NorcalBassin

We finally had some weather come in, water levels have stabilized, water temps are down to 60*, and things almost feel normal out there after a hot and dry start to fall. Bite wasn't hot by any means and we didn't find any wolf packs, but the quality of fish seems to be ticking up and it's always fun getting a chance to catch fish on an empty lake.

All things considered the fishing year could have been worse so I won't complain too much. I was pretty bitter having to cancel our annual father-son trip to Clear Lake in the spring and all of our lakes getting shut down for the few weeks that are always the prime prespawn and spawn, but once California quit California'ing so much I was able to get back into a pretty normal fishing routine. We also skipped our annual fall Clear Lake trip and I still have my dad (mid-70's) meet at the ramp instead of ride in the truck to decrease potentially spreading something... happy to make those concessions and have some sense of normalcy. On a more positive note I have another 6-7 trips for the year weather permitting, so there's still a chance to end the year in style with a PB.

At this point 2020 just needs to end... https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michaelblackmon/alex-trebek-jeopardy-died

It usually officially starts with the banner notification the morning of BF, but sometimes it's reflected in the prices as early as the night before.

+1 for the Aldebaran. I have a couple on my finesse baitcasters and couldn't be happier. Good timing for you since they're about to be 20% off in a couple more weeks. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Shimano_Aldebaran_MGL_50_Casting_Reel/descpage-***.html

Went from 80's all week to a cold front and light rain showers today and when I could have gone Sunday it's supposed to snow at home and rain at the lake followed by temps in the 20's. Hoping the timing for next weekend works out better!

He's got the bone. She ate hers and is quietly whining after being told no while stalking his since he fell asleep with it in his mouth. These two crack me up.

I was able to pick up my 3rd and final Klash last week... crossing my fingers to not donate any of these to the depths of the lake..

High end may get you a couple extra bites, but they're definitely not necessary to catch giants. If you're going to invest in a couple high dollar swimbaits my advice would be to make at least one of those a floater/wake for your peace of mind. It took me a while to be "okay" with a Deps 250 snapping off mid-cast and slowly sinking to the bottom over 100' of water. It's pretty much inevitable you'll cast at least one off at some point. I enjoy throwing multijoints in the spring, wakes in the summer, and glides in the fall through early spring. They'll all work on a given day throughout the year, but that's my general rule. We just had our first trout plants of the year, so I'll be breaking my own rules next time out by starting with a triple trout.

2020 can't pass soon enough. Really enjoyed his 007 movies, but I always got a kick out of those parody SNL Jeopardy skits.

Thank goodness we're about to head into swimbait season here so I can start fishing these things instead of stocking up and getting evil looks from the wife...

Seems like nearly every bass in the lake is offshore stalking bait between 25-60 ft, so we finally decided to grab some spoons and go chase them. Not one of my favorite ways to fish but it was enjoyable doing some "video game" style fishing with the electronics.

I think that's a good plan to stay <8" with that setup and then if you really get the itch to throw bigger baits go for the 806 or even 867. If you don't have one in your SB arsenal, the Baitsanity Antidote performs well above its price point ($25 retail) at 7.5" and 2.7 oz. You could get away with an 8" Hudd with that rod, but dragging that much plastic plus having to drive home a big jig hook when you get a bite could be a challenge with that soft tip. I'm sure plenty of people have landed pigs on that exact setup... you'd just have to set the hook Hulk style. The Hudd 68 (2 oz) would be perfectly fine on that setup and it draws plenty of attention from giant bass. The 8" Magdraft you mentioned would be another good option since you already have a head start on the hookset as you're swimming it mid-column. Best of luck and be sure to post pics of the hawgs you'll be getting!

Awesome videos! Favorite parts for me were the catch and quick release of that 8.28 pounder like it was just another fish (nothing to get too excited about) and not skipping a beat when you broke your stick on that much bigger stick. You could tell you guys were having an awesome time and a broken rod wasn't enough to dampen your spirits for even a second. Thanks for sharing!!

Lol, it's definitely south of 5 star but I take it as a good sign they're always happy to see something on the smoker or BBQ. My oldest will be headed to college next year and hopefully the desire for some home cooking brings her back for frequent visits!

That would be pushing it with that rod (I have the same one in the Champion line), but if you have your heart set on that bait you should be able to get away with lob casts. If you don't have your heart set on that bait and just want an open water glide the S-waver 200 is 8" and comes in at 3.5 oz and well under $60.

There's a color that the spots out here seem to love that GYBC doesn't sell, and I've had good success with it for spots and largemouth at a catch rate similar to senkos. Senko is still my #1 stick bait but the ocho isn't too far behind.

I've been hearing about tri tip smoked like a brisket lately and figured I had to give it a shot. Since my optimism was low I did one brisket style (low and slow @225, pulled at 200*) and one traditional (reverse sear pulled at 135*) to make sure we'd have something good to eat leading into what looks like a couple days of power outages. I wrapped the smoked tri tip after 3 hours due to looking pretty dry already, and that very well may have saved it because there was a ton of juice when I pulled it. Low and slow on the left, traditional on the right. Low and slow had a heck of a smoke ring and shockingly tasted fantastic when the juices were drizzled back over the slices. Can't say it was better than traditional style but it was close enough that I'll definitely be mixing it up in the future.

Wow, that is terrible and I'm truly sorry you didn't get a chance to make it back to be with him in time. You were an incredibly dedicated son and I'm sure he was very proud of you and everything you've done for them. Thoughts and prayers for you and your family.

I pretty much do the same thing as Dirty. Years ago I tried to get fancier than I probably should have and it was a bit of a hassle, and then I saw one of Matt Allen's videos where he basically piled all of his soft body swimbaits on top of each other and mentioned he never has an issue with bent tails. I subsequently switched to a deep Plano 3741 for all my soft body swimbaits 8" and under and Plano Edge 3700's for my hard swimbaits, and both of those have worked really well. I also picked up a Plano lure wrap (new version below) for my hard and soft swimbaits over 8" and it holds quite a few large baits. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Plano_WaterProof_StowAway_3741_Deep/descpage-PLWPXD37.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Plano_Z-Series_Lure_Wrap/descpage-PZWR.html

Headed out for what turned out to be a quick trip. Bait everywhere but tougher than expected to get them to commit to our baits. Should start busting loose soon. Hopefully. Pops with the fish of the day Another 15-16" spot Deer were all over the shoreline but it was all does and fawns. Bucks sure know it's time to hide this time of year.

My wife friggin loves that place. I could drop her off, come back a couple hours later, and she'd be sad it's time to go. Pretty sure it would be like me having full access to Tackle Warehouse's building.

A lot will depend on the weather between now and then. Water temps are still in the low 70's and bait (shad) is all over but pretty deep. Jerkbaits, cranks, and jigs could be good in a few weeks, but there's a pretty good chance you'll need to throw finesse techniques along the lines of neds, drop shot, shakeyhead, neko, etc. Natural colors are a safe bet (e.g., green pumpkin, watermelon, smoke, etc) and that time of year they could be up shallow or down 30-40 ft... lots of trial and error in November to get things dialed in.

That's terrible and best of luck with the wind dying down to slow the spread of those fires and keep it away from your home/property.

Been casually looking for one of these for at least a couple years but wasn't willing to pay the huge markups on ebay. Happened to randomly check out their site last weekend right as a drop happened and grabbed these three... pretty excited to spend some time throwing them.