WRB-2.0

The initially planted FLMB in DVL will attain maxium growth becuase the bass and stripers started at the same time. Stripers are very aggressive fish that take over the outside feeding zones, the LMB must move inside. DVL doesn't have a lot of inside cover or ambush areas. The stripers dominate the trout plants and the hold over trout become big fast in DVL, too big for bass prey. If you are targeting a giant bass at DVL, get there now! WRB

CA used to have opening day for trout May 1st and bass June 1st, about 50 years ago. Today we have year around bass fishing. Since I grew up not bed fishing and thought that bed fishing wasn't ethical, I don't bed fish. It's a legal practice within the regulations, good sportsmanship, that is an issue each individual must make. WRB

When you step back and look at giant bass, Florida bass to be specific, one factor comes into play; these bass are geneically wired to eat large bait fish; golden shiners. Planted rainbow trout are very similar to golden shiners and where legal, golden shiners are excellent giant bass bait fish. The ideal bait for these bass is long and slender; like both trout and golden shiners. Threadfin shad are high protein bait fish, it takes sereval shad to equal one larger bait fish. Crappie are a little easier for bass to eat, bluegill are a lot more difficult. Fresh water smelt or hitch are good giant bass prey fish and one reason the CA delta and NorCal lakes have developed good giant bass populations. Prey must be both plantiful and accessible year around to the bass to attain giant growth potential. The bass must also have a safe sancturary to retreat to and avoid angler pressure. The giant bass are extremely vulnerable to catch and keep from weekend anglers, the primary factor to boom and bust giant bass cycles. The population reaches a point where they are targeted relentlessly and population crashes. The high motality rate for giant bass occurs because of excessive handling; pictures are taken and the bass is kept in a livewell too long before being released, that is simply human nature. It's been over 15 year since I have put a giant bass in a livewell or haul one back to the marina to offically weigh. However it's been that long since I caught my last PB, otherwise I would be transporting the bass back to the marina like everyone else. WRB

From the above stats I would agree that Fork is still a potentail giant bass fishery and may be able to break the Texas state record someday. Texas has several lakes that are producing similar size bass. The California delta has several hundred miles of fishable water with giant bass, a few 18+ lbs size bass have been caught there. Northern CA is producing some giants; 17 to 18 lb bass in there larger reservoirs. The 1% bass population is more like .0001% or less, giant bass are extremely rare fish and difficult to catch 10 months of the year. WRB

Matt, adding a trap or stinger hook to ant lure that is not designed specifically for that purpose is illegal in accordance with IGFA rules. Bass jigs do not come with a stinger hook, some walleye jigs do. Swimbaits can have an optional stinger hook hanger, most don't. My interpretation is you can add an imbedded stinger attached with a line or wire; if you attach it to a hanger manufacturered for adding additional hooks. You can't add a stinger attached to another hook or hook eye. Several trophy bass fisherman have modified swimbaits that are illegal I.A.W. the IGFA rules. There is no excuse for trap hooking a jig, or fishing with a treble hook in a bed. Lake Fork is past it'e prime, no bass over 15 lbs in 10 years. WRB

note to would be record chasers; trap hook rigged lures are not legal for IGFA records. A trap is a hook added to a lure that isn't designed to have additional hooks. It is nearly impossible to hook any bass in the top of the back with a standard jig, unless the jig was trap hook rigged. WRB

The bass that got me started "in pursuit of giant bass" was 14.7 lbs back in 1969 at Lower Otay, the lake record for 3 days. Try 40 years targeting giant bass, so far. WRB

I wasn't there so can only state what other folks who were there said; witnesses on a nearby dock watched this catch go down and they reported to the ranger that the bass was snagged with a white jig hooked into the bass's back, just in front of the dorsal fin. The information was not voluntary. After that report, the bass was released. There are more stories about giant bass catches than you can imagine, some true, some false, some outright lies. WRB

Hmmmm 22.70 - 21.11 = 1.59 lbs. I'm geeting old and was watching the Lakers game, but the numbers look right to me. DVL is an excellent fishery, however also has a striper population and that factor isn't good for giant bass beyond the initail planted adult fish. Butch Brown may be the trophy fisherman to watch this year. Butch is on top of his game and you couldn't meet anyone more helpful and honest. Don't confuse staying focused with ignoring people on purpose. Trophy bass fisherman will usually chat with people off the water at the end of the day. WRB PS; best big bass day so far in 2009 and I'm working!!!!!!!

