Fish Chris

Hey guys :-) Actually, I've never been much of a fish "measurer". Typically an accurate weighing and quick release is good enough for me. However, my PB of 8.5 lbs was measured by the young guy that C/R'd her the week before, and she was 24.5 inches {with a 22" girth} Based on her weight, length and girth, I think I have caught 4 or 5 Smallies of 24" or more. This one went 7.5 lbs, but had a more normal / long shape to her.... I caught one last year that was completely (freshly) spawned out, and went 8.2 lbs, which had to have been 25" to 25.5" in length. I'd like to catch that one again, but "pre-spawn" ;-) Peace, Fish

Right on Glenn :-) You know me, I appear in "waves" :-) I was spending quite a bit of time on the Ford F150 forums for a while..... Then started getting all into a high end stereo for the truck (my mid-life crisis ;-) LOL, and so I was spending time on a few car stereo forums... But you know I won't quit fishing until they bury me..... Glad to see their are still a big group of good guys / fishermen here :-) Will try to stop by more often, Peace, Fish

Are you kidding me ? You wouldn't believe how many people around here drive Cadilac Escalades, Lincoln Navigators, Hummer H2's, Excursions, etc..... and they don't even have a hitch on the darn things ! I sure wouldn't have a full sized truck, if I didn't have a boat to haul..... But then I again, I do enjoy driving my truck :-) Peace, Fish

Didn't fish today... woke up at 4 am and my back was so jacked, I could barely stand up. So I went back to bed until 8am.... {the Sturgeon just got lucky today ;-) But I did take my new baby to the local lake, and snapped a few shots of her.... Here's a couple closeups of my custom Ford Badges.... They were Chrome with black lettering, and the oval was chrome and Ford blue of course. I think they match my truck styling MUCH better now :-) Oh, and if anyone is interested, I added some more general photography stuff to my photography web site..... mostly to the Bodega Bay, and Yosemite pages.... http://www.trophybassonly.com/id182.htm I'll try to show you guys a big dino-fish in the next week or two :-) Great fishing to you guys, Peace, Fish

That is some fantasic work by J Francho ! Sorry LBH, but I couldn't get in to see yours..... although I've seen some of your work before, and I know its awesome too. Ya' know, I was just about to post a link to my photography pages... But I've got some stuff I need to add, and some older stuff I want to remove. It's on my list of stuff to do, so I will get back to you guys soon :-) Great fishing to you guys, and don't forget to take / post some pictures :-) Peace, Fish

Hey Matt, Sturgeon have an "extremely" sensitive sense of smell. What exactly they eat, in your waters, could totally differ from what they eat here.... But I can almost guaranteee that they "smell their way" to it :-) In these waters, Salmon roe works very well. Also, shrimp, pile worms, Eel, etc... but again, it could be toally different for your landlocked Sturgies. Yes, Bassboy, Bassbrat is correct. Very good eating. No.... it doesn't taste like chicken ;-) Instead, if I had to compare it to something else (and depending on how its cooked, of course) maybe more like a boneless pork chop. Peace, Fish PS, Gonna' go catch a BIIIG one today ;-)

Okay, so I stopped in last week to report that I just about had a Sturgeon jump into my boat ! That was a heart stopper ! Well anyway, today was my 4rth trip this Fall for the Sturgies. I had fished for 10 hours, without so much as a Sturgeon pump...... but typical for me, I was really having a hard time getting off of the water, with enough light left to see (and about a 6 miles run through curvy sloughs, back to the ramp). So finally I tell myself, "Alright dangit.... 6pm (10 more minutes) and if I don't get a Sturgeon, it will just have to wait". So I'm looking at my watch..... 5:54pm..... 5:56.... 5:58.... 5:59..... and now I'm counting the seconds in my head, and waiting for my watch to beep for 6:00pm....... I stretch...... Beep. Immediatly I lean down to pick up my rod..... but litterally, as my hand wraps the handle, the tip jumps, and immediatly sinks down, I swing..... Fish on !!! :-) :-) :-) Buddies, I swear I stuck that fish at litterally 6:00:01 PM ! 10 hours without a bite ! Only to wait until litterally the last second ! {sorry to keep using the word "litterally".... I just don't know of another word, to impress upon you guys, that I don't mean, at 6pm... give or take a few minutes, or even a few seconds.... I mean, right at that second ! So anyway, it was a nice little 54" keeper Sturgeon.... and yes, I did actually keep it. You can legally keep 3 a year, between 46" and 66", but I doubt I'll keep another this year. Fought great, on a swimbait rod, with 50 lb braid. Whoo Hooo ! :-) Now I'm warmed up. Don't care if I catch another "legal keeper this year"...... Bring on the over-sizers :-) Peace, Fish

