Fish Chris

The Hud ! ......so you can replace those 3 lb bass, with 13's ! ;-) Peace, Fish

Anybody here sponsored by either of these companies ? If so, do you have any names or contact numbers ? Are these companies good to work with ? I sure love / swear by their products ! I pretty much wear out, then buy, a new trolling motor every year, for the last 10. I'm really hard on t-motors, because of my habit of getting up shallow, into the rocks and wood. And I now throw nothing but Owner hooks, for every thing from tiny octopus hooks for live bait, to 2/0 trebles on my swimbaits. I think they are the most expensive hooks on the market, but I'd pay double what they are now, if I had to, just to know I had the best hook made, at the end of my line. I figure I use about $300 worth of hooks a year. Anyway, I'm thinking about persuing sponsorships with these two companies. Contacts, and / or advice is appreciated. Thank you, Fish Chris

Hey Keith, ya' know it's funny, for years I have tried to convince people that "live bait is not a giveaway"...... but for numbers of nice fish, particularly at Clear Lk, it is just about as close to a giveaway as it gets. As I pointed out, I still got at least half of my biggest fish from there, on a 9" swimbait (and of course, the biggest ones are where my minds usually at anyway) but its just hard to convince people that swimbaits can actually make it "easier" to catch a big bass, after they read that I caught 1100 fish for 5000 lbs, in 90 trips, mostly on live bait. In any case, I was catching 10 to 20 bass, from 3 to 9 lbs a day that year (2000) at Clear Lk. while proffessional tournament guys were struggling to get 5 legal sized fish on artificials. I do have a good buddy who used to smoke them on Clear Lk. at night with soft plastics, and he could have probably caught close to my same numbers, had he been able to fish 90 days in that same year...... But the tuorney guys have to fish in the day time, on weekends, and try to beat each other to the best spots. I beat all of them to the spots by going their on a weekday :-) Hey Mike, no.... I wish I was going to Icast :-( Had a few of my sponsors ask me about it too, but I have to work (have to feed this fishing addiction somehow ! :-) Which Swimbaits ? That's an easy one. I throw the Hud... then sometimes I will throw the Hud. And if that doesn't work, I just throw the Hud :-) Sometimes the rof #5, but nowadays mostly the #12. Always in the natural trout pattern. Honestly, I think this 8" lure is pretty small swimbait. I'd WAY prefer to be throwing a 10" or 11" swimbait, but I'd rather throw a Hud which is too small, than any other swimbait on the market, as I personally believe it is just that good. Believe me though, as soon as Ken comes out with a bigger Hud, I'll probably switch straight to it completely, and never look back. Of course your right that their is so much more to the total picture, than just what swimbait you are throwing, but personally speaking, with all else being the same, I noticed a larger increase in my success, when I switched to the Hud, than from any other changes I have made, or things I have tried. Good fishing to you guys, Fish

I was once trolling a 9" Swimbait, when it felt like it picked up some grass or something. So I reeled it in to find out that an 8" bass had apparently aimed right for the big ol' 2/0 treble, and managed to get one of the three points right through is lip :-) If that fish doesn't get himself killed, it is certainly destined to become a big ol' California trout eater ! :-) Pretty funny how agressive those little ones can be sometimes ! Peace, Fish

I appreciate your response, and your opinion. Heck, let me just put it this way..... If everybody around here were to stop fishing for numbers, and start fishing for monsters, I'd probably start fishing at Clear Lk. again, and learn how to catch numbers of fish from the Delta :-) Oh BTW, as for those 1100 bass I caught from Clear Lk. that year, 95% were caught on tiny, live dads (as close to a giveaway as it gets on that lake, but still fun on micro-light gear :-).... Remember it's not trout fed) However, about half of those 28, 8 to 9.8 lb'ers were caught on a 9" Castaic trout lure. I could have probably thrown nothing but the Castaic that year, and caught 50 or 70 fish from 8 to 9.9 lbs, but still maybe not a legit DD. This is just a direct reflection of what size fish the lake was holding at that time. Interesting, huh ? Peace, Fish

