schplurg

I guess you could sink the destroyed motor and say it was stolen "Ya they stole my motor and they scratched up the bottom of my hull real bad somehow doin' it!"

Sounds like you need an anchor. Power Poles would be nifty, but a good ol' anchor works well. Cool boat. Hey also some things just take a little time to get used to. First time I casted a baitcaster wasn't fun. But now I'm sort of okay with one hehe. Give it more time. And get an anchor.

Does Douglas Lake have a speed limit? I looked but couldn't find info. I've gone over 100 mph in boats twice in my life, not driving either time. They were both boats my Dad manufactured back in the 60s and 70s in San Jose. One was a drag boat on the Delta, the other the family v-drive on Trinity. On that second one we buried the tach on that big block motor. Thrilling and scary. 100 mph in a car seems like nothing compared to a boat. 100 in a boat is scary. Heck I did 110 in my minivan when I bought it. No problem. I'd say a boat feels 3 times faster. Nobody should be going anywhere near that speed on an open public lake. I would assume bass tourney participants must follow the rules of the water.

That wasn't me you quoted

Actually to avoid the hikes at New melones I will probably bring my kayak next time. Worried about the tendinitis but I could maybe just fish around the house boats and that cove. Launch fee included with the campsite. Can't beat it for $22 a night.

6 bucks for three weights? Frack no.

I haven't seen this mentioned enough times so I will repeat it: Raise rod tip up high! With the baitcaster, that action of raising the tip up high as your bait skips will keep the spool from overrunning as the bait slows down on the water. That with some thumb action - even a baitcasting novice like me can do it. Problem is sometimes I space out and forget to do one or both of these Practice with a spinning setup.

It was fine, I didn't really want to fish over there. I probably will next time though, I just didn't think bass would be there right then. Me and my cousin took a drive there and I thought about fishing it. The only spot really close to water is what looks like a new launch area for the low water level. Which leads me to the big bummer - these lakes are only getting lower. Melones is down 80 feet. My folks and sister want me to move to Oregon. I don't really want to but if the drought stuff keeps getting worse there's little reason to stay. As an angler anyways, my opinion. This is sad. At least the Delta is "full". I can just leave the awning off so I can drive. I may go back in a week, long hikes and all. I just don't know where else to go that is so cheap. We did drive to a few spots. The worst hike up the hill was the first one in the video. The other spots were manageable. I'd like to camp at the Delta but Turtle Beach wants $48 a night for a tent spot. No thanks. Gotta be cheaper somewhere. Anyone know of reasonable Delta camping?

Video of the New Melones trip. Water was loooow. Then again, it is a deep lake I don't make money off my Youtube channel btw. Just for fun. I'm a dork.

That's why 4 days worth of video ends up as a 30 minute video

By the way that is a screengrab from a GoPro video. Got the whole thing - cast, my shock, cussing, bait retrieval, on video. For what it's worth LOL. Wasn't even trying for the shot. Whatever I look at gets on video. Sometimes it's interesting.

The most embarrassing thing is that it snuck up on me just yesterday as well! Same tree branch! I'm actually standing on the tree trunk. The tree fell awhile ago and stretches across the creek. It's one of my spots. I was going for "Ultimate Distance" and it got me. Thankfully I didn't have my baitcaster.

You know what pushed my buttons today? This tree snuck right up behind me as I was casting. 10 Internet Points to the first person to name the bait.

I am prepared for such an event, whether in a boat or bank fishing.

Teach them not to litter.

If you're just going to thumb the real and yank, my method is a little different, especially with spinning gear. I grab the thick part of the rod and the line in one hand, holding the line against the rod so it doesn't slip, then pull and break. If I can't keep the line from moving this way I will grab something to wrap the line around. Stick, whatever. I don't ever rely on the strength of the reel, drag or rod to do the job.

