WRB

PM your email and will attached a photo. Submitted my 2 top bass to BASS and others with documentation a few months ago, might as well be listed on the top 25, not getting any younger. Be interesting to see what final weight Dotty is listed at; both Dickerson and Long have her listed. Crupi's 22.01 has never been validated by California, no certified weight. WRB

I understand Dixon has a certified scale, however to the best of my knowledge Dotty wasn't weighed on it, she was weighed using the anglers scales. back in '94 I caught what I thought may be a world record as it looked to weigh about 22 lbs on my spring scale. Castaic didn't have a certified scale, so loaded the boat on the trailer and hauled the bass to the closest store, the Mini Mart. Told the owner that I had a big bass to weigh and needed a certified weight slip. Went out to the boat, put the bass in my carry bag with some water and took the bass into the store to weigh. The weight was 19.3 and I was very dissappointed!! took the bass quickly back to Casitas and released it. Went back to the Mini Mart to get my Polariod photo and weight slip and the owner asked if they could reweigh the bass. The problem was they forgot to re set the zero after removing a 2 lb tray, so my bass shouod have been 2 pounds heavier. I will never know for sure what that bass actually weighed. Today it's still my PB at 19.3 It's hard to explain the emotions you go through when you think you have a world record fish. Thinking clearly doesn't happen, you make mistakes and I fully understand how mistakes were made with Dottie, after realizing the bass was foul hooked. WRB

The problem with a spring Chatillion Fish & Game or laboratory quality scale, in the 25 lb weight range, is the graduations are in 4 oz increments, with a 2% accuracy. California requires scales to be certified every 4 months if you are selling a product that requires certification, plus there are cost involved. Used a Chatillion for years and the IGFA doesn't accept weights, unless you send them the scale to certify prior to and along with submitting a record, plus have a picture with the weight clearly indicated. Fishermen tend to cheat and the IGFA takes that into consideration. IMO a potential world record bass should be put on ice to eliminate problems. WRB

A certified scale must have current calibration sticker from the state weights & measures. Your personal digital or spring scale doesn't meet IGFA requirements. In California it is also illegal to transport any game fish. If the marina doesn't have a certified scale, then we illegally transport the bass to the closest post office or retail food store that has a certified scale, weigh the bass, have 2 witnesses sign and date the weigh slip and get a photograph of the bass on the scale. Then we take the bass back to the lake to release it. If you don't document the bass properly, the catch isn't vaild. The problem of illegally transporting the bass could disqualify the fish for IGFA consideration. Total pain in the arsh! WRB

Dotttie, was weighed twice when caught; 21.9 and 25.1, both on uncertified hand held scales and released before being weighed on a certified scale with a DFG witness. The 2 weights are over 3 pounds apart, which scale was correct at the time the fish was weighed?, we will never know. Whinning about a few pounds, you bet! Jealous, heck no! It's very difficult to get a certified weight on a live bass in California, most of the lakes do not have certified scales at the marina's. Been there, done that and it's not easy. Perry's bass was awarded a prize at the time it was submitted for the Field & Stream contest. Perry never submitted the catch for record status, it was grandfathered by the IGFA over 20 years later without any proof; no picture, no whitness, no scale slip, only a statement from Perry. We will never know for sure and have accepted the IGFA record for what it is; the world record LM bass 22 lbs 4 oz., or 22.25 lbs. WRB

Fishing pressure should consider the size of the fishery being targeted. SoCal trophy bass lakes are very small when compared to big bass fisheries around the country, Mexico or Cuba. A good friend of mine has a private lake in MO that is larger than Dixon for example. DVL is considered a big lake; it is less than 4 miles long! Casitas, Castaic where serveral giant bass were caught are less than 3 miles, when full and that is rare. Most of these lakes are less than a mile long and would fit into a creek arm on Toledo Bend. The giant bass must survive being caught a few times during it's life in SoCal; C & R isn't an option, it's essentail for these bass to grow big. It is hard to imagine what fishing pressure is to you try to trophy fish a small CA public lake. Giudes trying to catch these giants with live bait for their clients, skilled big bass specialists and a hord of weekend fisherman looking for that fish of a life time. Big bass is big business. Another friend giudes at El Salto on occasion (Iovino) and he tells me that the Texas anglers are very good bass fishermen on average and a fun to fish with. 20+ bass are very rare fish and we may never see a valid 22+. WRB

