Fish Chris

As for braid cutting easily on rocks, yes, this is just one of several reasons I always use a high quality fluorocarbon leader, in conjuction with my braided mainline. Problem solved :-) Peace, Fish

Why don't one of those guys go back this year, and stick her again, all fair and square ! Heck, I don't care if she is on the old age decline.... or if she dumps some eggs.... or if she pukes up a couple of hatchery trout bars.... She should still oughta' go 22-6 ! Personally speaking, if I were in those guys shoes, and "even if" the IGFA would now certify either of those catches, I sure as heck wouldn't want to hear all of the fallout from that whole deal ! It's just too darn possible to go stick her again. I'm sure there are guys who will read this and not understand "how possible" it would be to catch her again.... But I certainly know, and Mac and Jed surely know this too. Hmmmm, I don't get it, Fish

Hello Slinging Southpaw. Issues with superline ? Was it too thin ? Too strong ? Not enough memory ? ;-) As a superline fanatic, I just had to rib you a bit. :-) Seriously though, fluorocarbon (which is really just a glorified mono-filament) and braid are totally night and day. I do use fluorocarbon as a leader material, in conjunction with my braided superline. I find that a quality fluorocarbon such as Seaguar, has excellent knot strength with all the typical knots used with braid and mono. I too prefer to use a palomar to attach my hooks and lures, or sometimes an improved clinch, or bloodknot. All of these knots work great with braid, mono, or fluorocarbon. I've said this before, but I have to say it again..... and please read this like 10 X's !!! >>> The trick with tying good knots (of any type, with any line) is in being able to detect when you have tied a lousy one, and just cutting it off and trying again. It should cinch down smoothly, evenly, and completely, leaving a nice, uniform knot. If not, try again.... and again, if you have to. Never fish with a lame knot, or you will lose fish ! Guaranteed" !!!!!!!!! <<< Peace, Fish

Well, I typically bring a good sized lunch... a sandwich, or even two, for trips longer than 8 or 10 hours, plus some chips, sweets, an apple, or a bananna. ........and considering that my big fish game is more mental than physical anyway, it doesn't matter if I'm eating or not. I start my brain-storming before I get on the water, and this goes on all day, mouth full or not :-) This said, I have gotten into some one-on-one competitions (while sight fishing) that lasted for 8 to 10 hours straight, during which time I darn near dehydrated and / or starved to death, even though I had water and a lunch box right at my feet ! ......all because I was too focused / entranced to take a couple minutes to take a drink, and eat a few bites. Peace, Fish

No ! Seriously..... and I don't think it's just me. But then again, I have more giant bass swim right up to the side of my boat, and stop to look straight at me, than anybody I ever talk to, also. I have know idea why this is. {I always talk to them like, "Ahh, come on... You know you want to come in the boat to see me" ! :-)} But anyway, just try this first.... and then tell me I'm crazy :-) Peace, Fish

{just mentioned this in the "Kissing a bass" thread, but in case you were to miss that} Have you ever held a bass out in front of you, horizontally, like for a photo, then shifted the fishes head away from you, then back towards you ? I swear that they will shift their eyes back and forth, to compensate for you moving them back and forth, so that they can maintain direct eye contact with you ! Think I'm kidding ? Try it ! It's pretty strange. Peace, Fish

Hey T-rig, I'd love to see that !!! :-) LOL I've kissed a few of them, but ordinarily I just thank them for coming into my boat for a photo session and weighing :-) I'll tell you what I have always kind of tripped on though.... You guys ever hold a bass sideways to you, and shift their head towards and away from you ? I swear they will shift their eyes back and forth so they can keep looking straight at you ! Pretty weird. Try it. But don't trip on it too long.... get her back in the water ASAP...... if you want the chance to catch her again, when she is even bigger..... Peace, Fish

