MTPanda

Hey guys, newly moved down towards San Diego, North County SD area, to help my folks out. I used to live here years ago but never took advantage of the many awesome bass lakes here. So after immediately moving back, I had to check out Dixon Lake since it was only 35mins from my house. Got on the water at 6am and rented a boat($35 all day, cheap!). The guy who got me on the boat told me last week a guy caught a 11lb bass and that a very big bass, supposedly 12lbs+, always hangs out below the main boat rental dock but no one can seem to catch it. I spent quite a long time there since it was my first time. I didn't have any topwater lures but I didn't really see any boils in the morning. I didn't catch anything for a few hours until I switched to my trusty ol Senko. I caught 6 fish from 6am - 4pm (i know a long time) and all were dinks except for a 1.92lber all on drop shot Senko, wacky rigged. I would have liked to have caught something closer to 3lbs but at least I caught some! I couldn't believe how CLEAR the water at this lake was. The worker told me it can be up to 40 ft of visibility on a good day, while today it was around 20ft. I saw a lot of big bass and tons of large balls of fry. Seems like the adult bass were guarding fry. All in all not a bad day. Would have stayed out till 7pm but I had to get back home and take care of some errands. I can't wait to explore more of the lakes in SD! 1.92lber I'm not going to bother with the dinks, they were so small. lol

I really like my tatula rod and I hope I don't have any tip problems from here on out. Though the 5year warranty and easy replacement plan sure is nice.

I did as you said James, and within 5 mins they just gave me a new rod! Thanks so much for the tip man!! I owe ya for that.

Ok sweeeeeeet!

Here are some pics of my friend's 4lber.

Ok sweet. I bought my rod of amazon.com... Do you think they'll still warranty it? Thanks again for the info bud! If this works I owe you a beer or something.

It's a regular tatula rod. OH i just realized there is a Daiwa in Cypress right? I didn't know we could just go there and have them just exchange it? Because it's not like the fish broke it, just my stupidity... Do I need proof of purchase or anything? I was going to go to SavOn Tackle in Santa Fe springs because they told me its a cheap and easy fix.

My best friend and I just got back today from Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet, CA and had an epic day. There was a really bad algae bloom going on but for some reason when we switched to drop shot wacky rigged senkos we started nailing em. We caught about 10 fish total between the two of us and it was my friend's very first time fishing ever. His first cast on the senko and he nailed a 3.97lber and ended up catching more fish than I did. Beginner's luck. On his first cast with his wacky rig drop shot senko that I rigged up for him he caught a 4lber which at the time was bigger than my personal best of 3.5lbs. I was so happy for him but was so taken aback that on his first day bass fishing, he caught a fish bigger than my personal best. After catching some nice 1-2lbers working the coves with fairly little algae bloom I was able to hook up on a really nice fish. Right when he thumped it I knew it was a big one. I caught this 5.97 lber. and some 2lbers I'll try to get the pics of my friend's 4lber. I also ended up breaking my new Daiwa Tatula casting rod after losing a really big fish. I think I got hit by a 5lber or so early in the morning because he just took off with my senko and pulled out my drag and quickly wrapped me against a tree and freed himself. It happened so fast he was for sure bigger than 4lbs because my drag was set fairly well and he pulled it with ease. I was too anxious in trying to untangle from the tree that when I was yanking on the line with both of my hands that I came too close to the tip of my rod and broke off about 1". I still fished the rest of the day and caught that 5.97lber around 1pm. All in all a great day even though I broke my new rod. Fortunately I called a reputable tackle shop close by that said the repair would be pretty easy and cheap to fix.

Definitely true. Makes it so hard to decide and I want to try em all!

Welcome fellow Californian! I fished Castaic for the first time last week and caught 5 bass on the west end side of the lake. Had a great time, can't wait to get back out there again.

Thanks a lot man! Really appreciate it. I hope to put it to good use soon! I don't know much about Canyon Lake but good luck out there. Keep trying man.

That sounds awesome I'd love to see it. How's the fishing at Canyon Lake? That's a private community lake I take it?

I really do like my St Croix Premier Spinning rod. It's very light and sensitive when I fish finesse and drop shot but at around the $109 price point I do want to try the Dobyn's Fury line. I was playing with the Carbonlites at BPS a few weeks ago and they felt nice in the hands too. Definitely a worthy choice at under $100.

Awesome. Maybe we'll bump into each other some day. I plan on going to DVL & Perris sometime later this year.