To pursue giant bass requires you to be dedicated to catching them. Otherwise you would simply give up when the fishing gets tough. Dottie as noted was found dead and weighed 19.3 lbs at that time. To this date no one has been able to confirm Dotties measurements; length and girth. Dottie is frozen and stored, so comfirmation shouldn't be that difficult. IMO Dotties never weighed 25 lbs, maybe 22+ lbs is within the relm of possiblilty. Dottie was snagged with a trap hook rigged jig and snagging bass outside the mouth is illegal in California, end of world record. The bottom line is Perry's bass is established as the world record, without any evidence the bass actually existed. We accept this bench mark and target it. Dottie was the heaviest LMB ever weighed, too bad she was caught illegally. WRB notes; California, SoCal, lakes receive more bass fishing pressure; man hours fishing for bass verses availble water, then any other state. Pure FLMB ot F1, F2 intergrates have the highest potentail to grow to over 20 lbs. Planted rainbow trout are not essential to growing over 20 lbs, but they help. My 2 Pb bass are larger then the Texas state record; 18.6 & 19.3. It's always possible for Texas to set the next record, however California has a much higher % of potentail WRB.

I would agree with the cutting edge hook points and often use that style of hook for off shore marlin and big tuna fishing. The big 7/0 to 13/0 forged welded eye hooks are easy to sharpen by filing a knife edge on the barb side of the hook point and stone the hook point to razor sharpness. Hooks harpened like that penetrate the hard mouths of these big salt water fish, where needle point hooks will not, becuase the salt water dulls the chemically sharpened points. I also use Owner hooks a lot and Gamakatsu hooks for fresh water bass fishing with good success. The Owner hooks do have a cutting edge, however they also have a needle point in front of the cutting edge area of the hook point, therefor only the needle point does the initial penetration. The only problem with the tempered hardened steel needle point hooks is; damage to the point from rocks, then it's almost impossible to resharped them. It's a pain the arsh to through away a hand tied hair jig because of hook point damage, but that the price you pay for needle sharp hooks. Few anglers fish a jig by casting it over 100 feet, then try to set the hook effectively. The only method that works is reel setting, then follow up with a rod set. Once you have taken up the line slack, the rod can add force to the hook set, otherwise it's very difficult to move enough line to effectively set the hook. WRB

The XOG isn't designed to take advantage of the Navonics chip, stay with whatever Lowrance offers as a stanndard map for your area. WRB

Silt kills nearly all fishes eggs, so they don't lay eggs in places likely to silt over. Largemouth bass prefer wind protected bays, shallow water 1 foot to whatever good light penetration depth there may be. Smallmouth and spots tend to prefer main lake wind protected areas and secondary points close to the main lake, with sandy or gravel bottoms. Bass lay eggs in more than one nest as a general rule. The cooler the water the longer it take the eggs to hatch; 60 to 62 degrees about 14 days, 63 to 65 about 10 days, 66 to 68 degrees about 7 days. The warmer the water gets, the faster the eggs hatch, however the warmer the water the more egg eating preditors, like bluegill and carp, there are to steal a meal. WRB

