deepsessions

great thread....nice to see some fishy backwater spots....I think I could drag my tube into a few of those places 8-) here's some pics of this last year. pre spawn.... Piper slough CA Delta post spawn...old marina... North CA Delta summer....Franks Tract CA Delta summer....South Arm of Clear Lake,Ca

you should get in contact with someone who can do water samples during the different seasons,help guide you on forage vs. predator fish,making cover,and finding you a good bream swimbait ;D

I've been fishing for bass since the early 80's and know the only way to productively catch big northerns where I grew up fishing in WA was to use live bait or use weightless plastics....big worms,slug-go's(before senko's),and gitzits. These would be a staple in the spring/summer/fall months. Since moving to Cali in '98 I've been learning about many of the great fisheries and have been trying to figure out why some bass get so big. That being said the one common thing that I've found is big forage. Whether it be hatchery raised trout or kokanee in our reservoirs, Squawfish or American Shad througout the Delta,or numbers of shad and monster hitch at Clear Lake. Everything is big in Cali wild,native,or hatchery raised. As I'm sure most of you already know the growing season is year round here. In order to match the hatch for trophy sized bass alot of guys throw swimbaits or big profile plugs to target these big fish on our many highly pressured waters. This raises your chances when fish are picky and have been feeding on one forage. When that forage decreases some guys throw big profile plastics or jigs when trophy hunting. it seems to me that there's more to getting those big bites than just using a big bait :

seems like the right retrieve and right spot have more to do with getting the bigger fish this year for me. However swimbait'n has helped me get a much better understanding of big fish mentality,location,angles etc... can't hurt to learn both just loosen up your pockets ;D

for me its all relative to the body of water,lures,and mindset. tournaments this year were around a 3-5lb average,fun fishing 2-3lbs,swimbait'n 7-8lbs with around 70-80 days on the water. Since being from a different state and learning new water I'm happy with the progression so far. Hopefully next year will bring more time on the water and some numbers like Catt,BD,and Fish Chris!

seeing your mans pic scared me for a sec...you two could almost be brother n' sister! Looks like you guys had a great time though. What I would give for my g/f to want to go fishing and not talk on our anniversary ;D as for the grey bass my understanding is they have been living in deeper water or live near cover that doesn't get alot of light penetration. The more dark green/black fish are living in shallow water with the dark green/yellow fish living in tanic water.

can't be mad at 15 fish in a couple hours work....I've been fishing for one bite lately.

90lb sturgie on micro light gear....that'll be a story you'll be tellin' for years. nice dinosaur man! I can see it now....you in the Columbia River chaising a 500lb'er with that noodle rod. respect!

I see someones been wettin' a line at LR. That place has some toads...too bad all the docks are on the best points and are filled with trout heads on the weekends! nice fish! that place can be tough.

some nice pics and a great report...gotta love river smallies!

thanks guys and gals its been a great month for me considering my boats been in the shop for almost 3 months and I've been banking it.

check your pm's

thanks guys..she was indeed a healthy fish she looked to have an appetite for destruction and probably had already had breakfast and wanted an early lunch! I got her on an 8" topwater glide bait....she missed the first time so I threw back three times over a few different angles and she finally hooked up! it was a nice fight being on braided line.

after a long battle with mishaps this last week....straightened hook,stolen swimbait tail,short strikes at the bank,giant followers,and MANY hours on the water. I was fortunet enough to get this chunky girl she went 10.3

That would be my jetta for those that don't know,lol,...We call it a "tacklebox with wheels", not a car....Snap On ain't got shizzle on me!! If you could describe the non new car smell it would be "bang craw"..........Low Budget, all day long. ;D But on a serious note, if you're serious, you're the man! I got some great friends, just about every fish above was caught on a j-bug that is from the batch stratosdad gave me early in the season. I'm on my last one. THANKS MIKE!!! man I had a whole can of bang craw empty in my rover after being upside down in my tackle bag...the shizzle stained my back seat permenantly...not sure there's a worse smell out there man...ugh! on a side note I used to stroke some northern strains in WA at night on that there black jitta bug great bait.

looks like a nice setting for topwater......nice fish!

nice fish Chris! I never knew stripers in the Delta got so big. I've been going out of Rivers End this past summer and they have I believe a 67 and a 62 caught in past years out of the Grant Line Canal. Mammoth Fish! From what I hear the big girls are making their way in. Can't wait to get on some of that topwater action! nice pics.

like guys said earlier not all ponds fish the same not that you were thinking that...there's many factors forage,different feeding cycles,available oxygen,population management,and 100 other factors.. I use to fish local ponds in WA growing up. The key imo to fishing ponds is not throwing the same lure all the time even if it's productive,stand as far from the bank as you can while casting,fish in lower light conditions or when there's cloud cover,throw realistic baits,treat the pond as if it had 40' of visibility,fish around the moon cycle,and get out there in the nastiest weather the big fish need as much of natures help as they can get!

saturday I chased a 10lb'er that followed my hudd out of a tree for an hour. I got him to chew on a 6" basstrix paddle tail but he spit it right away.... I threw everything imagineable at him after that with no love. ...sometimes I'd rather just not see the fish I normally sleep better :-/

how about a double fluke or small double swimbat setup? it can get messy if you don't space the leaders and size the baits right but can stir up some spooky or grouped up fish. Also if you have some extra money laying around the Black Dog Shellcracker is one of the finest hardbait imitations. Or the 3;16 Mighty Minnow in bluegill. Lots of new options out there.

sometimes you can cast out a little further and stir the water up with alot of topwater noise to get them in a feeding mode and then keep throwing the same bait or something else....if not a fluke,tube,senko, or Mattlures swimbait if the water is clear enough.

those missed fish BURN! I can't count how many giants I've lost this year...sounds like you still had a good weekend...nice report

I posted this on another forum....hope it helps my Cumara CUCX72M works nice in my living room so far. Gonna demo it tomarrow and sunday for further evaluation. well I went out today in the rain for to test out the Cumara. geez...I wish I could say I caught a few fish on it but nada....threw my swimbaits most of the day but did put a little time in on the Cumara. I threw 1/4-1/2oz t-rigs,1/4-1/2oz jigs and a 3/16oz dropshot rig. On a Daiwa Zillion w/15lb Seaguar Invizx. All of the baits casted and handled wonderfully. The rod is very light and well balanced and is very comfortable imo. Mainly because I hold my casting rods with my index finger under the line and the small foam foregrip is just big enough for your middle finger to rest on. I did get a few bites and they telegraphed very well however the wind and rain made it a little tougher to stay in position and capitalize. until I can put some more time behind the rod and try different lines I would initially say its a pleasure to use you owe it to yourself to atleast handle one. to be continued.....

man I have almost the same exact setups! except I have 2 Sx's,Q Energy Burner,Zillion,and a Chronarch SF along with a few Calcutta's. The TDA's are what I've put the most time behind and are comfortable for my hand. That being said though the Zillion is my fav in all depts. I've yet to have to repair the main drive threads in the TDA's although I can notice some of my reels getting creaky after much abuse and neglect. For the money the TDA's are awesome also check out the Black Widow 2 they are pretty sweet and I've heard they fixed the drive nut issues. there's so many nice reels out there now imo it comes down to what is most comfortable in your hand and your wallet!

I use the palomar or double palomar...I've heard these are the worst knots for shock absorbtion though. I've yet to have big issues since I fish alot of heavy line. The improved clinch I hear is the best for flipping and pitching where there's not much line out.