OCdockskipper

This conversation has some real deja vu to it. How many conversations have there been about older athletes who are performing at peak or near peak levels and seem to not be aging, only to have a PED scandal show itself soon thereafter? Please note that I am not accusing Brady of doping up. There is no evidence that he ever has and he certainly has the body that more resembles the Pillsbury dough boy than that of a body builder. I am only bringing up the fact of how often we have been down a road that very much resembles this one. Then again, he does have a reputation for cheating and has shown signs of roid rage in the past...

Back in the late 70's, my parents had a house on Canyon Lake in Southern California. At a time I was just learning how to fish for bass, California was in the middle of a historic drought. Canyon Lake was lower than it ever had been with many homeowners docks now sitting on dry land or just inches of water. That winter, storm after storm pummeled the area and by February, the lake was full and water was flowing at a heavy rate over the dam. Since I was just a beginner, the variances were extreme for me. When the lake was at its lowest, fishing was really good because the bass were concentrated on the diminishing amount of structure & cover. The first year after the lake returned to full pool was actually a little more difficult (for a beginner), for now there were so many more targets with the same amount of fish. The second year at full pool is when the explosion began, for all of the smaller fish had been able to hide for a year and increase the survival rate. As team9nine said, the fishery then took off for another 3-4 years, mostly based on that one year of increased survival rate.

A couple of off-shoot thoughts on this topic: There was an episode of "Madmen" that was set in the early 1960's. The Draper family was on a picnic at a scenic site near a stream. As they go to leave, Don Draper finishes his beer, crunches the can & throws it in the stream. His wife picks up the picnic blanket and just shakes all the trash and food remnants on to the shoreline. It was kind of a throwaway look back to what was normal for many people back in that time, but is odd to see today. The comic strip "The Far Side" had a strip one time where a bear backed a truck full of trash up to the window of a home & dumped all the trash inside it, with the homeowner looking shocked that anyone would dare throw garbage where someone else lived. From one of Steve Martin's comedy albums - "Before I go, let me leave you with a piece of advice my father gave me that I will never forget: Always- no, never- no, always keep a litter bag in your car. It won't take up much room, an if it gets full, you can always just... throw it out the window."

As a small business owner myself, I totally agree with this. If I can't offer something of value to the customer that they can't get from a larger competitor, then why am I in business? Typically, a smaller company can outmaneuver a larger company as far as expertise and certain kinds of service. When it comes to buying a pack of Senko's, those potential advantages are for naught. When a product becomes a commodity, the larger companies with buying advantages will (& should) win. It has been my experience that to continue to stay in business, I need to adjust and do the things that big companies aren't good at. Oddly enough, sometimes it is nothing more than simply returning a phone call promptly or actually looking a customer in the eye & listening to them when they have a question. Not all purchases are 100% rational decisions, people often choose who they want to buy from based on emotion or feelings.

Except they make it out of a different material...

I keep a log for all the fishing I do on my home lake and for the 2nd year in a row, the Ned rig was my top producer (I first used it April of 2015, so it is 2 for 2 as yearly chanp). Zman Shroomz heads fitted with TRD's, Hula Stickz or Finesse Shadz accounted for 34% of the bass I caught, outproducing the number 2 & 3 baits combined (Stickbaits & Texas rigged worms). In addition to numbers, they produced the second largest bass of the year (8 lbs even), a couple of big catfish (14-6 & 11-2) and even a 7 lb carp. Despite all that, after I read the BassMaster article this month featuring Ned himself, I think I still have a lot to learn about the system. I get a little too caught up in only fishing one of the Ned versions while out or only fishing it a certain way (usually hop & shake). As great as this bait & system has been for me personally, I get the feeling that I am only picking off the low hanging fruit and that there are a lot more fish out there for the taking if I expanded my repertoire. I know some folks think the Ned rig is nothing more than a grub on a small jig head, but the nuances of the baits & the system make all the difference in the world. I would highly recommend following the advice given by those who have refined the system and as opposed to just throwing together what you think would work and then wondering what all the fuss is about when your results are not above average.

July 19th (a Tuesday). I took the day off work to take a friend of mines sister fishing. She was visiting from out of state and he couldn't get off work. We caught 60 fish, including an 8-0 on a Ned rig (ZMan TRD) in the first 30 minutes and a 5-5 later on skipping a Senko under a dock. She had never seen a bass over 4 lbs before, so those fish were memorable for her. She was interested in learning some of the techniques I use, so I was able to teach her both of the aforementioned methods. Bonus was she caught fish as she learned them while I played guide for the day.

I think ice cream and ketchup are two of the best foods in the world, but when you combine them, notsomuch. Some things, like some people, are better off not married...

Even though I already have a BASS membership, I too received a complimentary membership issue today. It was mailed to my work address instead of my home address, so I am assuming that is why I didn't come up in their records as already being a member. On the label, it says "N/D18", so I am assuming it is a 2 year membership that expires with the November/December 2018 issue. I may call BASS and see if they can freeze the remaining years of my original membership and have them start it back up when this complimentary one ends. I wonder who came to who with this marketing program. Did BPS do it to drive continued interest in the activities that use the products they sell in their stores or did BASS do it to drive up circulation numbers?

