contium

Crap. I just bought 2 Phenix rods without foregrips. Didn't even think about this but I hold a rod similarly. Guess I will see how it works out.

I've never seen anyone cast like that. I might give it a try to see how it feels.

I only use hit. For some reason, most of the other terms annoy me. I think it because I watch too much fishing on TV/youtube.

Great idea. Lets encourage people to take and eat more largemouth and stripped bass when the state itself has said they really aren't that safe to eat. http://oehha.ca.gov/advisories/statewide-advisory-eating-fish-californias-lakes-and-reservoirs-without-site-specific

There are a lot of good fishing shows on youtube. There are even more bad ones. I mean who really needs to see someone eating breakfast before fishing? My favorite is when a guy fishes all day, catches one or two fish and then discuses the "pattern" the fish were on and starts whoring out the tackle he used including stuff he didn't catch fish on lol.

Yeah I'm in Chino Hills. I drove to Hodges a couple of weeks ago and it was a nightmare traffic wise. And its the closest of the San Diego lakes to us.

Perris isn't drying up. It's been at a constant level for a while now. It is low because of dam construction. How about Skinner, Pyramid, Castaic, Casitas? Plenty of good lakes in San Diego. Most lakes in SoCal are small and highly pressured. Wide open bass fishing isn't a regular occurance (at least for me). Not sure what the current status of all these are but hear is a list of the major lakes. Big Bear Lake Castaic Lake Cuyamaca Diamond Valley Dixon El Capitan Guajome Henshaw Hodges Jennings Lake Casitas Lake Elsinore Lake Perris Lake Piru Lake Silverwood Lake Skinner Loveland Lower Otay Miramar Morena Murray Poway Puddingstone Pyramid Ramona San Vicente Santee Lakes Sutherland Sweetwater Upper Otay Wohlford

It's free. If you want to keep your personal sonar logs private, then you have to pay for the subscription version. I think you also have to have the paid version for bottom composition and vegitation charts.

I've caught tons of fish on Rat-L-Traps at night. Some big ones. Caught plenty on silent crankbatis too.

I use Lake Insight, Navionics+, Navionics Sonar Charts Live and Insight Genesis. Currently, Insight Genesis is my favorite. Most charts are pretty much useless in SoCA. The social map is the only way these lakes are going to get mapped. I make my own and use social maps both on Insight Genesis.

There is no such thing as a cable driven Xi5 or Terrova. The Xi5's anchor mode and Terrova's spot lock (as well as other features) are built into the trolling motors. They don't need to be hooked up to a sonar. Using a compatible sonar does increase the features however.

If that's the case then they really wouldn't need to stock 800,000 bass a year. I wish the CADFW was worth a crap. All they stock is trout and catfish and they have been cutting way back.

Delicate comes to mind (and most definitions) with the word finesse. That would certainly imply light tackle in my mind.

I always start out power fishing. But I include things like Texas rigged worms and jigs in that. Finesse to me is down sized baits on light line fished sloooowwwww. If power fishing isn't producing I may go to finesse fishing. I never understood guys that start out drop shotting in 30' of water at 5:30 am. That's a last resort for me. For the last couple of years, if there is a lot of pressure on the lake that day, I have been upsizing baits when things are tough. I figure I would rather catch one 5 pounder than ten one pounders and it has worked pretty good for me. Most of the lakes around here (Southern California) are small and the fish are seeing baits all day long on weekends.

Having more fun! Seriously. It will make you a better fisherman. I fished tournaments and took this stuff way too seriously for a couple of decades. The best thing you can do is lighten up and have fun. Ask any pro. They catch way more fish fun fishing than when they are serious. Fishing really isn't that complicated. Don't complicate it. Plus, the point of fishing is to have fun.

I have 2 of the new Daiwa Tatula CT's. Best reels I have used in the price class. Super smooth and cast a mile. I'm going to see how they hold up over the next 6 months. They should be great as the regular Tatula's have a great reputation. Will be selling the rest my my Shimano Citica's and replacing them with the Tatula CT's.

I'm assuming that when people in this thread say EWG they mean offset EWG. You can get EWG strait shank or offset. Anyways, I've been fishing texas rig for 42 years. Most of those years with straight shank hooks. A few years ago I switched to offset EWG's and noticed a lower hookup rate. This year I switched back to straight shank, mainly Roboworm Rebarb and Eagle Claw Finesse worm hooks and rarely miss fish. If you just look at the geometry of an offset EWG you can see why you would get a lower hookup percentage.

The pole says brand, not manufacturer.

It's a good idea to see what charts are the best for the area you need. They all vary. You can see what Navionics looks like for your lakes using there webapp, particularly Sonar Charts. For Insight Genesis, create an free account and look a the social maps. Just make sure you have some idea about what the lakes really look like when comparing. All those pretty 1' contours look great but they can be very far from accurate or spot on. Lakes they have actually surveyed with a boat are really good.

I wish got the same results as you. I love Navionics Sonar Charts Live and use it almost exclusively until the lake gets mapped in Insight Genesis.

Mapping software is definitely worth it. Finding good charts can be difficult though. Here in CA, they all are pretty much worthless. The are so far from accurate as to be dangerous. I've run Lake VU HD, Navioncs+, Lake Insight Pro, Navionics Sonar Charts Live and Insight Genesis. Navionics Sonar Charts Live is great for real time mapping out on the water. However, when I upload them to Navionics, they do a VERY poor job of integrating them into Sonar Charts. I'm currently most happy with Insight Genesis (Lowrance only). I have mapped out a few lakes in there entirety and the results are amazing. And around here, I'm noticing more and more users contributing to the social maps.

It's not a moral issue for me. Its a greed issue. I want more fish to catch in the furture. And I agree, in a properly managed water, it is about studies, research and stats. Unfortunately, around here the CDFW is a bit of a joke.

Yeah but when you have 50 boat tournaments each day of the weekend on a 1500 acre lake hammering bedding fish, seems like some damage is being done. Especially considering the fish are going in the livewell. I don't sight fish bedding fish and honestly wouldn't mind lakes being closed a few weeks around the major spawn.

That's not good I guess Casitas didn't get much love this winter.

I came across this document by the EPA on Los Angeles area lakes. Pretty impressive study. https://www3.epa.gov/region9/water/tmdl/la-lakes/LALakesTMDLsEntireDocument.pdf