OCdockskipper

One parameter I made for myself as far as choosing where to live involves traffic. If you are going to move to a populous area or city, make your choice based on weather. All areas with large populations have horrible traffic problems, it is a responsibility of local governments to correct but rarely seems to be a priority. If you are going to move to a more rural area, then make your choice based on amenities and lifestyle. Traffic will not be an issue. For example, I have a sister who lives in a rural part of Texas, an hour plus outside of Austin. It is a beautiful place and I could see myself moving there. However, i would have to move THERE, not Austin itself. Why? Because Austin has all of the downsides that Southern California has (traffic, overcrowding, crime in certain locales) without the benefit of near perfect weather. It would make no sense to move from So Cal to Austin just to be closer to what I like, but not actually there and have to put up with the weather issues in addition to the population issues. As for weather, what works for you is a personal choice. Really hot weather wipes me out if I have to work in it while my wife doesn't do well in really cold weather, so So Cal, with its lack of extremes, works for us as a couple.

There are about 20 of these common areas around the lake, the remaining shoreline is all private property. The only people who are legally allowed to fish from these areas are the property owners. There was no one in that area when I made my first few casts, but when the man drove up, I stopped moving down the bank as a courtesy until I knew whether or not he was fishing or just going up to the clubhouse. Once I saw he had a rod & reel, I was going to pull away, what I found funny was his reaction not knowing I was going to do this. Are you suggesting that common areas such as these should be off limit to those fishing from boats? Obviously, I make a wide berth around them if a person is fishing there, but it is part of the lake & is open to all fisherman. I get the impression you believe that I shouldn't have made casts there. If that is true, then does the same apply to boat docks, launch ramps or retaining walls? For the record, I only fish those areas when no one is there as well.

This one has always been important to me and I had a funny situation pertaining to it last weekend. It was about 45 minutes past sunrise & I was the only person on the upper end of the lake. I approached a designated shore fishing area in my boat, it is about 70 yards long, with a wrought iron fence extending into the water on one side & the boat ramp on the other. Since no one was there, I made a couple of casts to the wrought iron. As I began moving towards the boat ramp, a guy pulled up in a truck. I thought he might be a fisherman and since I could fish elsewhere & he was stuck to the shore, I waited a moment to make sure before I continued towards the launch ramp. The man, about 50 years old or so, literally grabbed a rod out of the back of his truck and sprinted to the shore to make a cast to the launch ramp before I could get there. It was such a D-Bag move that I just laughed out loud and turned the boat away from the area to fish some adjoining docks that were beyond casting range of the shore fishing area. Of course, when I hooked up twice while in sight of Mr. Track & Field, I made sure to play the fish as long as I could, encouraging them to jump & tailwalk...

I'm curious, where would you find a bunch of peanuts banded together? Be careful if you decide to eat them, I heard they might give you plantar fasciitis...

Grew up in densely populated suburbs, but was fortunate to have a couple hundred acres of undeveloped land out our backyard for my first 10 years and my parents buy a second home on the water out at Canyon Lake following that. Both of those areas allowed a suburban kid to play as if he was out in the country. I have lived in Orange County my entire life, moving south in it as the county grew. While there are some nice things about living in Southern California and reasons that keep us anchored here, I do enjoy visiting my sisters who live in rural areas of Georgia & Texas respectfully. Most likely I will retire in a more rural area, preferably in the South.

Zoom 6" Dead Ringer, green pumpkin, 1/8th oz T-Rig (8lbs, 4 oz) Roboworm 6" straight tail, Aarons Magic, 1/8th oz T-Rig (8lbs, 2 oz) Zman 2.5" TRD, Cal Craw, 1/16 oz (8lbs, 0 oz) Zman 2.5" TRD, green pumpkin, 1/16 oz (7lbs 6 oz) Yamamoto 5" Senko, green pumpkin, wacky rigged weightless (7lbs, 6 oz) All fish were Northern strain largemouth, caught from the same 100 acre lake, all on the same side of the lake (although none were caught from the same spot). The top three were summertime fish, caught in the early morning, while #4 was a springtime fish and #5 was caught in the fall.