As you read the different threads you will notice we all don't always agree on topics and thats is OK. Out west, in SoCal, the pre spawn is starting as I write this. This year has been rather warm here and cold most everywhere else. The water at 20 feet or so is 55 degrees and nearly 60 in the upper 3 foot layer, which means, weather permitting, the bass will move up faster than normal. WRB

1.6 lb difference when Jed weighed the fish, wow that doesn't make any sense, unless something was removed, like another fish or something. Back in the day I was hard over trying to release these giant bass alive and healthy, and it only caused more problems and questions then it's worth. Bet the next 20+ ends up on ice. There isn't anything wrong with trying to drag a few dog turds across the trail, IMO. WRB

The 3 anglers listed for lake Dixon all claim Dottie was the same bass, based on the black dot located on the lower gill cover. There isn't any scientific proof the only one gaint bass has a black dot living in Dixon at the time or today, however none have been caught after Dottie died. Dottie isn't resting in piece, she is frozen and being held for study. Dixon, like most small trophy CA bass lakes is deep and gin clear. After the spawn the giant bass tend to seek sanctuary in deep water or off limit areas near the dam. The giant bass are fairly safe until spring when they follow their spawning urge and migrate into shallower water. WRB

The Perry bass has been questioned for decades. The bass is listed as having a length of 32 inches and a girth of 28 inches. The bass in the photo doesn't appear close to those measurements using the boy and the man as references. I have always said the 32" length must have been measured with the mouth open, today that would be about a 30" length with the mouth closed. The bass in the photo looks like 15 to 17 pound fish, big head with average body mass, IMO. The bottom line; Perry's bass is the offical world record. The Crupi bass wasn't witnessed or inspected by a fish & game person, therefor California doesn't accept it as a state record catch. Big bass have a habit of swallowing heavy objects. To be validated, the bass must be checked by the DFG. Right now it is pre spawn in SoCal and the time I fish for giant bass. All my giant bass over 17 lbs were caught on custom hair jigs, during pre spawn, to date. There is an old saying " the whale that surfaces gets harpooned". It's better to keep under the radar when fishing our small trophy bass lakes. I don't make my living fishing, therefor no advantage in going public. I did write a few In-Fisherman articles serveral years ago. WRB

The Perry photo surfaced a few years back. Perry stated he and a freind caught the bass late in the afternoon and it was stormy with rain, took the bass to a post office to weigh it and went home and ate the bass. This photo was taken during a sunny day and no one has identified it as Perry to the best of my knowledge. WRB

That is the fish. WRB

Sue who? I let the fish go! Should have put her on ice and will if I ever catch another potentail record bass. 19.3 + 2 = 21+, not 22+ Dotty was caught at least 3 times, listed by Long and Dickerson currently. WRB

PM your email and will attached a photo. Submitted my 2 top bass to BASS and others with documentation a few months ago, might as well be listed on the top 25, not getting any younger. Be interesting to see what final weight Dotty is listed at; both Dickerson and Long have her listed. Crupi's 22.01 has never been validated by California, no certified weight. WRB

I understand Dixon has a certified scale, however to the best of my knowledge Dotty wasn't weighed on it, she was weighed using the anglers scales. back in '94 I caught what I thought may be a world record as it looked to weigh about 22 lbs on my spring scale. Castaic didn't have a certified scale, so loaded the boat on the trailer and hauled the bass to the closest store, the Mini Mart. Told the owner that I had a big bass to weigh and needed a certified weight slip. Went out to the boat, put the bass in my carry bag with some water and took the bass into the store to weigh. The weight was 19.3 and I was very dissappointed!! took the bass quickly back to Casitas and released it. Went back to the Mini Mart to get my Polariod photo and weight slip and the owner asked if they could reweigh the bass. The problem was they forgot to re set the zero after removing a 2 lb tray, so my bass shouod have been 2 pounds heavier. I will never know for sure what that bass actually weighed. Today it's still my PB at 19.3 It's hard to explain the emotions you go through when you think you have a world record fish. Thinking clearly doesn't happen, you make mistakes and I fully understand how mistakes were made with Dottie, after realizing the bass was foul hooked. WRB

The problem with a spring Chatillion Fish & Game or laboratory quality scale, in the 25 lb weight range, is the graduations are in 4 oz increments, with a 2% accuracy. California requires scales to be certified every 4 months if you are selling a product that requires certification, plus there are cost involved. Used a Chatillion for years and the IGFA doesn't accept weights, unless you send them the scale to certify prior to and along with submitting a record, plus have a picture with the weight clearly indicated. Fishermen tend to cheat and the IGFA takes that into consideration. IMO a potential world record bass should be put on ice to eliminate problems. WRB

