RenzokukenFisher

Funny I just watched a tactical bassin video on this today. When those guys were on clearlake they said they would night fish in the dead of winter wishing they could go home to the warmth 😂 however it paid off with them catching multiple double digit fish in those times. From the sounds of it bottom crawling a swimbait suuuuuuuuper slow helped them get those bigguns

Just had a rad 3 day stint fishing Friday - Sunday with a different spot each day. Weather cooperated nicely the first two days as a cold front was starting to move in but that third day the fish developed a case of lock jaw only picking up a few on a ned rig. The first spot was a major honey hole of mine with low quantity but high quality. It was the day I hooked into a monster but she bent my spinnerbait hook out, darn! Picked up a nice one before it on a double willow spinnerbait. The following day I went to a higher elevation 40 acre pond with some hard fighting northern strain Largies. I know these fish well so I decided to target bigger fish with glidebaits and wake baits. Got some decent ones on both with an 5lb 5oz kicker to top it off caught on the rat! Hooked into another 5 or 6 or so on the Swaver but she leveraged the bait on standing timber on the way back to the kayak. Slowly learning these bigger ones. The last day I launched at an even higher elevation lake looking to get into some smallies and ended up catching largies and green sunfish instead hahaha. The bite was veryyyy slow but I managed to find them on the rip rap dam using a ned rig. Some big green sunfish hammered it and got a few quality largemouth. I really want to see this place in spring since around summer time its drawn down 30 or 40 feet making it tricky to locate fish w/o electronics I believe. Glad to have had such a dope few outings and learned something each trip. Crazy how these greenback and bronze critters can both make you feel ontop of the world and also humble you like no other in the same day. Good fishing y'all

That sounds like that way to do it brotha. Also wow a fish pulling off from a swim jig hook is insane thise things are no joke!

Yeah I was honestly just grateful to hook up with her! Havent felt a fish surge like that in like 3 years it was great. Totally knew she would be where I hooked her too which felt great having the puzzle pieces come together. But thank you 5lbs makes sense. I dont find myself using less than 12lb line on my baitcasters so that gives good wiggle room. Gonna move away from locking my drag down, works with the 4 and 5lbers but I think those really big ones especially in the summer just pull too d**n hard Managed to get this nice 3.5 before the big one though which was nice!

So I totally fumbled another giant this evening. This time I lost a monster on my baitcast gear. It was a combination of factors, was travelling light so used my 7' MH fast rod with a 1/2 oz spinnerbait, normally wouldve had it on my mod action. Hooked up into her and the rod just folded and she was moving quick! She darted one direction and then another towards some branches so I pulled back on the rod trying to stop her and she came unbuttoned. Reeled back in and the hook was a little bent out on the spinnerbait. I think I tried to horse her and my drag was locked down. Too much pressure. However all these swimbait guys and others say to lock it down and horse them in. Am I missing the picture it didnt seem possible to to horse that fish in. Would love to know what y'all recommend for drag settings on baitcast. Keeping in mind this lake is gnarly in cover, sticks, weeds and only about 6ft - 8ft deep so these fish dig straight into cover.

Its already been said a few times on here but San Diego Jam knot all the way! It is rated as one of the strongest bass fishing knots and it is super easy to tie. Great for bigger baits when a Palomar would be tedious. Just remember dont tighten the knot all the way when cinching it down. Get a light cinch, then wet it and pull it tight with the mainline. Thennnnn tighten the tag end. Only time I ever broke it off was because I was snugging it wayyy to tight with the tag end rather than cinching it with the mainline first. Cheers!

Ah thats looking like its gonna be a relaxing yet exciting weekend. It looks pristine out there. Enjoy the trip and stay safe! Hoping for some fish to come sniffing whatever you decide to throw

Dang I gotta make sure to check whats already been written before posting these things And also Thank You @Catt!

