schplurg

She may be small but she's beautiful to me! After 6 skunky trips (from the bank) I finally got one. First of 2022 First Winter bass ever (maybe two months earlier than previous date) First jerk bait bass ever First fish from this pond Bonus: First crappie ever (Ya I've only been fishing 3-4 years) I did a lot of walking and hiking man - 6 trips with nothing - driving, hiking, looking for legal parking, cold. Most were bigger lakes too. It's a tough area for bass, at least for me. You don't have to suffer through watching that though, The video should start at the cast and catch. And ya I get a little excited sometimes. Every year it takes me many trips to catch my first and I always worry after awhile that I never will. I went to this pond thinking that after many sunny days in a row the water must have warmed some and maybe they'd be more active. Plus the pond is small. If there are fish here they will see my bait. Caught another here a few days later. I won't fish here very much, it's small. Saw lots of small fish though so that made me feel good. Let's see your first catch of the year, vid, photo! Thought it was a snag at first.

I'm being more guarded about many of my fishing locations in my videos now. Sure there are secret spots, but they aren't at the local pond, or to be found by boat in Clear Lake. They are found on rivers and creeks by people like myself who are willing to hack through brush and do some hiking to get there. If you are adventurous enough you can carve out your own spot. It may be a long hike, or only a few hundred yards upstream from a known spot, but if I had to hack away brush and branches to get there I can be sure nobody else has been there for at least a little while. Someone else may discover my trail afterwards but yes, it is possible to find new virtually unknown locations, at least in that sense. I'm sure 98% of fishermen aren't willing to do it. I showed a video of me hiking and exploring here and many commenters said "no way I'd do that", which is why I do! Maybe there are "secret" spots on lakes...structure down deep etc. I know a spot at my Dad's lake where I catch 4 and 5 pounders right off the dock, and I almost always catch something. I watch the Wednesday night tourney guys blow right past it every time. I may have to do that tourney one day.

I don't think I have any.

What else is there to do?

I hiked 3/4 mile back to my truck after an evening of bank fishing and realized I'd left my rods at the pond. I hiked all the way back with no rods and didn't notice. I remember taking videos of the sunset and next thing ya know....ya.

I've used my machete to hack my way to "new" spots on the creek. They couldn't have been reached before I hacked, so I figure nobody has fished the spot in at least a year or two. Sometimes these spots don't take a lot of work to get to. Often when you're walking around looking for spots you may see a good piece of water but no easy way to reach it. Too many bushes. That's where Mr. Machete comes in handy! I'm like Indiana Jones except without the hat, cool whip and hot chicks. Even though I have a brand new kayak I still love river and creek fishing.

Two of my rules on fishing day especially when far from the van or home: 1. never eat food I wouldn't normally eat. I don't want surprises! Don't choose fishing day to experiment with my diet! 2. be prepared so that if a problem does rear its ugly head I don't necessarily need to leave to solve it. I leave that to each individual to solve, just be as ecological as you can about it! Most frustrating so far: I guess a couple years ago when my back went out after hiking half way around the lake. Like eventual emergency room bad. That was painfully frustrating.

Still looking for my first yak trip this year. My go to Tulloch next week or sumthin. At least it's easy access and I have a good chance of catching there. Went there two weeks ago and the lake was empty (of boats) and full (water). I've fished 5 times locally in South Bay area and skunked so far this year. I never catch this early here.

An RC boat could do that I guess. But you need to be able to cast that far to get the fish.

You're doin right by not using them!

Aaah but their logo is a lower-case f! They got you either way!

The owl had it too for a sec! One thing I love about fishing. Sometimes it's the small things that make fishing what it is. Yesterday 5 geese/ducks flew right in front of me while I stood on the bank. I was hidden from their view as they approached from my right I guess. I was startled because they were so close. Head-mounted GoPro got the smooth and well framed video, as always. They landed maybe 100 feet from me - love watching them glide to a stop on the water. Showing off! Photos don't do it justice, the closest bird was within reach if I'd jumped for it. Closer than they look - 8 feet max from the one top-left. Could hear the air whooshing. Honk honk! This guy was not impressed by my fishing that day. Making sure my GoPro wasn't edible.

I'm still a rookie but I'm going to say no, not really. I don't see you getting a good solid color and having it be cost effective. I could be wrong.

I guess I handle skunking pretty well or I'd have quit long ago. So far this year I've fished 4 times (all in the past week) without a bite. From the bank, local lakes in the south bay (which sucks). Of course it's winter still. I've had extended periods with no catches. It can be a downer - seriously bad one year - but so far I'm still here.

Ya the main river looks a little big for me, plus too far to pedal to any of the smaller areas from there I noticed. I'm still new to yakking so I stick to tighter areas...so far Mossdale, and area I'm familiar with. Striper fishing right now should be good!

Yep. I have one or two very long posts here regarding Amazon reviews and companies offering me free products for so-called "honest reviews". Hint: honesty isn't really what they want.

If the battery dies you're going to freeze. With proper warm clothing you won't have that concern. If the heat enhances the already warm clothing then maybe, but relying mainly on electric heat to keep you properly warm sounds like a bad idea.

Boston.

Yes, the Neil Young line in the "Alabama" song is not a shot at Young at all. They loved Neil Young. Anyone interested should look it up because I thought the same thing until a few years ago.

This is the only site I found with any info. Could be legit, could not, no idea. There are 3 bad reviews at the bottom of this page. https://www.scamdoc.com/view/313422

Me too.

Thanks guys. I checked a map and realized how close I was to so many boat launches too - for future kayak trips. All kinds of familiar marinas and areas I went to as a kid. Turns out I'm not going after all but I will be going there soon, probably repeatedly. I saw the ramp right there in Rio Vista on google maps too. There's a street view shot right at the top of the ramp.

I will be working two days in Rio Vista next week, wondering if anyone knows a few spots for bank fishing. Stripers or bass, well known spots or not. I just want to get a line wet for the first time this year. Looking for shore access.

I think using a toolbox is a great idea. I see no reason to have an open-air box like my milk crate, lid or not.