Ah ok gotcha. Thanks again this is very useful information. I THINK certain lakes here in So Cal can have heavy cover? I'm not entirely sure as I have not visited most of the lakes but I plan to soon! I may have to go with a 735 later.

I've been hearing so many good things about the Dobyn's Fury line. What would the natural progression be after getting the 705CB rod? A Dobyn's Fury Flipping/Pitching rod?

I really appreciate all the advice guys! That really helps clear up things and narrows it down. Sounds like I'll be picking up a Dobyns Fury 705CB and another Tatula CT! Thanks for that. I really do want to expand my techniques and tackle choices. I heard good things about the Dirty Jigs swim & finesse jigs. I did throw a keitech fat swing impact 4.8 on my tatula rod and reel setup and got a few bites. When I tried to drop shot with it I definitely noticed I couldn't feel the bottom as well my St Croix spinning finesse setup so I just switched back to that. I'll try texas rigging and jigging with my tatula setup next time I'm out.

Hey guys sorry to make another one of these threads but I'm just getting back into bass fishing after a 15yr+ hiatus and would like some advice on rod and reel setups. I was able to get a good deal on some rods and reels from my cousin who stopped fishing and he sold me these two setups cheap: Spinning Finesse Setup: St. Croix Premier 7' Medium Light Fast Action Spinning Rod with a Pflueger President 6930 - I really enjoy using this setup and have been using this for drop shotting and weightless Senkos since we have very skittish bass in Southern California so I end up drop shotting quite often. Baitcast Setup: Daiwa Tatula 7'1" Medium Heavy X-Fast casting rod with a Daiwa Tatula CT 6.3:1 Ratio - I assume this setup can be my all around setup but from what I gather this casting rod is more suited for Jigging and Texas Rigging Worms? I haven't really used this setup that much as I've just been using my spinning setup. If I were to pick up another casting rod and reel, what should I purchase next? I keep hearing great things about Dobyn's Fury rods and I do like how the Tatula CT feels in my hands. Maybe buy another Tatula CT in a different gear ratio?

I actually started saltwater fishing with my dad at the age of 5 or 6. He was always an avid angler and took my brother and I on his trips to the pier and eventually out on the boats. I didn't start bass fishing until a few years later when I would visit my older cousins in Arizona who were doing a lot freshwater fishing for bass, carp, catfish and trout. It was actually one of my cousins who really got me into bass fishing after spending a summer in Arizona fishing the local ponds and the Salt River. I believe at the time my cousin also had a Bassmaster magazine and we would spend hours reading the articles and trying to apply new techniques at the pond. I just got hooked on bass fishing because the bass would hit the lures so hard and put up such a great fight that I started bass fishing my local ponds in California.

I wrote up my recent report of Castaic here: Castaic Report. I went yesterday and shore fished mainly the west side and had some luck.

I decided to hit up Castaic Lake yesterday morning. Got there around 7:30 and saw lots of bass and trout right at the main boat launch ramp but they weren't biting. I fished around there for a bit and decided to walk the dam. I tried certain spots on the dam but couldn't get a bite. I ended up walking all the way to the West Launch ramp and fishing near the lifeguard station where I caught 4 bass there. Biggest one was 1.98lbs then 1.5lbs, 1lb and one just too tiny to measure. All were caught on 4.5" straight tail Roboworms in Folkstead Special via texas rig on a dropshot in about 10-20 feet of water. I kept getting snagged below and had to switch to texas rig, otherwise I usually wacky or nose hook. I missed at least 3 good strikes and lost one bass when he jumped out and shook out my hook. I also got a few strikes on the Keitech Fat Swing Impact 4.8" but missed the hooksets :(. I probably should have brought smaller Keitech swimbaits or like a Zoom Fluke. Smallmouth bass were biting as well at the dam. Met a guy who caught a 4-5lb smallmouth off a Senko. The worker at the boat marina says its been Roboworms and Senkos that work the best. He also said the bass having been chasing the shad into coves. All in all a pretty good day of fishing. Happy I didn't get skunked like I have been for the past 3 outings at other lakes.

I live in the San Gabriel Valley but will be moving to North County San Diego in a few weeks.

Hey guys I've been lurking around this forum for the past few weeks and found it great and informative. I've been an avid bass and saltwater fisherman since I was a child but took a long break from it. I just started up again and I'm having fun catching bass again.