That was one impressive string of fish posted by George Welcome ! Very close weight to my best 5..... and I'm going to come clean here.... I didn't weight the smallest of my best five fish limit either, as it was only about a 4 :-) But come on.... I already said I'm not a numbers guy ! :-) Anyway, since we are posting a few photos, here are those two fish that I caught for 28.5 lbs The first here is a big, bug-eyed, 13.5 lb'er This one is a 15.0 (which BTW, was caught two years later by a young, on-his-way-up trophy hunter, and she had grown to 16-13 ! I felt great to have made that possible for him :-) .... yes, I'm patting myself on the back here :-) Oh, both were caught site fishing with a Basstrix Bluegill. Peace, Fish

(then again, coming from me, nothing should really surprise you ;-)) Anyway, I know a lot of you guys from other areas of the country (read; areas which are too far away, to easily drive to the Ca Delta to check it out for yourself) have heard about it a bunch from the tournament guys, magazines, television, etc. I noticed a lot of guys in the, "If you could fish anywhere" thread, picked the Ca. Delta. Well, I live about 5 minutes from Ca Delta waters..... maybe 30 minutes to 1 hour, from parts of it that are considered great for Largemouths..... But I almost never fish it (about 5 times in my life). Why ??? Well, the really big fish (and the Delta certainly has a few) are very scattered, and almost impossible to exclusively target. Over the years I have followed many of the Deltas largest bass catches, and you will see that a guy gets a 16 lb'er..... so what was his previous Delta PB ? ....uh... only a 9 ? Another guys gets a 17 1/2..... And his previous PB (even though he fishes the place 50 days a year for the last 20) only a low 10 and an 11 1/2 ? My point is, the really big bass in the Delta are just so scattered, that you will really not find any one guy consistently catching double digit bass, and certainly not teeners. So anyway, if you like to fish water which is totally dependent on tide, murky, stinky, and very often, windy, and of course if your goal is to get a nice limit of 3 to 5 lb'ers, the Delta might be a great choice.... but even so, you are going to either need to fish it a bunch to get onto a good bite, or pay a guide. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another place you guys have probably heard of is Clear Lk. Ca. This place is very similar to the Delta in a lot of ways. It kicks out SOO many 3 to 7's, that the place has ended up with an "undeserved" reputation as a trophy bass lake. But the fact is, Clear Lk. kicks out even fewer DD bass than the Delta, and really big fish (say 13 or more) are practically non-existent. I have often said that the reason "Clear Lk. produces so many DD bass, is that so many guys don't carry a scale.... and a 7 or 8 lb'er to those guys will surely be over 10 ! ;-) (It's funny that those guys can afford a 50K boat.... but not a $30 scale ! ?) Case in point; Several years ago, I fished Clear Lk. 90 days in one year. I caught aprox 1100 bass, for very close to 5000 lbs ! Yes, right at a 4 3/4 lb average for 1100 fish ! 28 of those fish went from 8 to 9.8 lbs..... but are you ready for this ??? Drumroll please........ Not one single double digit bass ! Not even ONE !!! That same year, I fished a couple trophy lakes a handful of times..... and stuck 3 or 4 over 10 lbs ! That was all I needed to know. The following year, I decided, Clear Lk. was nice, and it was fun..... But I knew I needed to step up to the plate and get serious ! I decided I would start fishing the "tough as nails" trout-fed, trophy bass ponds. I mentally prepared myself to get skunked A LOT ! And that was a good thing, because I sure as heck did get skunked ! The following year I beat myself up. And I went from catching 1100 nice bass from Clear Lk, to catching somewhere around 60 to 80 fish the next year.... in the same number of days on the water ! But guess what ??? I ended up catching 27 bass over 10 lbs, with the biggest being a 16.5 lb'er, which earned me $5500 from the Big Bass Record Club ! (still my best trophy bass year) So my point is to ask, "What do you want to do" ? Catch lots of nice fish..... no one of which by itself is really worth bragging about ? (again, not to say that you couldn't go to the Delta or Clear Lk and stick a DD on the first trip, but the odds are very much against it). Then yes, the Ca Delta, or Clear Lk. But if you wanted to come to Cali and stick a monster 10, 13, or even bigger bass, then that is a whole different game, on completely different water.... And since guides don't specialize in really big fish, you would be pretty much on your own. Often I have guys e-mail me about a vacation to Cali, "and they want to catch a DD" .....Oooooohhh...... Well, It took me close to 30 years to get my first DD bass from Cali, so it might take quite a long vacation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ But hey now, I sure have been fishing that muddy, stinky, windy Ca Delta a lot in the Winter for giant Sturgeon and Stripers :-) IMPO, this is where the Ca Delta really shines ! Just the far-left, whacked out-opinions of a fish-head who lives next door to the Ca Delta. Peace, Fish

