mixel

Not sure why this thread got moved. Amount of water in the lake directly affects the bass fishing as the fish move up when the water surface expands and they seem less stressed. For the past few summers, some lakes weren't even fishable because they were so low. No boats, no fishing allowed. They even had to capture and move some fish to temp holding areas. I will say that CA gov has never been accused of being efficient caretakers of our precious resources. I agree letting the water out before the storm even arrives seems dumb. I'm pretty sure this storm is coming although the 'experts' have been wrong before. Looking at the existing models in the Pacific, it looks like a torrential downpour is headed our way. Plus the snow runoff should be amazing this spring. Currently we're at 72% of average snowpack for this time of the year. I wonder how this will affect the spawn timing?

In Central California and we are expected a record storm this weekend, possibly dumping up to 4' of snow in just two days. After a horrendous 6 year drought and lakes that were down to 20% or lower (!) capacity, this is awesome. They opened many local dams this week to let water out in anticipation of being at max capacity from this new storm. Woohoo!

That is cool. I wonder what factors come into play for them to stop manufacturing a particular lure. Is it just low sales gets the ax?

LOL that's classic.

No I don't own any of those. I just google imaged the term "swimbait storage" and those are what came up. Usually the fastest way to get ideas on something like this. You can get the threaded rods from your local hardware store. Comes in many different lengths. https://www.lowes.com/pl/Threaded-rods-Fasteners-Hardware/4294625944 Then you need a couple nuts for each end. Then drill a couple holes in your box and assemble.

It is quite confusing to remember which lure does what and I found myself having to jot notes on some paper as I clicked between the lure types as I couldn't remember which descriptions fit which lures after reading about 4 or 5. Then throw in the fact that there are five different types of DT, nine different X-raps, etc. and then throw in all the other lure companies they seem to have bought out, some of which also offer their own line of cranks, jerks, etc. It's lure overload.

Looking at the Rapala lures and there are a dizzying amount to choose from. Trying to decide which to order. BX DT Ripping Rap Scatter Rap Shad Rap Shadow Rap X-Rap Preferences and/or suggestions? I wish to add some lures for different parts of the water column from 2' to deep.

Haha touche @j bab but my bank account has to have something in it before it can be drained and lately that doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm in same boat as soflabasser. Using Ugly Stiks and Shimano reels. I have real trouble buying into the expensive rod theory in that it will actually help me catch more fish. $45 ugly works great. Reels are a different story though as I've seen poorly made reels fail fast and generally be less durable than some more expensive ones. Still, for my needs if I can keep the reel cost under $70 it is ideal for me.

Some I found online

So how do you weight large fish properly? I've read that it's bad to hold up larger bass by the mouth, without supporting their body. Puts too much pressure on their jaw. But guys I see weighing their big bass online seem to hook up these portable scales by using the hook through the grill, which the fish seem to hate, or by gripping the center lower mouth with the grips from the scale.

I had the same thought. That's pretty nuts for bank fishing to be hauling all that around, unless you're sitting in the same spot all day long and backing up the truck with the bar-b-que in the back. Would not want to carry that much weight for all the ground I try to cover.

I keep the plastics in their original packaging, and put them in one gallon zip lock bags. Not quite as easy as reaching for one in the plano box, but I'm never in that much of a hurry that I can't take the time to open a zip lock.

Way in the back of a lake in Central California, friend and I were fishing some grass beds. We look up and way high up in the sky are two beautiful bald eagles circling. All of a sudden one of them dives crazy fast towards the water and we're both thinking this is going to be so cool to watch! The eagle dives down about half way and then calls it off and goes back up to join his friend again. Must have been a false alarm for him. Then I reel up my swimbait and make another long cast. As soon as my lure hit the water, here comes Mr. Eagle again diving like a furious banshee. I realized it was my large trout looking swimbait he was after! I had visions of getting my face torn up trying to untangle a bald eagle from my lure and then landing in jail for destroying a national treasure. I reeled it in as fast as I could. This time he came down almost to the waterline before peeling off and heading back up to circle with his friend. My friend reeled up too and we promptly left that spot on the lake. Found out later they nest in one of the trees in that cove.

This.

^well I agree with The Fisher in thinking that it's highly probable this merger is going to happen. I wouldn't stress over it as you can only control what you can control. You'll just have to do more with less, or switch to cheaper gear. For prices, it's always the same for any product. Something is worth whatever consumers are willing to pay for it.

It's smart business to buy out your competitors but obviously not the best for consumers. Although this does seem like it would create a merger and a great candidate for a block by the Feds, it's not unheard of that the Feds have somehow let other mergers happen that have created monopolies. Case in point, when Adobe bought out their only competition in Macromedia before Macromedia got too big. Can't believe the Feds let that one happen. Back on topic, I agree with Darren on Sports Authority and Dicks probably have little or no bearing on this as those seemed like general sporting goods stores for soccer moms, much more so than shopping destinations hunters and fisherman.

6" Robo Worm Straight Tail - Aaron's Magic. And for more subtle presentation, I go with the 4.5" model. I've caught more fish on that worm than anything else I throw.

Straight from the source. Love it when companies chime in to questions. Thanks Big Bite Bait.

Hiking around Iceland in August, I came upon a huge river. Wondering if people fished there, I walked along the bank and found a cool fly lure near some rocks. Haven't found any bass lures though. That collection above is I hope to do some walking this summer when water levels drop. It's been a great winter so far in California and the lake levels are steadily rising.

Carry one in my vehicle, but never while I'm fishing. I carry a very small and very light knife when I'm fishing. It's all I need. And the cost of some of the better ones have gotten to ridiculous levels, especially considering when I usually only find use for 2 or 3 tools within the entire set.

I'm also looking for a backpack for shorefishing. I've been considering one of these. I google image "tactical backpack" and went from there.

Here are all the 3700 series I found where the latches in the photos appear to be the same as Elite latches. I'm not positive though. Perhaps someone can confirm if the CDS and Hydro-Flow boxes also have Elite latches? 3700 Series Boxes 3707 04 - Spinnerbaits (and/or Jigs) 3707 05 - Spinnerbaits & Buzzbaits 3707 07 - Medium Crankbaits 3707 08 - Large Crankbaits 3740 10 - Waterproof 3743 10 - Waterproof Deep 3770 00 - CDS Stowaway Utility Box 3771 00 - CDS Stowaway Utility Box (Thin) 4370 00 - Hydro-Flo Stowaway Utility Box (3700 series) 4373 00 - Hydro-Flo Stowaway Utility Box (3700 series) (Thin)

They probably could have gone bigger on the logo. ROFL.

Thanks guys. Ordered several of the 3700 Elite boxes. Now to figure out what kind of lures to fill the boxes with.