I have an old skin mount of an 8-9, from way back in the day (16 years ago) right here above my PC. I've actually went though several stages with this mount. For the first few years I was like, "Wow ! What a huge bass" ! ....and I was really proud of it. Later, as I learned more about the importance of C/R of trophy bass, I kind of became a little bit ashamed of it, and I beat myself up a little for killing it, often wondering how big it might have gotten, if it were not for my dum-bass ? Finally, as of the last few years, I have gotten to where I look at it and think, "Wow ! It's sure amazing how things have changed ! For one, I have learned so many things about big bass, that I had no clue about back then. And for another, "I actually thought that little ol' 8-9 was a REALLY big bass" ! Doh ! ;-) But hey, live and learn right ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So anyway Rolo, when you said..... > I once looked into the fiberglass replicas (money in hand) and was not able to find one decent fish pose. Most of them had a backward reflex (banana bend), an overextended mouth or a bad tail flip. With a skin mount, you leave the taxidermist photographs or diagrams of exactly what you want. With a replica, in addition to settling for someone else's fish pose, it would take a miracle to find the mold of someone's else's fish that had the same length, girth and shape as your fish. < Yes, the things you mentioned are so often true, which is why I was so excited when I recieved the replica of my 18.4..... I chose the close mouth pose, as it was so natural, and relaxed... and, because it looked so different from most other mounts. Plus, when Robert Munoz saw the photos of my fish (I also told him the length and girth) he immediately said, "YES ! I have some replicas which came from Casitas fish which are spot on in size and shape"! Then I saw finished examples, and I totally agreed ! Anyway, the bottom line is (and I just wish you could see it in person) the only Largenouth Bass mounts I have ever seen in my life, which I thought were more impressive than my own, were those of 20 plus lb fish. The work on those might not have even been quite as good as mine..... But yes, size does matter :-) Peace, Fish

And one other thing: If at first you don't suceed, then fishing is a much better choice than sky-diving :-) Fish

So what's wrong with that ? I get skunked on a regular basis. Did it again today, as a matter of fact. As long as you can still have fun "when you don't catch any fish", then you can't really have a "bad trip" ! Plus, then when you do smoke them, it makes your success even sweeter ! :-) Gotta' pay those dues ! Peace, Fish

Had a nice afternoon on the water (besides a little rain). Wind stayed down though. And I even saw two Bald Eagles ! Anyway, I went through my whole rout. Never saw another boat on any of my spots. Got to use a sweet brand new Okuma rod and reel, throwing a sweet brand new Hud....... but never had a touch :-( Oh well, like I said, I was only "one bite short of the perfect trip" :-) I'll get one the next time. Peace, Fish

When you said > Big fish breed big fish < you are correct. And this used to be my primary stance for the promotion of the C/R of trophy bass. However, over the years I have come to believe that "that one particular trophy bass that an angler has just caught" has MUCH more value. The fact is, a bass with "all the right genes" could be lucky enough to grow to 15 lbs, and produce litterally "hundreds of thousands of eggs" throughout it's life time, and yet it's still entirely possible that not "one single one of those hundreds of thousands of eggs, will ever become a 15 lb bass" ! It is equally possible that a 5 lb bass "has all the right genes to get to be 15 lbs" it just hasn't gotten there yet. Say it has only had 3 spawns of 50k eggs total, in it's life. But just by luck of the draw, 3 of its 50k eggs go on to become 15 lb'ers....... while she, herself, was killed the following year at only 6 lbs. My point in mentioning all these possibilities, is simply to point out that anything can happen with bass spawns. But with that "one particular giant" that an angler is holding in his hands, it has "already beat absolutely incredible odds to get as big as it has" and at this point, the only thing affecting those odds from that point forward, is the angler holding it. If I let a 15 lb'er go, you won't have to wait 13 years to see IF it produced any 15 lb offspring". Instead, you can go catch that exact same 15 lb'er next week ! :-) Peace, Fish Hey RW, can you imagine how that thing must have tasted ? ;-)

Hey these are some very cool looking swimbaits, but those hard plastic bills will be responsible for SOOOO many "non-hookups" or "lame hook-ups" which quickly come unbottoned. Sure, I caught a lot of big fish back in the day, on the Castaic hard head / soft bodied trout, but that hard plastic bill also cost me a TON of them.... and that in itself is the biggest reason that I throw the Hud now. Peace, Fish

It bothers me too, to hear people trying to tell the next guy what he should or should not do.... or should I say, "to make his decisions for him".... or how about, "to take away his rights". All I attempt to do is to "fully inform" anglers of the results of their decisions. Given the proper information, I believe most people will make the right decision. A few will not, but we can't do anything about those few. Peace, Fish

we can go round and round on this, but yes, if a guy likes to catch big fish, then he turns around and kills a big fish, he has hurt his own odds in the future. It's as simple as that. Of course that is his choice. I just feel that he should be fully aware of the concequences of his own actions. Lest you wonder why I should feel the need to go on and on about this, it's simply because so few people seem to understand how direct, and immediate the consequences of their actions can be, concerning the C/R of big fish. ........And believe me, I've been there too ! Nine years ago when my buddy C/R'd his new PB of 13.2 lbs, then I C/R'd the very same fish a week later, to become my new PB as well, we thought that was just the most incredibly amazing coincidence on the planet ! Nine years later, we routinely re-catch big bass, and hardly bat an eye. Peace, Fish PS, You seem to be taking this somewhat personally Muddy Man. Please don't. I'm simply saying that if you have 10 big bass in a pond, and you remove one, you have reduced your odds by 10%. Their doesn't need to be any emotions involved here. These are just the facts of the matter.