BTW, the sponsors I have listed, are the ones of which I actually have written contracts with.... or in other words, of which I am on their pro-staff. But I also have a few other companies who just give me stuff :-) Those are nice too. I keep saying though, what I really need, is to get a sponsorship with Chevron, or BP or somebody who will give me an "unlimited gas card" !!! ......"Yes, I catch all of these big bass because I use BP gas" :-) LOL Peace, Fish

You said > Aprox an hour and a half from my house, I can be at some of the greatest fisheries in the state of California. Why would I want to go anywhere else? < ....I totally hear you, and I agree...... But didn't you mean to say > best in the 'world' < ? :-) ......for Largemouth bass, anyway. Peace, Fish

(and nothing at all, against tournaments..... many of my good fishing buddies fish them) But you do not have to fish tournaments, or even guide, to become sponsored. Of course most fishing sponsorships are for tournament anglers and guides, but their are other options. You will see my sponsors at the bottom of my post. These were really easy...... all I had to do was fish 1200 to 1400 hours a year. Catch a bunch of trophy sized fish. Build a 200 page, 1500 photo website, gain a little bit of a following.... and Bam ! All of the sudden, these guys are giving me free stuff ;-) Of course I'm being a little bit facetious about it being easy, but in reality, I would have done all the same stuff anyway, just because fishing is my lifes passion. In fact, I never intended, or expected to become sponsored (at first anyway), for any of the work I put in. It just sort of worked out this way :-) Peace, Fish

first off, I'm not really a "numbers" kind of guy. For me a "great trip" is 1 good fish over 10 lbs. But of course I have had a few days when I got more than 1 good one. Earlier this year, I stuck 3 bass for 31 lbs. Two years ago I stuck 2 fish for 28.5 lbs. But anyway, I guess my best 5 in a trip were only 40.5 lbs. I have two trophy bass buddies though who have stuck 45 and 50 lb five fish limits though ! Of course I'd love to get a limit like this, but I'd trade a 50 lb limit, for just one 19 lb PB :-) Peace, Fish

I'm not even sure about 6 lb'ers, but I have caught bass over 10 lbs from 8 different Cali lakes; Lk. Berryessa Clear Lk. Coyote Res. Lk. Chabot San Pablo Dam Res. Rancho Seco Lk. Shadow Cliffs Res. Lk. Del Valle In all honesty though, my list of lakes with bass over 6 lbs, would probably not be much bigger, as I really don't fish too many other lakes that are not on this list, for bass. Peace, Fish

....nowadays myself, because they make it "A LOT EASIER" to catch the big bass I'm after, than does live bait. From this standpoint, I guess I should probably feel less accomplished when I use an artificial lure to catch a trophy bass...... But then I honestly just don't care. I'm after big bass. The lure or bait I use makes very little difference to me. As much as I use to fish live bait, my five biggest Largemouths have come on artificial lures. What should this tell you ??? That most people have a completely skewed vision of live bait fishing, based on how things seem / feel, instead of on how they actually are, based on personal experience. I just wish I could find more situations which favored live bait, for the biggest bass, because I certainly love fishing with it. But I refuse to "limit my chances" by insisting on live bait (like I used to sometimes do in the old days). Peace, Fish