And finally fishing again.... albeit, not for bass lately, but rather, I'm back after the dino-fish (Sturgeon). The scoop is, I sold my tow-truck (my old worn out Toyota Tacoma) expecting to get a new truck right away.... But instead, it took almost 10 weeks ! So, then when I finally got it, I got all sucked into "playing with my new toy" plus, mid-Summer fishing opportunities are pretty lame up here in Nor Cal (compared to Spring and Fall, anyway). But I'm happy to say that the Sturgies are coming in in decent numbers. Haven't put one in the boat yet (been out 3 X's) but it's only a matter of time. Going out again today and tomorrow. This SO totally reminds me of trophy Largemouth fishing, as Lord knows I get skunked all the time doing that too :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So anyway, here's my big story. .... Yesterday, I pull up to a spot and start baiting up, and getting ready to cast a line, and a nice Sturgy, aprox 80 lb, jumps about 75 feet from me. Cool ! So I pull my boat over and basically park right wherte the bubbles were. Didn't graph anything, but I lower my anchor, and make a cast. So as I sit back, I'm thinking, "Well, I know there's a good one somewhere close by............" And WHOOOOSH ! This freaking thing {almost certainly the same 80 lb'er which I had seen jump 5 minutes earlier} explodes out of the water, at about a 45 degree angle, about 8 feet from the boat, and shooting straight at me ! Holy #$@#$$ ! I just about fell out of my seat ! {no, I don't mean that figuratively... I mean, really !} I just knew that thing was coming into the boat with me ! But instead, its snout dropped down about 3 inches shy of the rear side of my boat ! I'm telling you guys, had that fish made the same exact jump, but had exited the water 18 inches closer to me, "my boat" would have caught that sucker ! Talk about a "heart in the thoat" moment ! So, would that have been a legal catch ??? :-) I guarantee you one thing.... with no time battling the thing on a rod before landing it, it would have been hotter than $#%^ and probably would have beat the heck out of my boat, everything in it, and myself too ! Anyway, I need to get back out there today.... and tomorrow too :-) Will post a photo of a big dino-fish here soon :-) Peace, Fish POS, Here's a shot of my new baby, with my little fishing baby behind it.....

Yes ! 10am to 2pm ! Best tome BY FAR for BIG bass ! :-) 11am to 1pm is even better. I always plan tyo be on my best big fish spots during this time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ But when you said 10-2, it reminded me of this: A buddy of mine are talking about Bass... catfish... Carp... etc.... and he says something about > "Remember that 10-2 I caught" ? So I ask, "10-2 what" ? ..... to which my smart-arse buddy replies, "10-2 your own dam business" ! :-) LOL Oh well. What are good buddies for, huh ? :-) Peace, Fish

After one hell of an ordeal, I finally got my new truck ! :-) To make a long story short, I waited for my custom ordered F150 for 2 freaking months.... Only to walk into that dealership last week, and have them tell me, "We're sorry. Ford decided not to build anymore 08' F150's, and you have been waiting 2 months for nothing. Sorry." ! Ah buddies, I was freaking IRATE ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So after contemplating it for a while, knowing that I could open up my options 10 fold, by just going with an extended cab, I called another dealership to see what they could do. Well, they found the exact truck I wanted, at another nearby dealership...... Except for "one more thing"..... It had the 5.4L V8 instead of the 4.6L. There goes another couple MPG's.... Oh well. Gas is so cheap anyway, right ? :-O So basically, I had my arm twisted into getting a bigger, badder truck than I really needed..... But d**n this thing is looking SOOO freaking sweet in front of the house ;-) I'll post some photos soon..... Just give me a minute to get the aftermarket tires, grille, tinted glass, etc, etc :-) I'm going to be dumping about $4K into it within the next couple weeks, and then I'll be ready to roll ! ;-) Stoked ! Fish