I guess I fall under the grumpy old man category, however I think much of it comes from living in a highly populated urban area (3.5 million people in about 950 square miles, which works out to over 3500 people per EVERY square mile). In this environment, I really appreciate manners because rudeness will always affect multiple people. Whether it being opening a door for another person or letting them merge while driving in traffic, myself and many others do our best to be considerate of others. Then there are the minority who don't, who are so self absorbed that their focus is entirely on themselves and they really don't care how their actions affect others. Now I will be the first to admit we have a larger percentage of the self absorbed group here in Southern California, there is something about great weather and an overpriced housing market that attracts these types of folks. I and many of the other type of folks interact with these people multiple times on a daily basis and use them as a reminder to not act that way. It is not illegal the way these people act, just inconsiderate. Just because one has the right to do something doesn't mean it is right to do it. So that is the reason I appreciate it when someone chooses to not impose their music, whether it be Rock, Classical, Country-Western or Polka, on me when we are sharing a body of water.

Is that the Frabill model or a different one?

Boat stereos should be for ski boats or pontoon boats only, they are as annoying as their owners. Another vote for earbuds. Repeat after me, "No one else is interested in listening to your music". Plus a speaker system built into or touching your hull transmits vibrations into the water. Ok if you are trying to catch heavy metal hair fish, notsomuch for other species.

Based on the length and looking at the picture, I'd say 6lbs. She has the bulk to be over 5lbs but really doesn't have the big head & shoulders you typically see on 7 or 8lb fish. Then again, I have never caught any bass north of Missouri, so I don't know if the carpetbaggers have the same look as their rebel (non-Florida) cousins as they get larger. As for the picture, you should have told everyone that it was taken just as a total eclipse was starting to darken the area...

Last December, we had one day where the air temperature dropped into the 40's & I had to wear a jacket...

In addition to wanting to make sure I have on hand what the fish want, I think I carry a bunch of tackle to vary things up and avoid monotony. For example, when I am catching fish mainly on a T-rig plastic worm, I find myself wishing that the fish were more active and would chase down a moving bait. When I am getting bit on a jerkbait, I eventually get tired of continually working the bait and wish the fish would eat something that doesn't require such an active presentation. When the Ned rig is loading the boat, I often wish they would hit something where I could feel the strike. Then when I get some topwater action, I find myself looking forward to the fishing some bait with a better strike/landing ratio. In other words, all that tackle keeps me happy

I use 1/15 a huge majority of the time, even when I have fished streams with current in Texas & Colorado. The only time I use the heavier weights is if I am fishing in water over 10 feet & I want to bump along the bottom to imitate a small crawdad. In that scenario, although I am using a TRD, I don't consider it a Ned rig because of the way I am fishing it (feeling it bumping along the bottom). It is more like a small sized, open hook shakey head than a Ned rig when fished liked that. I also have grown fond of skipping TRD's under docks (instead of wacky rigged Senko's) and have found that the 1/15 skip better than the heavier weights (as well as quieter). I even bought a bag of Big TRD's specifically for this technique and they have a niche using the 1/15 head (bigger profile with a slower drop). Again though, I wouldn't call either of these setups a Ned rig, they are just finesse jigs using Ned rig components used to skip docks.

You could always move to Southern California and fish. No pickerel, but the real estate prices here will make you cringe.

Place them behind your ears, under your arms, in your pants - anywhere you have body hair. In about 4 hours, the hair will absorb the moisture. A side benefit is many of the worms will gain a scent as they lose moisture.

Congrats!! In addition to helping you improve in the future, that information can be fun to look back upon down the road. It often triggers memories and other fond recollections from past outings.

I believe that is a Jackall Gantarel Jr. in the Spawn Gill color. You see, I was around the corner from you and had just made a cast when I noticed you eyeballing my glide bait. You didn't grab it, but later on I caught a 5 year old child and a Great Blue Heron using the same technique.

I was fishing a small lake with 2 friends about 30 years ago during a warm summer day. There was a hump with a brush pile on it about 20 yards from the shore in a cove & it was loaded with bass. So that all three of us would not be on top of each fishing the same spot, I walked around the side of the cove and waded out a bit in order to make my casts at a 90 degree angle to theirs. I was about waist deep in the water and had caught a couple of fish on a Texas rigged plastic worm. I made another cast and immediately the line began to move off. I reeled down, reared back and had completely forgot that my hands were still wet from the previous fish I caught. The rod slipped right out of my grip as the bass pulled it toward deeper water. Instinctively, I dove under the water. Visibility was about 2 feet as I swam forward looking around. After about 20 seconds underwater, I saw the bright yellow fluorescent Stren Line and grabbed it. I surfaced, and followed the line back to the Diawa Millionaire combo. As I reeled in the slack, I found that the bass was still on the line. As I landed the fish, my buddies on the shoreline were busting up laughing and gave me a standing ovation.

