BiteArray

Fished a local lake today - air temp was around 80F and peaked around 93F, whereas water temp was probably high 60s or mid 70s. I had fished this lake back in end of April and caught several paired up on beds, so I thought today's outing would be strictly summer patterns. However, today I saw at least four or five separate instances of decent sized bass just cruising in the shallows during the mid-day heat (11am-1pm or so). Each time, the bass were relating to hard cover (next to small piers) or in the shadows right in the bank. One instance, I saw a big bass followed by a smaller bass, but they did not look to be staging for spawn and cruised around then disappeared. Another instance, I saw at least 3 big bass cruising together in the shadows, exhibiting almost carp like behavior and getting their heads up right against the shallows. There was even one instance of a bass just suspended right at the top of the water column 20-30 feet from the bank next to no apparent cover or structure. For some of these instances, I was able to present a Ned rig, dropshot, and lipless crankbait but they didn't seem interested at all. In some other instances, once the fish spotted me or saw the flash of my cast, they darted off for deeper water. I threw a jerkbait at the bass that was suspended near the surface, and it just seemed to get annoyed and slowly swam out of casting distance, but still visible. I'm pretty sure these were all bass and not carp based on the dark coloration, shape, and tell-tale stripe. Question: what phase were these fish in? Is this post-spawn behavior, and the lack of bites a sign of lethargy? Or is it more of a summer pattern that will just require more stealth and long casts in order to be successful at?

Looking for some advice on the best way for a standard drop shot setup on a spinning reel. I've typically been running light braid (10 lb PowerPro) as the mainline on a 2500 spinning reel, and using a few feet of fluoro (10 lb Seaguar) as the leader, connected with a uni-to-uni knot. The drop shot itself is tied with a Palomar knot on the fluoro. This setup seems to work okay in open water, but anytime I try it in any spots with any sort of cover, weeds, structure, as soon as I get hung up it becomes a time suck. I end up having to break off the leader at the uni-to-uni, then have to spend a few minutes to retie the leader, drop shot, hook, sinker, and rebait. Any suggestions on a line setup that is less time consuming but still effective in typical drop shot situations? I've considered going all fluoro, that way if I break off I can simply retie on the mainline and save some time. Also, I need to figure out a way to simply avoid getting hung up in the first place. I've only had modest success/experience with the drop shot, and have only used open hook setups with Owner mosquito hooks.

Count me in as a new believer in the Ned Rig! Just took a whole week of vacation to do some heavy spring fishing and was struggling in the first several days - only managed to scratch out 2 bass across 8 different bodies of water. On the last two days, hit a new lake I had never been to and decided to start with a standard Z-Man Ned setup in green pumpkin, and caught 20+ in the two days from the same lake, almost all on the Ned. A simple lift and retrieve allowed me to cover a fair bit of water in various types of structure and find where the fish were. The only thing it failed in was getting bites from fish on beds, and for those I had to resort to other tactics. Any other useful tips for a Ned Rig newcomer? I have a bunch of semi-ripped Senkos that I'm planning to try out. The only thing is that the watermelon color doesn't quite match the darker head, and I've also read that the action of the Senkos aren't as great, e.g. they don't stand up off the bottom.

Heh, I ended up deciding to explore Uvas and Chesbro before I saw this. Both were fairly accessible, but Uvas definitely seemed nicer. The hike to the far side of Uvas was quite scenic. Alas, as for fishing it was a skunk at both places. Only saw one bass right at the entrance to the Uvas dam and got a couple hits on a drop shot but that's about it. Lots of carp, as seems to be the case every reservoir/lake I've been to in the last month or so.

I have the upcoming week off and plan to fish hard. I'd like to explore some of the lakes/reservoirs of the south bay since I've only been to a select few. Strictly speaking about bank/shore access, fishable terrain, parking, and other shore-fishing considerations, what are the best ones to hit?

I'm in the SF Bay Area (Peninsula), and have one weekday off coming up and want to fish hard. Targeting LMB, and mostly just want numbers and consistent action. Constraints: shore fishing or rental boat only (I don't own a boat) can only fish between 9am-5pm (or even later start if the location is far) Since I'd like to fish all day and catch as many bass as I can, I want a place with long shoreline access or rental boat so I can continue to hit fishable waters even as the day progresses. Some ideas so far: Lake Chabot - rental boat to start shallow then hit deeper waters Vasona - rental boat to start shallow then hit deeper waters Los Gatos Creek - hike and hit all fishable spots Coyote Creek - hike and hit all fishable spots Delta - Tracy Oasis - park, walk, and fish Delta - Italian Slough - park, walk, and fish Those are some of the spots I have in mind in order to allow for an all day session; no idea if those will produce the numbers though. Out of those, I've actually only fished Vasona/LG. I also don't have any boat experience, and would be fishing solo so a little hesistant. One day to fish and no boat - Where would YOU go?

Thanks for the tip on Coyote Creek! I'll have to make my way out there at some point. I also noticed this update from the county about potential flooding due to releasing water from Anderson, so probably good that I didn't venture out there this past week: https://twitter.com/SCCParks/status/1285973186438283264

The best long sleeve short I've found is the Kuhl Bandit Hoody - https://www.kuhl.com/kuhl/mens/long-sleeve/bandit-hoody/ Super light and breathable, and is UPF 50.

Hello! I'm looking for some advice for a beginner based around the lower peninsula area. Have several years of mostly saltwater experience but only just started targeting bass last summer. I've caught several bass, all from some of the local ponds, lakes, and reservoirs, and am hoping to get tips on better places to target. Being based in the peninsula limits my freshwater options, since much of the best waters are off limits to the public. Due to family circumstances I also can't make it out early or late in the day, so this summer I've typically been fishing in subpar conditions - mid-day, bluebird skies, etc. I've tried a few of the local spots with limited success - Stevens Creek, Lexington, Vasona/Campbell, Almaden, Calero, Quarry - and most of the time end up with a skunk. Any advice or suggestions on how to get fast tracked onto more fish so I can get into the rhythm of learning different baits, presentations, reading structure, etc.? I'm also limited to fishing from shore. Thanks!

I typically buy smaller spools of fluorocarbon for leaders.

Great discussion here. Just wanted to add that another important factor is the speed with which a knot can be tied. Time on the water is of utmost importance, and when it comes down to it I'd rather go with a tried-and-true knot that I can reliably tie quickly and tie correctly. Just my two cents!