I'd be glad too. Peace, Fish

Nah.... I was looking at a Toyota Tundra.... But they didn't have one I wanted to buy, off of any lot, anywhere in the Western US, and they just didn't want to special order me one. They said they could, but that it would take 4 to 6 "months" ! .... and it quickly became obvious that they didn't want to wait 4 to 6 months to make a sale, any more than I wanted to wait 4 to 6 months, to get a new truck ! So, Ford told me they could get me a custom F150 in 4 to 6 weeks, but again, I'm still waiting :-( ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BTW, if your wondering what I want from a truck which is SOOOO special, that nobody has one, on any lot, anywhere, here's what it is; I want a fairly nice, fairly upgraded truck..... you know, with like power windows and locks, full carpeting, CD player, full paint options, cruise control, etc...... >HOWEVER< mine HAS to be a regular cab, standard bed ! {note; The 08' Ford F150 regular cab, does actually have small wing doors, and quite a bit of space behind the seats.... all the more reason I don't need an extended cab} The problem is, you can get reg. cab, standard bed trucks, all day long > as stripped doiwn, bare bones, work trucks..... OR, you can get all the nice options I want, "with" an extended cab, but as soon as you try to cross these two things, you lose ALL availability :-( Put it this way, I owned my Toyota Tacoma for 11 years. During that time, I had a single passenger in it maybe 5 times.... a 3rd passenger straddling the center, maybe twice. Honestly, I don't remember a single time, when I needed a back seat..... So why should I pay several thousand extra dollars for it ? Not to mention, "I do need a standard length (6 1/2ft) bed, for my 7 1/2 poles (diagonal) and to get a standard bed, on an extended cab, puts you right back to the special order, AND then you better have plenty room to park that long ol' thing, which I don't. So anyway, that's where I'm at. Peace, Fish

Well now, like I've said many times before, I release 'all' of my biggest fish (and most of the smaller ones too) because "I like to catch big fish" ! For me to catch a big fish, kill it, and hang it on the wall, would be "to hurt my own future odds, of catching an even bigger fish". My buddies and I have C/R'd big bass, and then re-C/R'd the very same fish, with solid photo proof, many times. And the more time that passes, the more often it happens. If I C/R a big fish, then one of you comes along and catches it > totally because < I chose to release it, that's great ! Congrats to you. But I've got to be honest, I C/R'd that fish, first and foremost, to increase my own odds at catching that fish again, in the future, when it had grown to be even larger. For me to kill a big fish, would be like shooting myself in the foot. Just totally counter-productive, and illogical. Peace, Fish

In case anyone was wondering, I haven't been fishing for more than 6 weeks !!! {maybe the longest down time in my adult life :-() The reason being, I special ordered a brand new truck, straight from the factory, to tow the boat. It was supposed to take 4 to 6 weeks.... but it's been 7 weeks now, and still no word :-( The really bad thing is, since I wasn't sure how long it would take me to sell my old, worn out Toyota Tacoma, I figured I better start trying to sell it, right after I ordered my new truck. So, I put it on sacramento.craigslist.com, and sold the darn thing in 1 hour, and 15 minutes, and that's because the guy had to drive 40 minutes to come get it ! I got litterally 20 plus phone calls in less than 2 hours ! Sold it for a lot more than I originally thought I would ask for it too ! So that was all fine and good..... But here I am 6 weeks later, still waiting on my new truck ! Urggg ! Maybe soon.... Great fishing to you guys :-) Fish

Hey Paul, that is one bug-eyed monster you got there ! Whooo Hooo ! :-) Big congrats to you :-) Continued success, Fish