I'd love to fish South America for huge exotic catfish and Pacu's. Peacocks (wherever they get biggest) would be fun too..... But when the poster said, "Bass fishing" I was assuming he meant "Largemouths" and that being the case, their is no place I'd rather fish that right here in Nor Cal. We have "bigger bass" than they do in those Mexican lakes :-) BTW, when you see videos, and here's stories of El Salto, and other Mexican lakes and "all of the 10 lb'ers" you are only seeing the best of the best. Fact is, for the most part, those lakes kick out lots of 6 to 9's (and even then, not always) but a LOT of people go down there expecting a 10 plus fish or several, and end up disapointed. All of this said, if I were to go to Mexico, I'd probably pic Baccarac...... The nearly forgotten, original Mexican big bass lake. From what I have heard, it is much tougher than the new, more popular lakes like El Salto. Much lower numbers of fish nowadays, but a much better shot at a really big fish of say 15 to 19 lbs. Even so, for a 20 plus fish, you probably have better odds in Southern California. Peace, Fish

at 15.8 lbs, she was my third largest bass. She was only 25 1/2 inches long, but she had a girth of 24 3/4's. What a fatty, huh ? :-) She did photograph well. Oh BTW, I caught her on a Castaic Baby Shad, fished with a 1/4 ounce barrel sinker on the line in front of its nose. She was hanging in one small spot (as if she was on a bed) and I was working my lure like I was bedfishing, right in that one spot...... But keep in mind, it was darn near September (August the 27th, 02' to be exact). You might look at her belly and believe she was full of eggs, but I think she was just a very well fed trout-eater. Peace, Fish

let me just assure you, that anybody who has fished for any species, for any length of time, has lost, and will on occasion, continue to lose a fish every now and again..... and sometimes, it will be a big one. That's what makes fishing, fishing. Yes, it can be VERY painful...... like you wanna' "sit down and cry" painful..... but you just have to pick yourself back up, and keep pushing. That said, I basically NEVER lose a fish from breaking it off. I use good, strong, braided line, and only run a medium drag setting. However, fish DO come unbuttoned. And in most cases, there is nothing you can do about this. Sometimes you just don't get enough bite with your hook, and that is mostly luck of the draw. .....which is why when that one line manufacturer that says, "Now, nothing gets away"..... YEA' RIGHT ! :-) LOL Who doesn't know better than that ? Peace, Fish

I agree its not good to point the rod straight at the fish, but I think it is more because without a bend in your rod, you have nothing to take up slack with yours, and the fishes movements, during the fight. I think if your line ever broke, then you have a line problem, a drag setting problem, or both. As for letting them tire thereselves out...... I don't care if they are tired or not, if they are not running drag, they are coming into my boat for a photo session RIGHT NOW ! ;-) Peace, Fish

although I always bring my boat, I often only use it to get me to different spots around the lake, where I will then beach it, and fish from the shore. The couple main reasons for this are: A) Big bass chase bait from the deep water, up towards the shore, to "squeeze them out of space".... not the other way around, and It's much easier to sneak up on a bass from shore, than by water. Even if a big bass doesn't instantly swim away when it sees you, just seeing you often puts up a red flag, and causes a clamped shut mouth. I think I have caught about 20 of my 71 DD bass from the shore.... although I always had my boat nearby :-) Peace, Fish