No disrespect, but IMPO, his friend is 100% mistaken. It seems that no matter how much I show people the undisputable evidence of C/R's, followed by re-C/R's of the very same fish, there are still some people that think it's okay to kill a big fish. I want you to understand that I'm not getting all bent out of shape over here as I type this.... Look, I'm smilling :-) I just want every angler to "fully understand" that by killing even 1 big bass, they will have single-handedly reduced their own chances of catching an even bigger bass in the future. Yea', theirs the whole thing about that fishes genes, and yada, yada. But it's not near so much that, as it is the VERY REAL possibility of an angler re-catching that exact C/R'd fish, maybe when it has grown even larger ! Heck, my buddies and I have done it numerous times ! So would you say that's just because we are just the most awesome anglers on the planet ? ;-) LOL I think not. It can happen for anybody. So anyway, the other fact of the matter is, if 98% of the anglers on this forum were to catch and kill every big bass they ever caught, it would have "zero" effect on me personally, as most people here don't even fish the same waters I do. {thankfully, one of the only ones who does, Supermatt, feels as strongly about C/R of giant bass as I do. Thank you Matt} If a guy loves to catch big bass, then to kill even one of them on purpose, is like punching himself in the nose. Go for it ! I won't feel a thing :-) Peace, Fish

> If nothing else, when I get too old to fish I will have some great looking lures to display or pass on to my son. < Yes, some of the hard baits are definately collectible works of art, which is why I would recommend keeping them in pristine "unused" condition, on the fireplace mantel where they belong :-) Then you can feed those "disposable" soft plastic swimbaits to the hawg bass ! ;-) Peace, Fish

Mounting fish, you asked ? I thought about it a few times, but I didn't want to get scales on my #$@# ! Doh ! :-) LOL Okay, now seriously, no matter what anyone might tell you, the final decision is your own. Seeing as a large part of my life has / does revolve around trophy bass, and the bigger, the better, of course I think releasing a big bass is always a great idea..... However, with that said, I'm the first to admit, when I C/R a big bass, I'm doing it first, and foremost "FOR ME" ! Hey, if you happen to go out and C/R a big bass that I had previously C/R'd, that's great. Hats off to ya' ! But I wasn't thinking about you, when I released that fish.... I was thinking about me ! Call me selfish, but I love to stick big bass ! ......and BTW, I have re-caught and released several big bass in the past, and every time it happens, it reminds me why C/R, most especially of the big ones, is ALWAYS a great thing. Peace, Fish PS, Here's one I C/R'd in 2005: ....and again in 2006 For me to kill a big bass, would be like punching myself in the nose.

none of these lures are as effective as the Hud. I have tons of big bass buddies who use every new swimbait that comes out. Most of these lures seem to catch fish every now and again, but none come close to the Hud. I keep watching closely though, and as soon as a swimbait.... any swimbait, hard or soft, shows some real promise, as to being more effective than the Hud, I'll buy a few and give them a solid shake. I've even told Ken Huddleston more than once, "You know I think your trout is absolutely the best on the market, and you know its all I use"...... "HOWEVER, should somebody come out with something that produces better, then I will have to make that switch.... It wouldn't be anything personal. I still think Ken is a great guy. But I will always use whatever works the best". Again though, like I said, I have tons of friends, including one real, hard-core trophy bass circle, who use the heck out of every swimbait on the market. Those guys are "at least" as good of trophy bass anglers as I am {probably better} so I have all the confidence in the world that if something better comes around, it won't get by them. But so far, nothing. Peace, Fish

I certainly have had my fair share of light hearted swats at my swimbait.... sometimes I even saw the fish... and sometimes they were hawgs ! But it's usually pretty obvious that they were not "trying to eat it" but rather, just checking it out. Granted, had I had hooks hanging all over the thing, I might have had a better chance of hooking the fish on the edge of the lip, or side of the head.... or even the tail if it swam up and tail swatted it (yes, I have actually seen this happen) but like Matt said, I'd likely lose a big fish from any of these types of hook ups anyway. I've actually kind of gotten to the point where I don't really even consider those light hearted swats as "missed bites" anyway. Believe me, when a big bass decides it's going to inhale that trout lure, their is not going to be anything to stop it, and it will very rarely miss ! ....and in this case, those trailers will just make the fish harder to get unhooked, and increase the odds of hurting the fish. But just to reiterate.... The less hardware in and around that lure (like steel hooks, leaders, crimps, swivels, etc) the better ! Peace, Fish