A certified scale must have current calibration sticker from the state weights & measures. Your personal digital or spring scale doesn't meet IGFA requirements. In California it is also illegal to transport any game fish. If the marina doesn't have a certified scale, then we illegally transport the bass to the closest post office or retail food store that has a certified scale, weigh the bass, have 2 witnesses sign and date the weigh slip and get a photograph of the bass on the scale. Then we take the bass back to the lake to release it. If you don't document the bass properly, the catch isn't vaild. The problem of illegally transporting the bass could disqualify the fish for IGFA consideration. Total pain in the arsh! WRB

Dotttie, was weighed twice when caught; 21.9 and 25.1, both on uncertified hand held scales and released before being weighed on a certified scale with a DFG witness. The 2 weights are over 3 pounds apart, which scale was correct at the time the fish was weighed?, we will never know. Whinning about a few pounds, you bet! Jealous, heck no! It's very difficult to get a certified weight on a live bass in California, most of the lakes do not have certified scales at the marina's. Been there, done that and it's not easy. Perry's bass was awarded a prize at the time it was submitted for the Field & Stream contest. Perry never submitted the catch for record status, it was grandfathered by the IGFA over 20 years later without any proof; no picture, no whitness, no scale slip, only a statement from Perry. We will never know for sure and have accepted the IGFA record for what it is; the world record LM bass 22 lbs 4 oz., or 22.25 lbs. WRB

Fishing pressure should consider the size of the fishery being targeted. SoCal trophy bass lakes are very small when compared to big bass fisheries around the country, Mexico or Cuba. A good friend of mine has a private lake in MO that is larger than Dixon for example. DVL is considered a big lake; it is less than 4 miles long! Casitas, Castaic where serveral giant bass were caught are less than 3 miles, when full and that is rare. Most of these lakes are less than a mile long and would fit into a creek arm on Toledo Bend. The giant bass must survive being caught a few times during it's life in SoCal; C & R isn't an option, it's essentail for these bass to grow big. It is hard to imagine what fishing pressure is to you try to trophy fish a small CA public lake. Giudes trying to catch these giants with live bait for their clients, skilled big bass specialists and a hord of weekend fisherman looking for that fish of a life time. Big bass is big business. Another friend giudes at El Salto on occasion (Iovino) and he tells me that the Texas anglers are very good bass fishermen on average and a fun to fish with. 20+ bass are very rare fish and we may never see a valid 22+. WRB

To pursue giant bass requires you to be dedicated to catching them. Otherwise you would simply give up when the fishing gets tough. Dottie as noted was found dead and weighed 19.3 lbs at that time. To this date no one has been able to confirm Dotties measurements; length and girth. Dottie is frozen and stored, so comfirmation shouldn't be that difficult. IMO Dotties never weighed 25 lbs, maybe 22+ lbs is within the relm of possiblilty. Dottie was snagged with a trap hook rigged jig and snagging bass outside the mouth is illegal in California, end of world record. The bottom line is Perry's bass is established as the world record, without any evidence the bass actually existed. We accept this bench mark and target it. Dottie was the heaviest LMB ever weighed, too bad she was caught illegally. WRB notes; California, SoCal, lakes receive more bass fishing pressure; man hours fishing for bass verses availble water, then any other state. Pure FLMB ot F1, F2 intergrates have the highest potentail to grow to over 20 lbs. Planted rainbow trout are not essential to growing over 20 lbs, but they help. My 2 Pb bass are larger then the Texas state record; 18.6 & 19.3. It's always possible for Texas to set the next record, however California has a much higher % of potentail WRB.

I would agree with the cutting edge hook points and often use that style of hook for off shore marlin and big tuna fishing. The big 7/0 to 13/0 forged welded eye hooks are easy to sharpen by filing a knife edge on the barb side of the hook point and stone the hook point to razor sharpness. Hooks harpened like that penetrate the hard mouths of these big salt water fish, where needle point hooks will not, becuase the salt water dulls the chemically sharpened points. I also use Owner hooks a lot and Gamakatsu hooks for fresh water bass fishing with good success. The Owner hooks do have a cutting edge, however they also have a needle point in front of the cutting edge area of the hook point, therefor only the needle point does the initial penetration. The only problem with the tempered hardened steel needle point hooks is; damage to the point from rocks, then it's almost impossible to resharped them. It's a pain the arsh to through away a hand tied hair jig because of hook point damage, but that the price you pay for needle sharp hooks. Few anglers fish a jig by casting it over 100 feet, then try to set the hook effectively. The only method that works is reel setting, then follow up with a rod set. Once you have taken up the line slack, the rod can add force to the hook set, otherwise it's very difficult to move enough line to effectively set the hook. WRB

The XOG isn't designed to take advantage of the Navonics chip, stay with whatever Lowrance offers as a stanndard map for your area. WRB