This is another one of things (like braid vs. mono) that I feel really strongly about ! I use gear that all matches itself.... By this I mean, the hook matches the line, the line matches the rod, and the rod matches the reel. The size of of the fish has little to do with the weight of the tackle, as I'm always after the big fish anyway... and I feel I can pretty easily land the biggest bass I might hook, on the lightest tackle I will ever use. Rather, the size of my gear is determined by the lure or bait I am throwing. I run a medium drag setting, as I feel that with no stretch in my braided line, something has to give. But to get to your question about how I fight them..... Whether it be a 3 lb fish on 50 lb braid..... a 13 lb fish on 50 lb braid.... or a 13 lb fish on 10 lb braid, its all the same.... If that fish is taking drag, I let him have it, but the split second (read: the very instant) that fish quits taking drag, I'm on its but like a fly on $%#$ !!! I see so many people fiddling around with a fish hooked on there line, and I'm thinking, "What the heck are they doing" ??? So again, either that fish is ripping drag, or its coming into my boat RIGHT NOW ! This is why I believe I have landed big fish, on micro-light gear, in the same amount of time, or even less, than some guys using heavy gear. Ya' know its funny...... I don't think I'm a "great angler"..... but I do think I am pretty darn good at fighting a fish once I hook it ! Peace, Fish

It's not often that I can't come up with some kind of response / argument.... But your response above (limiting my chances) is spot on ! Very good points ! Peace, Fish

Actually, its funny you should say this. As a matter of fact, there was a thread about a year ago, on another forum titled, "Shoot and Release". Now as funny as this may sound, there are actually a few places offering big game hunts in Africa, in which the animals are shot with tranquilizer darts. Then the paying customers walk up and hold the animals heads up for photos. Then they back off, and wait for the animal to get up and walk away.... like the "release" I guess, then the hunt is complete ! Just think, if you were a guide, and you had an idiot client..... maybe you could "purposely slip up" and only use half the tranquilizer needed...... "Sure buddy.... that Lion is flat knocked out".... You go pick his head up, and I'll take your picture :-) LOL Peace, Fish

It doesn't bother me in the least, that he fishes those "easy stock ponds". I like to see bass get caught, just as much as the next bass angler. My only complaint is, unfortunately, those stock ponds just produce a lot of 5 to 8 lb'ers..... you know.... those ho hum fish, but not really any "BIG ONES" ! Come on Bill, lets see some 13's and 15's ! ;-) Peace, Fish