Very interesting subject. I know we have talked about this very thing in person, and by phone, but just for the sake of anyone who might want to read about this..... Yes, as a matter of fact, I once talked to the "Big Bass Guru" himself about this, and he said, "You really want to get bit" ? Remove "ALL" of the hooks from your lure" ! Oh sure, you won't put any in the boat, but you will quickly learn how conditioned big, old, 'smart' bass become to not biting a lure covered with steel / hardware. Ya' know, I have a few buddies (you know them too) who fish for both big bass, and tournies also (although not neccessarily at the same time). These guys have come up with all kinds of fancy multi-treble hook harnesses, using braided steel and crimps. I mean, it blows me away to see a Hud with 4 trebles strapped all over it ! And guess what ? They stick a LOT more small fish, in the 3 to 6 lb range, with these hook riggings than I do with mine. But I believe my rigging will get bit a little more often by big fish, and fewer of them will come unbuttoned. However, I still believe that my rigging will get "inhaled" at least somewhat more often, and my large single treble almost always ends up right in the roof of the mouth, or right behind the top center of its lip ! In other words, they ain't coming off ! You know that my rig ends up with one large treble (two hooks pointing up, and the third buried into the Huds back, right besides the dorsal fin) sitting very close to where the 1 hook is pre-rigged in the Hud ROF #12. Of course my "first step" is to remove that large, single jig hook with a pair of dykes. Anyway, yes, I do believe that "the less hardware, the better"..... but I also believe that my rigging, with only slightly more steel and hardware involved, is worth it, as the treble can break away from the lure after hookup, and allow less leverage from the fish, against the lure, to be able to throw it. Plus, my hook can be replaced with a "surgical sharp" new one, as often as it needs to be, rather than sharpening that single stock hook a few times, until it's worthless. I've been threatening to do a photo description of my Hud rigging for a long time..... And now today, I'm stuck inside, recovering from the flu (that was a lot of fun :-( So maybe I will get started with this now.... Peace, Fish

If I were fishing for numbers of small to medium sized fish, I'd have to agree with most of you about just going on and fishing it..... and sure, I might catch some fish right behind them, but those would likely be the smaller, dumber fish which haven't yet learned to be ultra-wary (and if they keep up with bahavior like this, they won't likely have the chance to get big and wary) But big fish are different. I honestly believe that most anglers clue these fish in, and cause them to lock their jaws, before the fish ever sees their lure. More often than not, I see anglers stop out in front of a point, or circle around 30 ft off of a hump or a rock pile, and then cast "towards the point, hump, or pile" ! Problem is, big fish usually like to "hang out" right where most guys fish from, and chase their meals up onto the places that most anglers are "casting towards" ! I really believe that much of the time, the big fish have already swam off, before the angler even picks up his rod. Peace, Fish

Ya' know, when I come up to one of my big fish spots and I see some guy throwing "anything" besides a Hud {well, another large swimbait might be a little bit disturbing} I'm never the least bit concerned, that they have more than a REALLY long shot in the dark, of catching the big fish that I know use that spot. So, "I'm not scared" that they will catch my fish. On the other hand, I usually feel that they have at least "put off" the big fish I want to stick, by anouncing there presence ahead of mine, and causing that big girl to lock her jaws for a while. Therefore, I will usually just skip that spot, on that particular pass through my rout, then come back and sneak up on the spot later, after it has been left alone for at least an hour. Fish

Well, as I always say, the best money I spend all year, is on my fishing license..... about $50, for 100 plus trips, so certainly a great deal. How could one ever complain ? :-) ......but then, to top it off, I became sponsored by Yamaha G3 last year, and so of course I got a very good deal on my new boat, motor, and trailer package... But here's the kicker ! I didn't even know about this when I got my new Yamaha G3, but anyone who bought a new package from them (at least in 06'.... I'm not sure if they are still offering this in 07') gets a full reimbursement of their fishing license for 3 years ! So my "best" deal, just got even better :-) Peace, Fish PS, To say I love my new boat would be an absolute understatement :-)

The original, famous Russian caviar came from Beluga Sturgeon. However, the roe from these White Sturgeon is (unfortunately) suitable for use as caviar as well. This is a big part of the reason these fish have been so heavily poached :-( There have been several busts of illegal Sturgeon poaching rings up here in Nor Cal, in the last few years. But unfortunately, for every ring the Ca DFG seems to nail, 2 or 3 more rings pop up ! About 10 years ago the Ca DFG added the max size limit, of 72" to create a slot of 46" to 72". This was a "great move" which could have eventually done great things for the Sturgeon fishery..... However, the illegal poaching rings have all but removed any gains that the slot limit might have added :-( They need to add a completely "open season, with no bag limits" on Sturgeon poachers !!! Fish