Hey Hawg Caller, basically, most of the lakes I fish at have pure Florida bass. Only a couple have pure Northerns. Of course you have lakes like Clear Lk. which used to have nothing but Northerns, then was planted with Floridas, so those are obviously mixed (and I believe, will eventually revert to mostly Northern.... which is why I believe legit DD's are so tough from Clear Lk.... but thats a whole other story) So anyway, the lake I caught this one from is designated a pure Northern strain lake by the DFG, and is a lake which is "out of the way" of Florida strain lakes, plus, only has one entrance / boat ramp, and so it is unlikely to have very many "illegal" introductions. Not to mention, the lake record is only 13.7 lbs... Huge for a Northern, but kind of ho-hum for a big Florida strain trout-eater. Yea.... that good ol' live bait :-) It's funny, because as much as I enjoy fishing it, swimbaits typically just make it SO much "easier" to catch a big one. But again, as this catch shows, their certain times and places (although rare) where live bait is the best choice. Peace, Fish BTW Hawg Caller, you said > i am amazed that you take better pix BY YOURSELF than most of us do when we have someone with us. < Thank you. It's funny, I find it more difficult to direct another human being, to put the camera where I want it, and tell them what I want them to do with it, that I do to just use a tripod, and do ALL of the directing from both ends :-) And I think overall, my self taken shots usually do come out better, than when I have help from someone else, even though the same camera / settings are used.....

Okay so, a couple hours after I get on the lake, I find one cruising around the out skirts of a bed, that looked about 6. Fished it with a Huddlebug for a while, and it acted interested.... But I didn't want to burn up too much time on a 6 lb'er, so I was just about to leave... Then thought, "Well, I could try dropping a crawler on it... Pow ! Fish on :-) After that, I hooked up with (what felt like) a good one on the Hud, but only kept it on for about 3 cranks, and it came unbuttoned :-( So, I go around the corner, and see this big dark shadow patrolling up and down a 30 foot stretch of shoreline, about 15 feet out, 5 or 6 feet deep. But it was WAY choppy, bordering on small white caps.... so no visible details whatsoever. Threw the Hud past it first, and didn't get much, if any attention. So then I tip hook a crawler, and try to get it as close to her as possible. Of course the wind blew it 6 feet off coarse, but still, she swam right over to it, watched it sink all the way to the bottom, and then scooped it right up :-) Stick ! And she fought like mad too ! Hooked her right smack in the center, of the bone in her top lip. Couldn't have lost her if I tried... But you never know this when your fighting them. At 10.6 lbs, she edges out that flawless 10.4 lb'er I got a few weeks ago, as my new PB Northern strain Largemouth :-) And BTW, this is my first DD bass on live bait in 3 years. In fact, it was really just a passing thought, as I was leaving the house, to grab a box of crawlers out of the fridge.... But then I thought, what the heck, if I need them, I'll have them. Besides, I have caught several nice bass to 8 1/2 lbs from this lake, on crawlers, in the past. Anyway, that was it for the day.... but it was still a great day :-) Peace, Fish

I think it really depends on a lot of this. When a bass inhales a big swimbait, it really has nothing it can do "besides" try to jump and throw the lure. It can't make any fast runs, because unless it can shut its mouth completely (tough when its stuffed full of swimbait) it's mouth acts like a driftsock, catching all kinds of water, and creating way too much drag. So again, litterally 95%+ of my swimbait fish try to jump. With a small bait, when they can close their mouth all the way, it varies from fish to fish. As for the ability of big {old} fish to jump, that really varies too. My 18.4 PB made 3 huge runs, the first followed by a straight up high jump, clearing the water by her full 29" body length ! {still seared into my memory 5 years later} The second run, followed by a low, but long jump that must have been twice her body length. The final run was another attempted high jump.... but she only managed to get her tail a few inches above the surface. My 15.8 (the fatty in my old avatar photo) tried to jump, but couldn't get her tail above water. My recent 17.1 came to the surface a couple times like she was going to jump, but instead just burned a bunch of drag. Again, its just a variable thing from fish to fish... Peace, Fish