Everyone has heard about Catch and Release for many years. In fact, it has become almost a knee-jerk reaction for many anglers, to the point where it has actually caused problems with overpopulations of smaller fish, and the loss of quality, in some fisheries. No doubt about it, C/ R is the 1a class. Selective harvest on the other hand, while it requires a bit more thought, is the advanced course, and can provide increased benefits for most fisheries. So what's the problem ? Many people practice a reversed type of selective harvest. That is, they will release every fish that they catch for years and years. Then one day, when they finally catch the fish of a life time, they decide to keep this one and hang it on the wall. The fact of the matter is, it would have been much less detrimental to the fishery had they kept a few smaller fish every now and then, and then released the giant ! Often you will hear the argument about a huge fish having already contributed its trophy genes to the pool, and that it is now past it's spawning prime. Well first of all, it has been proven that most bass will continue to spawn throughout there entire life, and while they will produce fewer offspring towards the end of there life span, fewer is much better than none at all. Also, a fish which has already proven to have the right genes to get huge, is the exact fish that should be allowed to produce every last baby possible ! Secondly, if a huge fish is released, there is a strong chance that that fish will be caught again, and of course there is also a strong chance that that fish will become some other lucky anglers best catch of a lifetime ! Of course, you yourself, might just be the lucky angler who re-catches that fish when it is even bigger. This is not near as uncommon as people tend to think. I have personally caught, released, and then re-caught several fish from 7 lbs to 13.5 lbs. There is no doubt in my mind that as I continue to release my trophy catches, the odds continue to increase, that I will eventually re-catch a fish which, in the time since it's first release, has grown to be HUGE ! Thirdly, you will often hear people say about a huge fish: Well, it's a really old fish and it's probably at the end of it's life span anyway...... Hmmm.... maybe, or maybe not. Obviously an 18 lb bass had to be 15 lbs at one point. A 20 lb'er had to be 18 lbs, and a World record will have to 20 lbs, first. It would be easy to say that this 15, 18, or 20 lb fish was already at the end of its life span, but there is never a way to be sure of that. The plain and simple fact is, a huge fish which is released will have some chance, no matter how slim, of becoming even bigger..... maybe even a world record ! While a huge fish which has been hung above the fireplace will have absolutely no chance ! The bottom line is this: We should always think twice about eliminating the chance for a fellow angler to catch that fish of a lifetime, or even for ourselves, the second time around ! Education is the key Many years ago I kept a sub-ten bass and had it mounted. Later I regretted that decision, and really wished I would have had a replica made. But live and learn. Why do I mention this here ? I believe this is a great way to put myself on the same level as many anglers who have not been there..... yet. The approach of slamming another angler with, I won't do that, and you shouldn't either never works, and quite simply drives a wedge between yourself and the anglers you are trying to educate. If they have killed a fish in the past, so be it. You cant change that. But through tactful communication, you might possibly prevent this angler from killing more giants in the future. I truly believe that the vast majority of the anglers who might otherwise keep a huge fish for the wall, would in fact release that fish, if they only knew the importance of that fish to the fishery. Also of course, if they knew how nice the modern replicas were, and how easy it was to have one made. As for those few anglers who will just never understand, we should always remember this: As an American, and possessing a state fishing license, it is every anglers RIGHT to catch and keep any fish that he wants to, within the regulations set forth by our Fish and Game agencies. We certainly don't want anyone interfering with our rights, therefore we certainly should not interfere with anyone else's. Again, the best we can do is to educate anglers with all of the facts, and hope that they will make the right decision. Most will. Taking care of your trophy catch A strong consideration for anyone who intends to release a huge fish should they catch it, is how to take care of it between the time of the actual catch, photos, weighing, and release. I'm quite sure that many trophy catches, despite the anglers best intentions of releasing the fish alive, will in fact perish, simply because the angler was not prepared to handle the situation. For starters, no fish should be kept out of the water for any more than a couple minutes at a time...... even less in warm weather. ALWAYS carry a decent camera. Its also nice to have a disposable 35mm camera stored away in your tackle bag too, just for cheap insurance. ALWAYS carry a reliable scale. There are a ton of reasonably priced models on the market to choose from. I use a Berkeley 50 lb digital. You should also carry a decent spring scale as well, just in case your digital should happen to malfunction. AFTER you catch that fish of a lifetime is NOT the time to run around looking for a camera or a scale. Quite simply, you need to be prepared at all times. If you happen to be in a boat with a circulated livewell, this will be fine until you can get your camera and scale ready. If you fish from a small boat like I do, a large icebox which is partially filled with lake water, will suffice as a temporary live well. If you are fishing from the shore, the fish can be placed on a stringer, with a rope or clip put through the lip (not the gills) of the fish, while preparations are made for photos and weighing. Finally, if this is a really big fish (a lake record, a contest winner, etc) and needs to be weighed on a certified scale, then a large, partially filled ice box, or tournament weigh bag should be used to transport the fish to and from the certified scale. Please allow me to reiterate that a fish should never be out of the water for more than two minutes, or even less in warmer weather. Please note A giant Largemouth bass of 10, 13, 17 lbs, or even more, is quite literally a one in millions fish. This fish has beaten absolutely incredible odds to attain this size. For your own chances of re-catching a huge fish when she has grown to be even bigger, as well as that same chance for your fellow anglers, please release all of the giants. Catch and Release a Trophy Bass ! Fish Chris

Please see my response to "Soft Plastics Colors" third post down....... Peace, Fish

I should have added to my post; Although one might {rightfully} believe that I have gotten to be very "single minded" in my pursuit of trophy bass, please remember that bass fishing has fallen off to maybe 50 or 60% of my years fishing. For any other species that will bite my hook and rip drag, I use a ton of different techniques, lures, and baits. Peace, Fish