WHAT IF YOU lost a rod in a quagga lake?

UPDATED (new photo) 10:54 p.m.–Everybody loves the spring bite. The fish tend to run larger and that means lots of opportunities for photos. Yet, sometimes the act of posing a good photo is fraught with hazards…like concentrating so intently on what’s in front of you, say you accidently kick a rod and reel into the quagga-infested drink, say Lake Skinner.

So what happens later in the year, with the weeds dying back and you have a chance to retrieve the rod? I confess, I dumped a 7-foot GLoomis and Revo set-up in about 4-feet of water (more…)

HE'S NUMBER ONE in 2011... (photo by Bill Mays)

It’s that time of year again, a time to tout the very best bass fishermen in the Golden State. But it’s also never been a more difficult assignment to figure out. The playing field has been an obstacle course for the competitors as a combination of a poor economy and travel-killing, quagga mussel inspections have kept most fishermen close to home—once deemed to be the kiss of death for maximum career recognition.

With a year to chew on things, more diligent researching of numerous tournament circuits, plus a concern that fishing guides and even non-shared weight co-anglers were not getting enough credit, the 2011 California Top 40 Bass Anglers List has a different feel. (more…)

I’ve been fishing in the dark the last few weeks since Lake Skinner opens at 6 a.m. year round. But those extended lowlight moments are coming to an end, as we return to Standard Time late Saturday night. (Fall back, one hour, ya know.) Toss in this week’s series of cold, quickie storms and the nighttime temperatures will be dropping from mid 40s to the high 30′s. (Wasn’t it just a few weeks earlier I could load the boat in the high 50′s?) (more…)

Magazines still matter, but the Internet is closing fast, followed by TV when it comes to Media preferences of anglers, according to data gathered by Southwick & Associates, often through AnglerSurvey.com.

Why does that matter? It certainly reflects how fishermen get their information (or how they don’t) (more…)

TAMI CURTIS and Jody Only will be interviewing fishermen at the Bass-A-Thon...

UPDATED, 2:07, 11-2 (with photo)–Having had to chase down stories for many, many years, yet on the other side, knowing how tough it can be for a large number of career-minded anglers to get much media attention, this year’s Bass-A-Thon at Anglers Marine, Anaheim (Nov. 19-20) will feature a huge opportunity for western fishermen.

Available both days of the show, two of the freshest new communicators on the bass fishing scene, Tami Curtis (TC Sports Report and the Fish’n 4 FUN television show) and Jody Only (freelance writer/columnist and videographer with by-lines everywhere) will be shooting video clips of anglers with fishing tips, as well as holding interviews for future features in print and on the web.

Both of these young women are ardent bass anglers and they have the latest in photographic and sound equipment, (more…)