schplurg

Taking that pipe break can possibly result in more fish. I often take breaks when I'm not catching (easy to do for me!). Sometimes I'm frustrated and thinking I should just leave. That break can recharge me and change my attitude.

I've only bass fished over one winter so far and never had a bite. This year I will try again, but I'm also heading for the hills to do some creek trout fishing. I'm not sure how or where but that's the plan. Probably near Yosemite for one. Also to the Delta for stripers and whatnot. If I don't fish I'll lose my mind, especially with the lockdowns here and all that. I started fishing 3 years ago and it's all I want to do now. Anyways, for bass I'm gonna try to find deepest waters I can reach from shore. I'm also not giving up on shallower water, not at all. What choice do we bank anglers have really? Fish will come around here and there I would guess. When they do I will be there waiting for them I just noticed you're in East Bay? If that's SF Bay then delta. Also maybe some surf fishing. Don't forget about the ocean! It's a good fishery I hear

I started carrying only one rod on the banks plus a telescopic one in my backpack. I have caught many bass with it. It's just a BPS $20 telescopic with a Trion reel on it. I used to carry two full rods but ya, sometimes it's great leaving the backpack on and covering water. One day when I had two rods I put my baitcaster in the front pocket of my shorts. I was just goofing around for the video but I actually fished and walked around like that for an hour or so. Lame ya maybe haha. But I caught my record number of fish at that lake that evening! I live in a tough fishing area so it's not at all unusual to skunk. Skunking that long though was a learning experience for me in many ways. I'm still pretty new so I also expect to fail a lot. Everyone else here at BR catches bass so I'm obviously doing something wrong, I figured. But it was grueling. But that's the point - you have to earn it. I can't remember if the OP is new-ish to fishing or not. If so then I'm just trying to suggest ways to cope with an extended skunk. Bottom line to me is if it ceases to be fun then find another hobby. I had serious doubts when skunking, it was rough on my confidence for sure! Maybe getting through that first big drought is what makes or breaks it for someone. I knew I'd catch again eventually, and I'm now much more confident than ever. I'm going to get into trout fishing this winter and hike around and stream fish. I may suck at that too for awhile, but I can't wait to go the the Sierras and just be on the road fishing for days at a time. Life is an adventure!

I considered putting a trolling motor on my yak, but at that point I think I'd rather just do a jon or aluminum boat. For the cost of a pedal drive yak I can buy a used jon boat and put in a casting deck, trolling motor, and clean it up nice for a lot less money. There's little maintenance, no more than a yak with a motor. And here you have to register a yak if it has any motor at all, so you can't escape that. The only real difference is the trailer, which has maintenance and reg costs, but is easier to launch with, at a ramp of course. For me, loading a yak, putting in the motor, my fishfinder is no easier than launching a boat. Different, but not easier, especially on my fragile back. I want to stand too, but more so I can move around and not be confined to my seat all day. It's very comfy but I hate being confined when grabbing my gear, twisting behind me for stuff, or tying on a bait. I really don't enjoy that aspect very much and I get frustrated. I also want hands free control of my boat so I can fish, and I want the motor in front. For those reasons I will buy/build a boat as soon as I can. To the OP - you have a $200 yak. May as well keep it if you have space, even if you get a boat. I probably will. You can always sell it for what you paid for it. Borrow or rent a jon boat if you can. That will help you make your decision more than anything else.

That sucks. At least the boat is okay. Be very scary if someone (like me) was in the truck when that happened. Now, that boat in the background looks just a bit sketchy! What in the holy heck is that?

I didn't catch a single fish for months at the start of this year. I reminded myself of some things to get over the doubt I was feeling..... Fishing is supposed to be challenging, at least I think it is. If I caught 10 pounders every day it would be boring to me. I don't like to skunk, but I know the next catch will be that much sweeter. Once I "figured out" the place I was fishing I was killin' em, but it took time. I think of it as a puzzle, or a video game you need to figure out. The object: Find The Fish. Learning to fish is an adventure so I try and enjoy the ride no matter what. It's all a part of it. I can get frustrated when I have to retie, or get a wind knot. I'm not very patient sometimes. It's in my DNA I guess. It's like I feel I need to rush or I'll miss a bite. Maybe it's a kind of anxiety. I consciously tell myself to take a few breaths and just take my time. "Tie the knot, schplurg, you'll get better at it and one day you won't care" My gawd, what is more a part of fishing that tying knots and not catching fish? Persistence pays off with fishing. You may not notice it, but after a few years of bass fishing I can look back and realize that I've improved tremendously and consistently in that time, especially this last year. Finally, I also use a GoPro and video every trip I make, and almost every catch. But when I'm not catching I enjoy shooting video of wildlife I may see or other stuff, and I compile those into videos as well.