Most experienced bass fishermen have caught a lot bass on plastic worms during the time they have been fishing and so have I. The hook setting techniques that successful bass fisherman develop work very well under the conditions they fish. Where there is a contest between theory vereses practical experience, experience wins the majority of the time. I made a simple suggestion to try hook setting a wooden board, to prove a point any fisherman can do at home. I also made a suggestion on how to evaluate rod strength by trying to lift a simple dead weight object like plastic bottle of drinking water; where 1 pint equals 1 lb (1.04 lbs) or 1/2 gallon = 4 lbs (4.16) and 1 gallon = 8 lbs (8.32). Very few fresh water bass fishing rods can apply more than 4 lbs of pressure or lift 4 lbs of dead weight...it's alot force or lifting power. 8 lbs of pulling or lifting force requires a very heavy flipping rod. Breaking 20 lb test line for example doesn't mean you applied 20 lbs of force. The rate or speed the force was applied or impact force, is what breaks line and sets hooks. Bass rarely close their mouth and lips tightly together, unless biting with the lips. The basses mouth is slightly ajar open, even when crunching down on your plastic worm or jig, they use thier tongue against the back of the mouth, so there isn't any need to pry the lips open. Improving my personal hook setting percentage would be very difficult, as I miss very few strikes and catch a lot of big bass with the methods discribed and proven by experience. WRB

Several bass boat mfr's and marine dealers will sponsor excellent seminars featuring top BASS pro's. We have "Bass-A-Thon" a 2 day free entry event sponsored by Anglers Marine is SoCal every year with several of the Elite pro's and Lowrance doing hands on seminars, plus the newest tackle and lures avaible for sale. 2008 BAT was held 2 weeks ago; KVD, Swindle & Zona , McClelland and Bennett. Ckeck with your boat mfr for any seminars being held where you live, this is how the pro's make their living off season. WRB

There are a lot of very good hooks on the market today. 3 pounds force applied to a very sharp hook point is enough to penetrate any basses mouth tissue or your hand. Using the reel set method discribed you can generate up to 8 pounds of force to the hook, using standard med/hvy or hvy bass rod with 12 to 15 lbs test line. 8 pounds is enough force to drive a sharp hook point passed the barb in pine wood for example and can break most bass rods. I have used the reel & sweep hook set when casting jigs for a very long time, successfully. Rod sets are low percentage when casting long distance using jigs or worms. The snap set into slack line works well for most worms, cast within 30 feet or so, as long as you keep the rod loaded. Largemouth bass do not bite worms or jigs with their lips, they vacuum the lure into the back of the mouth by pumping water through the gills and crunch down on it with abrasive cartiladge between the tongue, located just above the throat. They reject the lure by blowing it back out. If the hook point sticks tissue, they shake it out. The weight attached to the hook, pegged or a jig, helps the bass to shake it out, if the line is slack. A sliding sinker simply moves away form the hook, applying little weight to the hook point. This is why reel setting is effective, you keep the hook point in the tissue, until you can put enough pressure on it to penetrate passed the barb. WRB

Try reel setting; point the rod at the worm or jig, reel until the line is tight, then sweep set with the rod. Do not hold try to hold the hook! Hook setting is all about moving the sharp hook point into the basses mouth tissue. The issue with T-rigged worms is the worm can fill the hook gap, preventing the point from penetrating tissue. After rigging a worm, try pushing hook through the worm and slide the front down into the hook bend with middle of the worm. If you don't have a wide enough gap, all you are doing is pulling a soft plastic lump out of the basses mouth. I agree that the Straight shank worm hook tends to catch into the top of the basses mouth much easier than off set hook designs. Catt has answered this post in detail. WRB

Welcome to CA and thank you risking your life for our freedom. You will find CA bass fishing a lot more difficult than you imagined and rewarding if you take time to learn new presentations. Don't hesitate to ask any questions, be glad to help. WRB

Prevention is the best cure. Bass will swallow live bait or soft plastics if you allow them too much time before setting the hook. When you feel a slight tap, swing, the bass already has the worm/bait in the back of its mouth and will either blow it out or swallow it. With practice you will stop gut hooking the bass. It is better to miss altoughter than trying to figure out how to unhook a gut hooked bass. Regardless of what you read, a high percentage of gut/throat hooked bass die of the stress of handling and bleeding out. If the bass looks like it is in trouble, it more than likely is going to die, so keep it and enjoy a good meal. WRB