Normally I am in small lakes or ponds in my yak and can do pretty well, but what about a deep reservoir? Usually I cast generally around a point and can can pick up a few bass but I'd like to learn how to really target a point. Specifically if anyone is familiar I am planning a trip to lake Berryessa, a deep mountainous type lake. For example, lets say Im fishing a east (shore) to west point, with wind blowing over it from south to north, where do I position and where should I cast? Do I drag a jig for example down the length of the point? Or do I cast over the point and work it up and over south to north? Maybe a little bit of everything!! 😂

You know sometimes I forget spinning gear isnt all 8# line drop shot and ned rigs. Thinking I'll mess around with some heavier lines and put this gear to the test. Shied away from spinning gear for the longest time but have been having a blast with it and all the techniques. Still a flipping stick guy at heart but this spinning gear is growing on me. Tight lines! Gotta love the mind games bycatch can play 😂 I'd be lying if there werent a time I thought I'd finally hooked that DD only to reel in a foul hooked carp

Thanks A-Jay I'm hopeful and yeahhh I was kinda playing with fire using a medium spinning around those brush piles. Nursing an injury at the moment so I'm limited to spinning gear. Sometimes I still go baitcaster mode pumping them like I'm frogging them outta some weeds but then I remember I gotta slow down and let the drag work lol

Had quite the heart breaker yesterday fishing a quiet calm fishery I retreat to to enjoy a 20 acre lake all to myself. This spot is mostly a numbers spot with aggressive bass that will tear up a jig and annihilate top water, my favorite things. But yesterday I went out looking for the big girls and I found one, just never even got the chance to see her Lately I've been using spinning gear, which is about 2 months new to me, and I was chucking around a wacky rig black n blue Senko on 8lb test. There's a nice point with a submerged roadbed and nearby brush piles and weed beds which I've eyeballed on satellite imaging for awhile but finally gave it a whirl. I don't have electronics so I was blind casting my wacky rig in the areas I was looking at on satellite and finally felt it dropping into the branches of a brush pile. Bingo! Wiggled the Senko out let it flutter and sit for about 10sec. Lifted up and felt dead weight. Not quite grass, not quite hung up in a branch, just felt like I was snagged into a giant gummy bear hahaha. Lifted my medium spinning rod up, reel set and the fight was on!! Sorta... the fish just starting swimming out to deeper water acting like I didn't even hook it, which happens with all the big girls I hook, until I really started giving her some pressure wow she had weight! Then those runs and head shakes started and honestly I lost my composure I think. Haven't hooked into something that big in a while, that wham wham head shakes and strong runs had me fired up but I was so caught up in fascination I almost forgot I was trying to land her. Then after playing with my drag too much I didn't notice her b-line right at me and take a dive next to my kayak. A strong surge downwards and a depressing "pop". Gone. 8lb test broke pretty sure I had a bad knot paired with my rod angled high as she took a dive. My drag was pretty low but the angle wasn't in my favor. It loomed over the rest of the trip but an exciting top water bite in the evening remedied it somewhat. Either way I'm just glad to have gotten the bite and had a solid 10 - 20 sec wrestling with her. May not have seen her but wow those head shakes, seeing the rod bounce a foot with each one sticks in my mind today. Good thing is I can always go back

Hey Y'all! I've finally fished a 37acre pond I've been keeping my eye on and after yesterdays trip I'd like to start hitting this place hard. Only 3 fish but 2 were 3lbs and it is a place known to kick out a few double digits per year ontop of lots of healthy 7 and 8lb fish. The trick is its heavily heavily pressured so bait selection I hear is more limited. Drop shot, weightless worms, small jigs, and spinnerbaits. My fish yesterday were all caught on a 4.5inch roboworm split shot rigged, and a weightless t-rig senko. I could really use help though in finding prime locations on this lake! I have ideas but want to hear your thoughts. I have some pictures of the lake with some rough markings for depth. Its fairly shallow, half is about 0-15ft with 2 creek arms, and the other half is pushing 20-30ft deep with a dam and a point. The yellow markings are aerators, curious if running a spinnerbait through those could produce? Anyone pattern aerators hahaha. Its predominately a weedy fishery with the shallower ends creating small mats this time of year, trip flipping and pitching those to no avail. Theres also plenty of reeds on the lakes edges, which I also failed to pick up fish pitching and flipping weightless senko and small jigs. Maybe they produce under other conditions just not yesterday. The main ticket yesterday was fishing deeper weedlines and small channels that extend from the deeper water into the creek arms. I dont have a depth finder so I just try to wing it. Its been over 110 degrees for a week here in California, I think the fish are deeper. Anyways at this point I'm ranting. Any heads ups? Open to any questions here to learn! Water clarity: 2 - 4 ft. Red shallow 0 - 15ft blue "deep" 15 - 30ft yellow aerators

