good forage, and the anglers practice a bunch of "Selective Harvest" to keep the numbers down...... But heck, if you have a place like that, with no bass in it, why not put some REAL bass in it ? :-) (Florida strainers of course :-)

ya' know, things would be different here in Cali. Reason being, to get a new Cali state record, but to miss the new World record, you would have to hit a very narrow window, of less than 1 lb. Knowing what I know, about how possible (if not likely) it is to release a big fish., and then re-catch it at a later date, I would probably weigh it on my own personal certified scale, take some good self photos, and release it "without state record certification", because a WRB a year from now, is an infinitely bigger deal than any state record will ever be ! Now, it would be hard to "not" show off a catch like this....... So I might fib a little, and just claim it was a really nice 19 lb'er..... and I'm alrerady a pro at taking photos with indistinguishable backgrounds :-) I'd just let them "mistakenly" believe where they thought I caught it :-) Then, when I caught her again next year, it would be on !!! :-) Peace, Fish

I will put together a resume package ASAP, and get this straight to Mr. Price. Thanks again, Wish me luck :-) Fish Chris

> The burn out is not from fishing most likely, but hitting the same old water with the same results. < As much as I love Bass fishing, by about June, I'm looking forward to the Bodega Bay Halibut, or Clear Lk. Sunfish, etc. Then it late October, it's time for the Dino-fish (Sturgeon) and Stripers. Might do a few bass trips in the Fall too, just to keep from getting rusty, while waiting for late Winter / Spring. And here's another train of thought fishinaz; I once heard it said, that the natural progression for most anglers is to first, "catch a fish". Then, when that gets easy, "to catch a lot of fish". And finally, "to catch the biggest fish". This was certainly the case for me. I had gotten to a point, several years back, when catching a bunch of small to medium sized fish was simply no longer a challenge. It kind of felt like I was just going through the motions. It was just like you said, "No adrenalin rush". That is when I started getting hyped about BIG fish ! Now, I don't know how big the bass get in your immediate area, but however big that is, you can be the one who is consistently catching them ! My suggestion (for starters) would be to forget about the numbers thing. You have already been there, and done that. Now its time to step up to the plate ! Start searching around for an angler, or several, who have been catching the biggest fish in your area. Try to get to know them. Find out what they are doing to catch those fish. Start trying new "big fish" stuff. And when the urge to fall back to your small fish / numbers techniques hits you, just remind yourself that even if you did go back to that, you would just be spinning your wheels anyway. Monster fish = Pure adrenalin !!! ....and you can do it just as well as anybody ! Peace, Fish

Opinionated ? I resemble that statement ! :-) LOL BTW, what wrong with going fishless all day ? Okay, sure I could throw a Senko, or a Tiki-stik, or any other "numbers" kind of bass lure..... and then I would certainly stand a better chance of sticking a few, or even a bunch, of small to medium sized fish. Only problem with that is, I'd have all but forgotten about those fish, by the time I pulled my boat off of the water. On the other hand, if I get skunked five trips in a row, then on the 6th trip I stick a 10 to 13 lb'er, or maybe even bigger, not only will I remember that fish at the end of the day, but I'm liable to remember it next year.... heck, maybe even 10 years from now ! King of skunks :-) Fish Chris