SJ, I sent you an email for what it's worth. As far as what I'm getting them on, I've been getting them on swimbaits. Big swimbaits. 9" Stocker Trout, Optimum, and the original Castaic Hardbait trout (it's about 10"). I'm fishing my same setups. Calstar 800L with CTE400/30lb triple fish silicon w/ sugoi 30lb florocarbon leader. Also the Rainshadow SW976 with straight 25lb triple fish camo and Cardiff 300 or 25lb triple fish silicon and 30lb sugoi. It's nor-cal. I go big on the rods so when I put the hooks to the fish I can muscle them in quick. I also had a cool trip where I got some night time bass on 5" big hammers. I posted those pics already. I think that's something that could blow up and be a killer deal at night.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned this year (mostly through Brian #1 and his fishing in San Diego) is that what works in Nor-Cal sure doens't work that great in So-Cal and vice versa. I used to sit and read the stories and articles about the So-Cal guys like Long,Gash,Pimentel, etc. All the stuff you read in Bass West. And I was baffled because what they do down there wasn't working all that great for me up here. The last year I kinda started trying to just figure out what worked for ME and really focus on that. What works for me is big baits and bubba gear and fishing hard and fast but at the same time being very stealthy and making key casts on key areas. You ever read how Robert Lee talks about fishing the Delta and how he doesn't waste time poking around between spots? He says he knows his spots, knows where the fish should be holding and he makes those few casts on each area and moves on. I'm starting to see things like that a little more. So I'm finding that when I'm out there, I'm spending about half the time really seriously pounding on the spots that I think the fish are on, and then the rest of the time I'm in kind of a scouting mode where I'm graphing and looking and trying to locate new areas to add to my "hit list". Sometimes I'll get fish while I'm just cruising around, but mostly they come when I'm making a specific cast on a specific spot. Gotta always be fine tuning I guess :) There's still so much to learn every trip you make to the lake.

So here's my take on things right now. My take is that anyone can catch giant bass or become a great tournament fisherman. To become that guy, you need to pay attention to everything that's going on in the fishing world, and try lots of new things, but then you need to find out what works for YOU. You might pick up tips here and techniques there from friends, internet, magazines, etc adding them to your arsenal along the way, and after a few years, you'll find that you have this this arsenal of baits and lakes and areas and time of year and all those things that make you catch fish. The more you build on this, the better it gets and the better you get at catching fish.

So in my opinion, to become a great fisherman, you don't need someone else to tell you the lakes, the spots, or the lures. You'll figure that all out yourself if you put your mind to it and dedicate your time to persuing it. And if you do it this way instead of having it handing it to you, that's like advantage times 10 over everyone else. Keep in mind, I said "you" in this paragraph a lot, but I just mean people in general. When you write your own story, it's the most satisfying experience there is :)

A guy like you SJ is alright right on the right track. You're checking stuff out, trying new things, probably going to different lakes and stuff like that. You've had some success, I remember you talking about getting some jig fish and some crankbait fish. What will really help you out is if you head out to some of the bigger lakes. Even if the bigger lakes are tougher than Eldo or Santa Fe, what you learn there will be more valuable. Then you'll go back to the ponds and it'll seem easier than before. Just a thought :)



-Rob