Fish Chris

Why not use a totally visible (I often use white) braided line, with a fluorocarbon leader ? This allows me to see my end much better, and the fishes end is still as invisible as you can get. (for whatever that matters). Personally, I think its more important that my fluorocarbon or mono leader is more abasion resistent around rocks, or over a big basses teeth, and it gives me a bit of a shock absorber, when used in conjuction with an almost zero stretch braided mainline. Peace, Fish

TUF-Line XP and TUF-Plus I used to use Spiderwire. It worked okay, but is WAY overpriced. I tried a whole bunch of other brands between Spiderwire and TUF-Line, and I think they were ALL night and day better than any monofilament on the planet, but I settled on TUF-Line for the best line at the best price..... and then they started sponsoring me a few years later. So now I get the best line, at the "really" best price... free dollars and 0 cents ;-) I can't believe nobody has said anything about that "fused" garbage ! Come on you guys ! That stuff makes awesome dental floss ! :-) My buddies and I like to call it "Fired Line" :-) LOL Peace, Fish

> I'm sure that all of us have caught bedded bass that we haven't seen whether we like to catch them off te bed or not.JMHO. < Very good point ! In fact, I plan to do some "blind" sight-fishing here shortly, in an area that I know 15 to 17 lb'ers to spawn..... but in which the water is way too murky to actually see so much as a shadow of them :-) Wish me luck. Peace, Fish

Just one thing I'd ask you to consider; At many places in the country (most especially in the warmer climates) over-recruitment {and reverse selective harvest of the largest fish}, leading to lots of smaller fish, and not too many big ones, is much more of a problem than under-recruitement (especially from a trophy anglers standpoint). So to agree with what you said > "Yes, bed fishing might be affecting our fishing future"..... > for the better ! (although every fishery is different, and should be treated accordingly). I LOVE bed-fishing :-) Can't wait ! Peace, Fish

first off, what the others said > Yes, those are some nice, healthy bass. Good job ! But I'm totally tripping here..... How is it, that I'm the only one here who doesn't know what species of fish your holding in the first photo ? Or, the only one that thought to ask..... or, that I'm the only one that noticed that that first photo is not a bass ? Geeez, I thought I knew pretty much every fish in North America.... and 98% of the freshwater fish, and 90% of the saltwater fish on the planet as well. But that one has me stumped. Uhhhh.... maybe an Asian Grass Carp ? ......but then I thought they were almost totally plant eaters, and that one ate a crankbait ??? Am I the only dummy here ? Will you please clue me in ? Thank you, Fish

The smell of success ;-) Peace, Fish

how big was that fish in your avatar ? Where from ? That thing looks big, and beautiful ! Perfectly shaped. How did it fight ? Just curious, Fish

I knew I posted about being prepared, but failed to find it when I came back... Sometimes (like yesterday with my nice catch) I accidentaly post in the wrong forum section.... But in this case, I really had no idea where to post it. Anyway, yea... Like I was saying, "Be ready at all times on the water, so you don't find yourself left out, with nobody to blame but yourself" ! Peace, Fish

CasesbyPelican.com About $90, and worth every penny ! :-) Peace, Fish

Hey now, yesterday after I caught that nice one, and put it in the box, I started looking for my scale..... and DOH ! I left my 50 lb Berkely in my Winter Striper / Sturgeon bag ! Thankfully, I carry my certified Salter in my Pelican camera case. Thank God for backups ! Because the way I see it, I don't care if that fish was a 15 lb'er..... if I didn't know the actual weight, I couldn't even count it as a DD catch, nor add it to my list. Do you have a good scale with you at all times ? How about a backup ? (even if its just a cheapie). How about cameras ? And a back up too ? Even if they are just those cheesy little disposables. Do you always have a good way to "temporarily" hold your fish ? A live well is "okay" but a 100qt icebox is better for "big" fish. And then if your shore fishing, you should ALWAYS have a length of cloths line in your back pocket or tackle pouch, to be used as a stringer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bottom line is, you need to always be ready to temporarily hold, weigh, and photograph your next (or first) monster bass ! 'After' you catch the fish of a lifetime, is NOT the time to run around like a chicken with your head cut off, trying to get things worked out, which you should have taken care of beforehand. Here's my little waterproof, shock proof, dust proof, floatable Pelican camera case, with my two digital fish photo cameras, and my Salter certified digital scale. This case (and its contents) are just about as important to me on a fishing trip, as my tackle bag ! Oh.... and here it is again ;-) What ? Me show off a big catch ??? :-) LOL Peace, Fish