Good idea, but to paraphrase Sheriff Brodie "We need a bigger wall"...

The ones that give off a brown scent trail will only catch catfish...

For me, the whopper plopper lets you know really quick whether the bass are willing to chase are not. If they are in a shy or reclusive mood, it won't get a sniff. However, if they are the least bit active, they seem to hammer it. Last Saturday was an active day for me,at least for the first 90 minutes of the morning. I even had a 13lb channel catfish do his "Jaws" imitation, getting to the surface and chasing down the whopper plopper 90 like a shark running down a swimmer. It was the first time I had ever caught a channel catfish on a surface lure.

Could be, we get so few overcast days, I don't think to check the barometer to see if it is matching the low light conditions.

I believe he did, although it required some Mend-it. I don't recall if it was more or less effective after that, I was just amazed that the digestive juices of the fish really didn't alter the color or texture of the worm. I chalked it up to Roboworms being so thin & slick, it just slid right thru...

Last week, it seemed as if the bass in my home lake here in Southern California were beginning to fall into their autumn patterns. Surface temp was 73 degrees and the weather had been fairly stable, so I wasn't surprised to catch a 1/2 dozen bass on a whopper plopper during the first 90 minutes of the day (even a 13 lb catfish got in on the topwater action!!). As the day progressed, the fish stayed active, hitting jerkbaits & Ned rigs as they moved either deeper or to the shade of weedlines or docks. With that in mind, I took a look at the upcoming weather report and chose to flip my schedule around in order to fish today (Friday). A small front was forecast to move through in the morning & early afternoon and I wanted to take advantage of the daylong low light conditions. Southern California doesn't get many cloudy days in the summer & fall, but when we do, the bass typically put the feedbag on. True to form, we had a mostly cloudy day with a few sprinkles, and with the surface temp still at 73 degrees, I expected an onslaught of activity. Boy was I wrong. Despite the perfect conditions, I couldn't find any fish willing to chase. After 2 hours of rotating through baits, I had only caught 2 fish and had one other bite & miss. As I cruised by a dock, I wondered if there was any chance the fish were hanging out under the docks, even though all signs pointed that they wouldn't be. I skipped a TRD Ned rig under the dock & immediately hooked up. As the day progressed, 18 of the next 20 fish I caught were under docks, even though the sun was nowhere to be found (the other two fish were caught buried down in deep weedbed). A couple of docks gave up multiple fish, but only on casts skipped deep back under them. Casts around the perimeter of the dock were fruitless. I might have caught more for the day, but every time I went 15 minutes or so without a dock bite, I assumed the fish might be moving out, so I would experiment with other tactics. That would result in nothing, so I would go back to skipping docks & begin hooking up again. I am glad I figured out where the fish were at and how to catch them, but I have no idea why they were acting as if it were a bright sunny summer day.

This was bugging me, because I have had countless times of fighting a fish and trying to snag a sinking Roboworm shaken loose at the same time. Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that what you are saying is wrong, rather that my experience has been 100% the opposite of yours. So I grabbed a handful of used Roboworms (awaiting Mend-it repair) and put them in a bowl of water. All of mine sank, both the head & the tail and stayed there. The tail's never lifted up. These were 4.5" & 6" regular Roboworms in Aarons Magic & Orange Crusher colors (if that makes a difference). They were all used for multiple casts, however I rigged them Texas style using Mister Twister keeper hooks. Maybe the wear and tear from Texas rigging them alters their floating capabilities compared to dropshotting. I have also retrieved Roboworms after losing them, but in a different way. Once I had a smaller bass take 3 Roboworms off my hook before I finally caught him. When I got him to the boat, he coughed up the 3 worms he had stolen from me and I grabbed 2 of them before they could sink out of sight. Another time a buddy of mine caught a bass that was in the middle of pooping out an Orange Crusher worm he had apparently lost the week before.