I was born in 2000 but man after hearing all the stories and seeing when most giants were being caught it mustve been wild fishing those 90s and early 2000s years. Also that action without rod movement is something I have alot of faith in with jigs. The way that skirt unfurls and moves in the water is too good

Today out fishing one of our local ponds with a buddy we ran into a guy having some good luck, took a peek at what he was using and boom! A Senko. It blows my mind how this thing catches fish. Its basically skunk proof in my area and after looking around at different bodies of water on fishbrain, countless 5+lb fish are caught on it, but even tiny dinks will eat it too. Funny enough after fishing for around 5 years now I've finally decided to start throwing it and I have to say my confidence with it now is very high. It just makes me laugh thinking about it sometimes, all these different lures, colors, rods and reels, and at the end of the day that Senko comes out on top. Again maybe its just these pressured Cali ponds but thought it could be a fun topic. Are Senkos popular in your neck of the woods? Any big fish on them? Why do you think bass love em?

Hey the bass werent biting good that day what can I say!! Thank you for the reminder though I forgot about that thread

This Bluegill was a fatty! This lake has a solid healthy and fat Bluegill population, interestingly the bass are a bit stunted. I think there's not enough size variance in the bluegills for the bass the feed their way up in size. With that being said there are some giant bass but they are very hard to come by. luckily though there are plenty of these guys to catch!

This is forsure the approach I aim for. Having that balance is huuuuuge. Only so much time and at the end of the day family and lifes priorities are most important. But at the same time notice if time is slipping by and get out there and fish!!

From a nightfishing trip a couple days ago. Nightfishing has always been my favorite time to go out and get em, especially on these heavily pressure California ponds. The fish just turn on at night and its a blast. Caught about 5 of this size, a few a bit chunkier in the midsection. They wouldnt eat anything else besides a weightless super fluke. Sometimes they nailed it on the fall after a cast, other times they nailed it as I twitched it towards a weedline. The fluke bite is one of the best there is, up there with a jig, good times

I hear ya! Its really growing on me. In my area people prefer to drop shot so I think this is just a little bit different presentation than they are used to. That split shot up the line gives the worm a cool action, almost like a fluke or something if fished fast.

Anyone ever because life got busy, kids came around, careers picked up, school, etc. Needed to take a leave of absence from fishing? This could be a couple months to a few years where a few short trips a month is all thats manageable. I'm curious because I am about to start an intense Masters Program in Fall and I'm trying to fish like a madman before 60 hours work weeks start up in Fall. Curious about your experiences and what was that time like for you?

Honestly I've been split shotting with a 1/16th oz, just one, splitshot up the line about a foot from the hook. You can also increase the length getting like 2ft up im sure no problem. Thanks Glenn gonna dive into these!! I'll need to try that downshot hook Tom thank you!

Hopefully this is the right forum for this but wow I've just started using the split shot rig and I can't believe I neglected it for so long. It seems like it falls to the wayside with chatterbaits, frogs, jigs and many other lures taking the spotlight, but so far this rig has been dynamite for me. I'd love any tips and pointers on how to best fish it and if its viable for bigger bites (I have a feeling it is). So far I've only been using it with my ultralight with 6lb test and 4 1/2 inch roboworms. Caught me a 3lbr the other day and I can only imagine its potential with different modifications. What are your thoughts on this old school rig?

Was at work doing a foot patrol and got a nice one on a roboworm. Been having a blast with finesse and light gear, put up a great fight!

Had a night fishing outing getting there in the afternoon and fishing until around 1am. Been having a blast using ultra light lately and the fish in the 2 - 3lb range I was catching felt like tanks! Lots of topwater action on jitterbugs and walkers, then a micro chatterbait and a small jointed plug bite when top water slowed. Missed what I think was a fish ranging in the 4 - 5lb range which hurt pretty bad, absolutely slammed the crankbait and got the load up, a strong pulse of a headshake and she spit it next time!