Haven't been fishing long enough to have many stories but I had a sort of funny one last week. Fishing a shallow creek, I had a T-rigged worm in about 18 inches of water. I could see it 15 feet or so off shore sitting on the bottom. I was busy talking to my camera (I record all my fishing, including this event) I saw a duck coming from my left, just swimming along. It approached my line and I thought the duck might get tangled, so at the last second I reeled in a little line. The duck saw the worm move directly beneath it and dove for it! I reeled even faster and got the bait out of the water. The duck continued searching for the worm for 15 seconds, looking down, swimming in circles a couple of times, then wandered off. "I'm sure I saw a worm down there! What the..." That's the part I think is funny, at least when I watch the video. Glad I didn't hook the poor thing.

Blanchard does use the KVDs. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X5AYZUS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=gregbl-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00X5AYZUS&linkId=4f58a79694f17823aac8c3240d2aa01e

That's what these look like. Solid I mean. I can't remember the brand.

Seems like a good way to play around with the scent would be to find a shallow area where you can see fish and watch how they react, maybe before and after scent. There are places near me where I could do this from shore, like in 2 feet of water, but next year Thanks!

I'm new at using backing and had an issue trying to figure out how much backing to spool on my spinning reel (purpose is to save line). Sometimes when I cast my line gets caught on the knot while coming off the spool, right toward the end of my cast. Obviously I used too much backing and the knot is exposed. Do you guys just guess on how much backing to use, or are you that familiar with your reels, or do you measure out line somehow and go by the reel specs? Like if a reel holds 150 yds of 8 pound mono you could figure out how much feet of backing you'd need. Maybe use the reels feet-per-turn to measure as you crank? With this reel I now know about how much backing to use due to my own trial and error. Next time I'll get it right. Just curious.

My Toyota Tacoma finally died and I needed to buy a used vehicle. I went with a Toyota minivan. Laugh it up, it's okay. Took the seats out and it has more space than my truck bed did - several feet. And wider. No need to lay 'em diagonally. AND I can grab some tackle or food in a store without worrying about someone grabbing my stuff. That's the best part. And I can sleep in it. And I have a big ol' door on every side of the vehicle. And I can throw my yak on top. And I put in a nice stereo.

I see Greg Blanchard (Youtuber) using a stick type, like a deodorant. Anyone use those? Seems like an easy way to apply and probably wastes very little of it. I haven't tried scent yet.

Congrats! I got my first November fish too, 3 of em, and on my birthday as well! Any bass is welcome in my "boat"!

Great to hear!!!

I tried that but her Kindle would fly out every time she got airborne.

All these guys ever give me is a headache! Actually all I want from this place is some good company and to talk fishing, and I get that every time

Nope.

Location (for me this includes timing) and presentation - forget the rest.

Am I the only one that agrees with the OP? I hate waking up at any time of day

I would think catching the fish would release more "whatevers" than releasing it. "HEEEEELP! Oh my GAAAAWD this worm is STRONG! Whoa there's a giant MONSTER picking me up!!!!! I'M DEAD!!! SWIM FOR YOUR LIIIIIVES BROTHERS!!!!!!!" The other fish probably think everything is fine when they see their friend dropped back into the water. "False alarm folks!!!"

Caught 3 birthday fish today Many thanks to the fish who participated.

Am I the only one creeped out by this gif? What in the world is that? LOL it's awesome!

Fishing this weekend. Like I just wrote in another thread, getting out away from work and real life is critical for me right now. I'll fish a mud puddle if it's all I can find as long as nobody else is around. I need some reeelaaaaxaaaashhhhuuuun! Hey I'll be 53 tomorrow and of course I'm fishing! Good luck!

I'll be fishing Saturday for my 53rd birthday. Just me. Sunday I'll hang with some family. And hopefully fish on the way there too Edited to add: Fishing is extremely important to me right now. Work is frustrating, the news has been almost too much to bear, I need to get out and bad! I will enjoy the relative solitude no matter how good the fishing is, and it's still pretty good here.