Chesbro is my nemesis. I lived two miles from it and rarely caught anything. Uvas is much nicer just to look at, and yes it has way better bass. Still tough though. Went to the creek this week and caught a few. Saw some on beds. Went yesterday and saw no sign of any fish. Well I did see carp racing around, and I mean they were moving fast. Will go again this evening.

Uvas Res in Morgan Hill. Park anywhere along the road, or park by the dam and cross it, take the path around the backside of the lake. Water is pretty low everywhere. Calero could be okay, but not sure about parking on the road. Parking lot is probably $6. I'd just park there.

You can catch bass with any rod and reel. Have fun first, add to your arsenal as you can. You'll learn a lot here. Kick back and enjoy the ride!

Yep looks like a spot. Thanks! Next trip to somewhere will be in a week or two. Whole point of the van thing was to get me out to better waters which are farther from home. The campgrounds and lake were practically deserted. That was definitely cool.

I hope never to see a drone while I'm fishing. I did find a destroyed one in a lake last summer. The water level was dropping and it had been underwater. Made me laugh. If it is quiet and high than I won't know the difference but I'd rather not encounter them when fishing. I think they could be somehat useful though.

Got back from New Melones today. Great trip!!! Caught my first spotted bass, I think. Is this a spot? Can you tell from this? A few of them had spots on their tongue. Biggest was about 2 pounds. A few of them were very fat. Also my first bed fish. They were right on shore hanging out, and it took a lot to catch one. The campgrounds were great. Stayed at Glory Hole. One huge problem....the water is 80 feet low and the place I camped had some very steep terrain (and was well above the full waterline as well). Thought I was gonna have a heart attack climbing back up the hill the first night. It was really steep man. But I found better ways up and down after that. Because of that I did not fish as much as I would have. It's also early in the season for me and I haven't hiked yet, so I'm a little out of shape. Van camping was great. Bed was awesome. My cousin came for a night. It was beautiful there. Kayak would have been the way to go and next time I will use mine. Weather was perfect. Great trip! Thanks to everyone for all the great help!!! Still looking for more places!

Was fishing this weekend and a guy appeared from around a point I was on. Slowly bank fishing his way toward me. Watched him catch a fish a few hundred yards from me. This thread entered my mind. I was grumbling to myself..."He sees me right? Dude go away...." I made eye contact and said "how's it goin?". He asked if he could cast and fish through, and I said "Ya go ahead", a little grudgingly. He didn't pick up on that and I'm glad. Sometimes when I'm out fishing alone it takes a second to remember how to be social. I'm there with my own thoughts and suddenly someone intrudes on that - it takes a second to snap out of it. But they aren't intruding - it's usually just some other hack out there trying to figure out what the bass want. Nothing sinister. I didn't really want him to fish there, and I had caught fish here the day before, but he asked politely and I wasn't cacthing anyways. We talked for a few, he told me he was catching them with a jerk bait and that it's the only bait he brought. He was catching fish, I was not. Really nice guy. He came back by a little later and said he caught two more. I was too tired to try anything different by then, but I feel like any info would be helpful on a lake I've never fished before. This was New Melones, a very large lake, and I didn't see another soul fishing all week long. Was weird. Maybe one or two boats of any kind. I was on a point of a huge lake and all alone. What's there to be upset about? He could have been someone from this forum for all I know. If you see me fishing, say hi.

I've been thinking about this recently and I don't think I care whether they are foam or cork, outside of aesthetics. Why? Because I never use the things outside of casting. Most of the time I have the reel in my hand and there is no grip there. Comfort is not a thing whatsoever. I can cast with either.

I have never had such encounters with anyone yet it sounds like you have them all the time. I must be doing something wrong. As for being annoyed by people talking to me while I'm fishing.....never happened. I'm pretty friendly and I do like to fish alone, but wow yeah, go ahead and say hi to me. Ask me what I'm doing. If I don't want to talk I may tell you that or let you know that politely. Probably not. I've weighed fish for kids before, talked about bait, got advice I didn't need. What a nightmare!!!