believe me, when I first get my Tundra, its going to be hard "not" to use it for some of my daily driving...... But then again, litterally 98% of my driving is either for my work (which I couldn't afford the gas for, in my truck anyway) or my fishing (which fortunately is 95% highway). Of my typical 800 to 1200 miles a week of driving, probably less than 20 miles of it is when I'm not either working, or going fishing. Oh, but anyway, the other reason I won't drive it much for anything "besides fishing" is that I have a very nice little 07" Hyundai, which gets good mileage, and handles great ! That thing hooks some corners ! Slow down for what ? :-) My car actually gets a lot of compliments too..... Too bad the most common one is from the girls who say, "Oh, what a cute little car" ! Uhhh.... thanks :-? Peace, Fish

Good one Muddy :-) But yes Raul, high octane PETA fuel, to say the least ! I have heard about the smell of dead coyotes scaring off live ones.... but then, wouldn't placing the carcass in a gunny sack out there in the field, give off the same scent ? "OR" at least hang in behind the barn, or some trees, etc. more hidden from public view. I wouldn't force somebody to watch me clean a fish either, if they didn't want to see it. Fish

On the way to one of my favorite lakes, their is this one farmers field, where he has (the last time I drove by) 3 dead Coyote's strung up by there rear feet, from the top of the steel poles on his barbed wire fence, right beside a much traveled public roadway. Okay, so its his land. And maybe these Coyotes had been killing his livestock. Probably totally within his rights to kill them. And ya' know, I think I need to make a disclaimer here; I don't have ANY problem with hunting, nor even controlled kills of certain species, when deemed neccessary and unavoidable by the DFG. HOWEVER, IMPO hanging these animals beside the road to rot, in clear display is just plain crude, rude, and indecent exposure for the general public which is subjected to it. Each time I've wanted to stop, take photos, and show you how bad this looks..... But then, I figure, I would be just as wrong as that farmer is, for posting those pics on a public forum. Your opinins please.... Fish

I guess if I started out by saying, "Say you had a Mossy Oak Shadow Grass" painted boat like mine..... that would be assuming you liked the natural camo look to begin with..... but I don't know how else to ask, because I do have a boat like this.... Anyway, the question is, for a vehicle which will pretty much 'only' be used to tow my boat, would you prefer; 1) A totally camo's out truck like this one> 2) A camo highlighted truck like this one, with paint that matches the camo nicely (don't pay attention to the wheels... except the color of them.... nor to the brand of truck. I'm simply asking about cosmetics here) or 3) A bright red or blue truck with 22" chrome wheels ? Your opinions mean more to me, than that of guys who mostly don't fish or hunt.... Your votes please... Peace, Fish

I know your always saying silly stuff like, "Fish, your da' man... yada... yada......" Well hey dude, of course I'm always flattered.... but just so you know, My biggest personal five fish limit, is only 40 and change. So actually.... YOU da' man ! :-) Peace, Fish PS, It's rare for me to catch "five bass" of any size, in one trip.... let alone, "five good ones" !

That is a very fat, but also very clean, healthy looking bass ! A fish like that makes it a "good trip" ! :-) Here's a fat one for you... This was the 15.8 lb'er I used to use in my avatar. Peace, Fish

If the bait monkey depended on me, he'd starve to death. I rarely buy new tackle. If I don't have it, I probably don't need it. And it's not just because of my sponsors (although they certainly help). The fact is, reels can be rebuilt. Rods last a really long time. So does braided line. I only use a few different lures, and 1 color is usually fine. I truly believe that most anglers are brainwashed into believing they have to have a whole bunch of new lures, of all different colors, etc, etc.... but it's simply not true. Chances are extremly good, that if the fish won't bite what I'm putting in front of them, its either because I'm presenting it wrong, or they simply are not going to bite anything, at that time and place. 40 years of experience has shown me that trying 20 different lures almost never makes a difference. If a guy just likes to have lots of pretty new lures, in all different colors, because he enjoys collecting / playing with them, that's fine.... Just so he knows its not going to make much difference with how many, or how big of fish he catches. Peace, Fish