Do you BBQ them on your Webber mounted to the rear pedestal post, like most Texans do? You can use one of those beer can cookers and just shove that big pig face down, no need to even fillet it. WRB

The message was; the right lure in the wrong place = 0 bass. The wrong lure in the right place = some bass. The right lure in the right place = a boat load of bass. Both the right lure in the right place (location) is the winning combination. How do you determine the right lure and location? Find the prey the bass are feeding on, fish that location with a lure that mimics the prey. Or as some bass fisherman do, use the prey the bass are feeding on. I prefer lures, more of a challenge. Knowing how bass relate to seasonal periods will get you in the right place, knowing what the bass are eating, will tell you what lures to use. You better be patient if you are guessing where they bass are and what they are eating. WRB

Yes and no. It depends on the fishery, if harvest is needed to prevent over population on smaller lakes and ponds, then harvesting the smaller 2 lb bass is helping. Catch & release has become a cult for some fisherman and isn't always the best choice. If you wound the bass fatally and it's bleeding or the bass has rolled over in the livewell, the survival rate is very low. Why toss it back for turtle food, take the fish home and eat it. The thought of over harvesting a 20,000 acre reservior by keeping an occasional bass for dinner verses a highly fished 2,000 acre reservoir, goes beyond reason. Watching tournament fisherman release nearly dead bass is troulbing as watching the same fisherman take home a trophy size bass, both are wastefull. Practice selective harvest by eating a few smaller bass and releasing the trophy bass. Practice C & R by taking good care of the bass you put in the livewell; proper DO and temperature levels are essential, not optional. There isn't any reason to put bass in a livewell that you don't plan on weighing in during a tournament or taking home to eat. release the bass immediately, not at the boat ramp. WRB

They didn't STOP planting trout in cali. The DFG did stop planting some lakes for about a month, most lakes are now recieving their DFG trout stocking, depending on location. The CalTrout people watchdog the DFG stocking program closely to insure locations with "native trout" do not get planted trout stocks and this has been ongoing for decades. The current issue was a law suit by college students and that is still being processed. WRB

Fourbizz; don't know what happened to the other pages on this thread? You asked about Lower Otay and Hodges having large baitfsih like shiners and the answer is they don't. Both lakes had bluegill, crappie, green sunfish, channel catfish and threadfin shad, for baitfish forage. The reason FLMB were transplanted into San Diego city lakes was to improve the average size of the bass and the number per angler hour. The 1950's were a drought period for San Diego and the fishing had dropped off significantly. Threadfin shad were introduced in 1953 to help improve growth rates, then (1959) the FLMB were introduced to improve the average size from 1 1/2lbs to 2 1/2 lbs, the FLMB grew faster than NLMB. Trophy bass was fishing not planned. In fact the FLMB program was considered a failure in regards to better overall bass fishing. The FLMB proved to be harder for the average angler to catch and rates per hour dropped. The giant bass that started to be caught in the early 70's, changed California bass fishing. Both Lower Otay and Hodges are old and small; 1897 Otay; 1,100 surface acres, 1917 Hodges; 1,234 surface acres. During the early 60's all the local lakes were down 50% and raised due to rain fall to full pool by 1968. The new flooded lake basins help the growth of the first generation FLMB. Lake Hodges was closed to public fishing during the 60's and opened in the early 70's. Lower Otay was open Wednesdays, Saturday and Sunday, closed the other days and closed to fishing in Sept, opened in March, each year. Ideal conditions for the FLMB to grow to giant size. Today, both lakes have good overall bass fishing, giants are rare. WRB * giant bass in CA is 15+ lbs.

