With quaggas keeping many anglers out of the loop, guide Rich Tauber is reporting some good action for his clients while sight fishing in the crystalline waters of Lake Casitas.
“The water is the clearest it’s been since the ’80′s” he told me. “You can see 12 feet deep. We are catching them sight fishing on Senkos.” One of his clients, Ladd Hardy, marketing VP for a major pet food manufacturer, got the nice 6 1/2 pounder pictured. (more…)
Bass rods can cost a lot of money. And when we spend a lot, we expect a lot. But even when we don’t pay a premium price we still want a rod to last. Earlier today I made the drive to Bass Pro Shops to find a crankbait rod. Maybe I could have appealed to some manufacturer, but frankly, I’m going fishing tomorrow, so I couldn’t wait.
What I found were some nice-looking BPS Crankin’ Sticks so I went through the models to find something I could use with a range of medium baits. But as I was checking them out, (more…)
As previously noted the DFG is doing its best to improve the fishing situation at Lake Elsinore, especially in the area of supplementing the current fish population. Here’s a follow-up report to an earlier blog that comes directly from local biologists. Although the size may seem small, the fact is, bass that are large enough to fend for themselves right now will have a much higher survival rate than any new fry spawned in the lake this spring.
Here’s the text of that report: (more…)
Any old time reporter will tell you, he’s only as good as his sources. That’s kind of the way it’s been with the hoped-for stocking of largemouth bass by the DFG at Lake Elsinore.
Yet my sources at the DFG have had their own stumbling blocks. Besides EPA protocol they had to indulge, there was the very practical matter of their own sources. Meaning, they would only be able to deliver bass to Lake Elsinore (more…)
TRY DARK GREEN IN CLEAR GREEN WATER
Despite the research, my readings on the science of bass vision rarely hold up out on the water. I’m almost certain that water clarity (and the tints it assumes from a number of factors) plus the actual longitude and latitude of the waterway (and thus the relative influence of sunlight) all contribute to how the fish perceive the color of your lure.
Still, in order to make quick angling decisions, it has always helped to have a working “rule of thumb” to count on. Lately, though, I’ve found that the old, Dark waters fish dark colors; clear water fish light colors isn’t enough. (more…)
Hey, there’s plenty of stuff I’d like to see adjusted in bass fishing. As for complaints, I could make a long list from slow launching to careless driving in the parking lot and from hole-jumping to GPS tagging out on the water.
But sometimes, nobody’s really sure what the consensus might be on larger subjects until we ask. So I’m asking. (more…)
When you hear about the biggest one-day tournament catch in Lake Havasu history (certainly modern history) at 26.62 pounds, there’s going to be a buzz. When that turns into a thundering 43.28-pound, WON Bass winning weight, by none other than Mike Folkestad, a BASS national champion as well as 3-time U.S. Open winner, you knew this was not some flukey catch.
But when I caught up with Mike, he had a whole different take on the matter. (more…)
After his Lake Shasta win in the National Guard, the grumbling could be heard even before he cashed his check. Brent Ehrler may have notched another title, but “He had help.”
One observer I know said privately, “I heard it from guys waiting in line (to weigh fish).”
Not that it’s totally unexpected from the Upstate fishing crowd. They’re kind of like Mexican Soccer fans: they don’t think anyone else can play the game. By comparison, (more…)
UPDATED, Mar. 17–What a difference a day makes! Hot weather has fired up the shad activity and all around the lake the warmwater fish are coming up: not just bass, but crappie and even some wipers 12 to 18 inches long.
It’s a little on bladed baits, a little on plastic–and a whole lot better than yesterday.
Mar. 16: Chamber of Commerce images were something I wasn’t looking for this morning, but that’s about all Lake Elsinore wanted to give up. While FLW’s Gary Bradford and I hit all the prime stuff (plus a few niches I didn’t even want to show him) there was no way to tell the good stuff from the bad.
South shore dike, Lakeland Marine jetty, Perret Park to “Elsie,” Seaport Landing brush patch, (more…)
It’s hard to back up 26 pounds with another big sack, but John Wick of San Diego went hard at it today at Diamond Valley. Back-tracking through his hot spots from Saturday, he took me from dam to dam and the same baits worked–but the bites just didn’t measure up.
Big worms, fished Texas-style, easily out-paced wacky jigging, drop-shot and even Carolina rigging. (more…)