you guys know how I'm always preaching about "always being ready", right ? You know like, carrying 3 scales, 4 cameras, always having a livewell ready (even if its just a large icebox, in your small aluminum) a stringer rope, tightly packable rain gear, etc. Okay... So I stuck that nice one yesterday, got her in the livewell, and started looking for my scale..... Doh ! I left it in my Winter bag (Striper / Sturgeon bag) ! Well, thank God I carry my Salter scale in my Pelican camera case :-)(along with a spare 9 volt battery) As it wouldn't matter if that fish was 15 freaking lbs, without an actual weighing, I would never know "what she really weighed", nor could I add it to my list of DD's {IMPO, if you don't actual know the weight, it's better not to even mention it.... than to have to tell the story with an asterik beside it} This little waterproof, floatable, shock proof, impact resistent Pelican case is as important to me on my fishing trips, as is my tackle bag. The best fishing of the year is just about to begin ! My best advice is to set down and make a check list of everything you are going to need to catch, handle, photo, weigh, and release the "biggest bass of your life" !!! And make sure you have every item checked before you go on that first trip ! BTW, back up cameras and scales are always a good thing.... even if the back up is just a disposable 35mm, and the scale is a decent little spring type..... Just too cheap not to carry. Always be ready ! Then you won't have to put any asteriks beside your big fish story :-) Peace, Fish

Great looking fish, regardless of the weight. Either way, many more "bigger ones" for you this season, right ? :-) Stay on em' ! Fish

it was me that was wrong..... I guess I was trying to get to 100 even sooner ;-) Had to go back and look at my photo lineup.... but your right.... This was only #83..... Either way, only 17 to go ;-) .....although I'd rather get just one 19 plus lb'er :-) Peace, Fish

I wouldn't want to jinx myself, but I do expect to get at least a handful more DD's.... and I'd be surprised (and somewhat let down) if I didn't get at least a low teener. But of course you just never know...... and if you "did know", what would be the point ? Time will tell, Peace, Fish

your close.... but this makes 84 :-) One of these days, I'm going to get a "BIG" one from Berry :-) I've caught (just a quick guess without going back through all of my photo pages) about 10 DD bass from Berry, but the biggest was only 12.6 lbs. This place has 17+ lb'ers...... but they could be anywhere in those 20,000 + acres ! Kind of a tall task.... but with enough persistence, patience, and perseverance...... :-) Peace, Fish

Well today was my first bass fishing trip of the year. Went to my home Lk. Berryessa, which is still pretty chilly, and a bit murky (about 6 ft vis on the main lake). But to be quite honest, I gave my odds of catching even a single fish, about 20%. I did feel that if I caught one though, there would be an 80% chance of it being between 8 and 12 lbs. The thing was though, I knew the weather was going to be absolutely perfect, and this would be the first real fishing trip since I had my carborator replaced, so I wanted to give it a good solid test run...... and it ran like a top ;-) Anyway, I pulled up to my first spot, and made a cast with (what else ?) the Hud, and did a medium retrieve, without letting it sink. Nothing. Second cast, I let it sink, but I was "on top of" a long tapering point, instead of beside it in deeper water, and coming up over it. Nothing. Third cast, I let it sink, and it sunk quite a ways. I guess 35 feet or so ? Started my retrieve, got about half way in, and whack ! (geez, I had almost forgotten how cool that feels ;-)) Fish on ! Turned out to be a large framed, but very empty 11.30 lb'er. I swear she looked spawned out already ! But anyway, not a bad way to start the new year :-) I did have one more sharp little whack, but it really felt like an agressive little 2 lb Spot, instead of a big Largemouth. Great weather, boat ran great, and a nice bass too :-) All in all, a great trip :-) Peace, Fish

Are you sure this is a Carp ? Used to be, if it had long fins, it was a Goldfish.... But then they went and bred Koi (domesticated Carp) with long fins too, and this makes things even more confusing. I can't tell from the photo, but if it does not have barbels at the corners of its mouth, this would be a fancy (domesticated) Goldfish..... and not a Carp. Cool catch though :-) Peace, Fish

ya' know, I totally love dogs, and all kinds of pets for that matter..... But bringing one on a boat with me would mess me up 3/4's as bad as it would to bring along a human. Whether I'm talking to / petting a dog, or socializing with another angler, either way, I'm not fishing..... So that won't work. Peace, Fish