California politics are beyond comprehension, even for those of us who call the state our home. This issue will be resolved, as it affects a wide range of people and businesses. The thought process that planted rainbow trout are the main food source for giant bass in California lakes is off base. The original FLMB plants were stocked into some San Diego area city lakes that didn't have planted trout; lakes Lower Otay and lake Hodges are two examples, that have both produced giants over 18lbs (Otay) and 20lbs (Hodges). Clear lake is a northern natural lake that doesn't have planted rainbow trout and is a world class bass fishery. Lake Castaic (main lake) is still plated with trout and that fishery hasn't produced a giant bass in over 10 years, due to the striped bass population, introduce in the late 90's.. It is true that planted trout can help FLMB grow fast, however they can and have grown to be giants without trout, if the lake has good forage. WRB PS; Rainbow trout were only native to the High Sierra mountain range; creeks, streams and rivers drainage. That means northern and central California had native rainbow trout. Southern California's trout where first stocked into Big Bear lake back around 1900, from the McCloud river in northern CA. Today you would be hard pressed to locate any native trout in Caifornia, other than the golden trout of the Cottonwood area in High Sierra's and Lassen strain of the McCloud river.

There is a lot of science availble on bass hearing, just Goggle the subject. What should be of interset to bass fisherman is how to take advantage of the senses of hearing that fresh water largemouth bass use to detect prey and warn them of danger. Water transmits vibrations better than air, so bass can hear sounds via vibrations better than we can, plus they have 2 senses of hearing; lateral line and inner ear. The lateral line is used to feel lower frequency vibrations that travel further distances. The inner is used to located sources of higher vibrations close to the bass. A crankbait for example produces both low and high frequency vibrations. The lures body wiggling or wobbling as it moves through the water, the hooks banging around. the diving bill striking objects and wobbling back and forth, all produce vibrations the bass can feel and hear. Adding glass or metal BB's inside molded plastic crank baits increases the vibrations. Large metal BB gives off lower frequency and small glass BB's produce higher frequencies. Can bass tell the difference if a crankbait has internal rattling BB's? Yes they can. Any object moving through the water, displaces the water in the form of sound waves. The bass can feel your boat and the engines propeller from a great distance away, however depending of how much other noise is in the background, determines how the bass react to the added sound. On very quite waterways, boat noise will alarm the bass to your approach. Lakes that have a lot of boat movement, the bass get conditioned to background sound. So it is very important to be as quite as possible, when low boat traffic is on the water. It is also important to use lures that make sound when there is a lot of other background noise on the water or poor light conditions to help the bass locate the lure. The bass can hear a crawdad walking along the bottom or a baitfish swimming nearby with their inner ear. Bass can feel a school of baitfish swimming with their lateral line from a longer distance and are alerted to the approaching baitfish before they see them. Sound, like sight, is one of the basses most important survival senses and highly developed in bass, to both find prey and avoid predators. WRB PS; Human vocies above the water do not travel into the water, however voices alarm other aminals that do hear airbourne sound and their reactions can alarm bass to above water predators, as they splash into the water or fly over. Any boat hull noise is directly transmitted into the water and bass will hear and feel those vibrations.

The Salt river lakes; Apache, Canyon, Saguaro, Roosevelt and the Colorado river canyon lakes, like Mead, Havasu and Mojave tend to have deep water walls. The advice to cast your deep diving crank bait parallel to the rock walls is good. Look for irregularities like outcropings, pockets, cravices, salt cedar trees and shaded areas. The bait fish are shad, so use shad color cranks during the day time and black/red cranks at night. Structure spoons and spider jigs are also very productive on these river lakes; smoke with red flake is your best choice for spider jigs. Pleasant, Alamo, San Carlos and Bartlett; you are better off using a spinnerbait in lieu of a deep crankbait and drop shot worms. WRB

Good reply; however what do you mean by staging? Do mean suspending? Bass only stage when moving up from pre spawn to spawn, where I live for example. We all talk a different language from region to region, the question may have been simply stated. One of the best night lures is the plastic worm, Texas rigged. Try Berkley's black power worms at night, when the bass are not hitting your top water lure. WRB