For some reason, "moof milker" reminds me of the phrase "Hoof Hearted"...

I remembered the opening scene was with C3PO & R2D2, but I wasn't sure if the latters beeps & whistles preceded C3PO talking.

C3PO?

Morning for me, although it may have a lot to do with my location. Being in a desert close to the ocean, many of our days begin with cloudy skies that clear up late morning & lead to bluebird skies the rest of the day. That scenario also leads to very few people on the water in the morning and tons of pleasure cruisers in the afternoon & evening.

I like the description that the Star Wars saga (all seven movies) were about the Skywalker family and their relationship with Obi-Wan Kenobi. This description fits future movies no matter if it turns out that Rey is the child of a Skywalker or of Obi-wan. If Rey is a Skywalker, then it continues a tradition in that family where the men are whiny, talented pilots with a great connection to the Force (Anikan, Luke & Kylo) and the women have less of a connection to the Force, but are mentally tougher and pragmatic (Padame, Leia, Rey). If Rey is a Kenobi, then it continues a tradition of Skywalkers getting their butt whipped by Kenobi's in light saber battles...

If one chooses to drop a bass back in the water from a standing height, I believe it would be beneficial if they were dropped head first. If they enter the water in that direction and go down a couple of feet, there is a rush of water through their gills, not unlike pulling a fish through the water to revive them. I have no scientific proof to back it up, but common sense says that would be less detrimental than the fish entering the water backwards or slapping the surface on its side.

6" Zoom Dead Ringer in Green Pumpkin with part of the tail dipped in chartreuse dye. Texas Rigged with a 1/0 Mister Twister keeper hook and and a 1/8 oz tungsten weight on 8lb Nanofil with an 8lb P-line fluorocarbon leader. Weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz.

I find that chastising companies for who sponsors or advertises with them to be a slippery slope. Do you choose to never watch ABC because they ran a Hillary or Trump ad? Companies are in business to make money, not be forced to be moral arbitrators of our society. If the product is legal, then who am I to discriminate against them having the right to advertise their products like other companies? I don't have to buy their products, that is punishment enough. I do agree with you on releasing fish. I do understand that flipping a fish back into the water from a standing position may not hurt them, but it is awful optics. It makes the angler look as if he has total disdain for his prey, pitching it the same way you would a piece of trash into a garbage pail. BASS pro David Walker wrote an article defending the practice, but his actions show a hypocrisy. When David Walker is penalized for bringing a dead fish to a weigh-in, he goes above & beyond trying to keep those fish alive. He doesn't just toss them in the live well or weigh in bag. Only when there is no penalty for potential damage to a fish (when he releases them), does his attitude change as to their handling.

Happens quite often if the largemouth are schooling and you are using a lure that is difficult for them to choke. Countless times with jerkbaits & walking surface lures I have had other largemouth trying to take it from the hooked ones mouth.

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I'm not sure but Buddy the Elf told me they smell like beef & cheese...

I would suggest the ramp. I tried to launch once up at the clubhouse & I ended up dropping my boat on a squirrel. Another good location to launch from is that island out in the middle of the lake. What you do is hire a helicopter to lift your truck & boat out to the island & then launch from the north shore. Don't try to launch from the south shore, it too is infested by squirrels.

While we are not as cold compared to most of you (high 40's to low 70's), here in Southern California, he have been getting hammered the last 24 hours with Santa Ana winds. These are winds that originate in Utah & Nevada and pick up intensity as they head towards the ocean. The direction of our daily breezes are offshore, from the ocean to inland, so these Santa Ana events flip everything around. Worse, we actually had a full day of rain on Friday. Softens up the ground, so when the Santa Ana winds blow, a bunch of trees fall over at the base. One fell on top of a wedding party at a park as they were posing for pictures (not a good ***...).

Keep in mind that you can catch bass with the "wrong" lure in the right location, but you can't catch any with the "right" lure in the wrong location. For me, when I am starting the day, I am switching up lures & locations at the same time pretty quickly. As the day progresses and I have figured some things out, the process changes. I typically will have lure selection down to one or two and will move away from locations if they don't produce.

Congratulations!! You know Finn will be an easy to get along with child, he chose to come into the world in time to still let you grab dinner later and then get a good nights sleep as opposed to making you stay up until 3 in the morning for his arrival. Plus he is giving you a full years tax deduction for 2 weeks worth of care. Very thoughtful child!! Best to you & his mother.

I am not doubting your experience with Nanofil, but something doesn't sound right about it. I use 8 & 10 lb Nanofil with Pline Flurocarbon leaders on all of my spinning setups. The leader knot is the Crazy Alberto & I put some super glue on it to lessen abrasion as it goes through the guides (many other people on this site believe that step is not needed). Not only do the knot & line hold on hooksets, they have held up landing multiple bass over 7 lbs and a couple dozen catfish over 10 lbs. I'm not trying to get you to rethink your line choice, just letting you know that what you experienced is not the normal for Nanofil when used correctly.