Yes, you really have to hook a good Sturgy or two someday ! It's almost scary ! I mean, those things will make you feel so "powerless" or should I say, "Out of control of the situation" ! Especially a big one ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BTW, the OP said "freshwater" but yes, I hear "any fish in the Tuna family" is like pure horse power ! I guess the closest I've ever caught were some Mackeral on the micro-light once, and those 2 or 3 lb fish fought like any 10 llb freshwater sportfish I've ever caught ! Oh and Bat Rays !!! Holy $%#% ! Those things make you feel like you snagged the bumper of a passing school bus ! Just rediculously strong ! Peace, Fish

the key is light line (no heavier than 4 lb test.... 2 or 3 if you don't mind dealing with it). And a very small, light wire hook. A dry fly hook in a size 12 to 16 is perfect. Bait ? Come on ! What fish can resist a worm ? :-) Red worms are perfect, but part of a mini crawler, or small earthworms work fine too. Make sure to run your drag "really" light, to keep from ripping out that tiny hook. If you are going to use a throw net, make sure to check if it's legal in your area. Throw nets are not legal, in the freshwater in my area. .......which is fine, as I'm lousy with a throw net anyway :-) Peace, Fish

Not sure if you would call these "quirks" or not.... But I do have some obsessive / compulsive habits attached to my fishing. 1) I check my drag litterally like 100 times or more, per trip ! I mean like, every other cast, or even 3 out of every 4 casts. I mean, it's not like I need to do this.... My Okuma drags are always silky, and unless I have bumped them (which is rare) it's always fine. I just can't help myself. 2) I check my hook points constantly ! Again like every other cast.... even when I haven't even bumped anything that might have dulled my point. I just can't help but check my hook point, over, and over. 3) I check my leaders for nicks or frays, really often, also. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh.... Maybe this is a "quirk".... I can't fish and socialize at the same time. And maybe this is one; I can't bring myself to do anything which the masses are doing.... Like Senko's, or drop-shotting for example. Oh, and yes, it does bug me a little that the masses "are now" throwing swimbaits, but I take comfort in the fact that I was throwing swimbaits 10 years ago, "before" it was the mainstream thing to do. Peace, Fish

I think I'd ask him (or her) > How would you like to fish wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted, for as long as you wanted, however you wanted, with nobody in your way ??? < Then I'd have to add, "It's really great. I promise. Maybe someday, you will be so lucky too" ;-) Peace, Fish PS, "The Pro's" that I ***, are like Larry Dalberg, Pete Mana, Al Lindner, etc..... In other words, the guys that do their own thing, and get paid for it too ! And to those pro's I'd ask, "How can I be like you" ?

Well, ounce for ounce, I'd have to say it's the Sunfish.... but to be more specific, I'd say it was the Bluegill. Bowfins are radical strong, and a blast to catch :-) Smallies just don't give up ! But as far as just absolute "horse power" the strongest freshwater fish I've ever tangled with were Sturgeon ! {even when talking pound for pound}. I've caught little ones... like say 20 lb'ers, which made you think you had a good sized keeper ! But then with my 300 lb'er, I was using 80 lb braid, on light salt-water tackle, with my drag cranked down really tight, and it still took 55 minutes ! Thank God I was in a boat that the fish could just drag around. Honestly, I think a bigger boat would have made it a lot tougher, "unless" the Captain was good at chasing down fish. Anyway, to make a long story short, the next morning after I caught my PB Sturgeon, it honestly felt like I had been in a car accident ! Every muscle in my body was just aching. I even had aches in places I didn't know had any muscles ! And to make matters worse, none of my fishing buddies even felt sorry for me :-) LOL Peace, Fish

Sorry, I've been having all kinds of problems connecting to the internet, since my recent move. Hoping it's fixed now. It's been a long time since I saw the photo of your 18.8. What an incredible fish ! I love that hump shape to its back. It reminds me of Paul DuClose's HUGE 20 plus (IMPO) Nor Cal bass. BTW, the biggest bass ever caught in Nor Cal was "only" an 18.7 lb'er.... So, although your 18.8 was not even your biggest, it still beats our "little ol' 18.7 ;-) .....and of course my "tiny little 18.4 :-) LOL But hey now, (as it was recently mentioned) > "I haven't caught my biggest bass yet" < :-) Hoping to stick the first 19-20 from Nor Cal this year :-) Great fishing to you WRB, Fish

But I'm telling you, in real life, thier work is so amazing, (so much better than the website) that I have a VERY hard time walking away from their display ! Yes, their Sunfish are great ! As are their Crappie ! And Steelheads.... And you should see their 9+ lb Char ! I'd love to have them do a replica for a 300 lb Sturgeon. How crazy would that be ? :-) Peace, Fish