has changed.
Ya' know, I already knew that Pablo produced giants. But the more I see, the more I believe that there is a distinct possibilty of a "world record bass" coming from this lake ! A WORLD RECORD BASS !!!
I really believe that that 19 lb'er could have weighed slightly over 20 lbs right before she died. I also firmly believe that a bass of that size can eat 3 or 4 lbs of trout in one binge very easily ! I do honestly believe that that fish, shortly after it's last trout feeding binge, could have been 22-6..... or should I say, a new world record !!!

Also, I strongly believe that a lake like San Pablo, very easily could (and most probably does) hold a lot more true giants, of 18 lbs or more, than anybody would ever realize.
In my article "The Next World Record Bass....." I stated that 17 to 18 lbs is typically full grown..... well, I might just have to stretch that to 19 and maybe some change too....... add to that a 3 or 4 lb trout eating binge...... and BOOM ! We have a new world record !!!
The murky water at Pablo has always thrown me off, but maybe its a blessing in disguise. Maybe a wise old (or should I say, extremly conditioned) giant, will be easier to trick without the "full" advantage of its eyesight.

I think it's time for me to really get "out of the box" !!! Maybe I do need to hook up that fish finder that I bought last Winter which has set on my dresser for 5 months. I know I need to put in some serious hours long line trolling a 12" trout lure too, and scouting for points and humps in 25 to 40 feet of water...... hopefully with big arches sitting on them !

Ya' know buddies, I never really considered a world record bass to be any more that a "lottery ticket dream"...... but holding that 19 lb'er at the end of my arm, has really got my head spinning !

Time to get serious !

Peace,
Fish Chris

BassNet,

Yo! Likewise on meeting you. No, I haven't been eating PowerBait for lunch. Too unhealthy! But shoots, I know what the One Holland crew has for lunch!

Let's do some fishing. At least the Lake MV thing at night or something...

Matt

My feelings are, that if a bass ever developed a taste for power bait, for whatever reason, it would never make it to 2 lbs, as all of the trout lakes have this fluorescent garbage raining down constantly ! And the guys who would be using it will always be more likely to kill the fish, as this is the mindset of most trout anglers who are accustomed to a "put and take" fishery.

There are a whole bunch of guys who would absolutely never believe my theory on this (including nearly every hatchery trout fisherman) but it's consoling for me to know, that nearly every "fish expert", including two of the nations leading biologists, that have read my article, totally agree without any shadow of doubt.

One more thing...... I always talk to the trout guys to ask if they have caught any trout recently which were attacked by bass on the way in. Many have experienced this at one time or another. But of course I am hoping they will tell me, "YEA ! Right over there..... this morning" !!! Common' Castaic trout !!! :-)

Great fishing to you,
Fish Chris

Fish Chris,

It's not that the fish develop a taste for PowerBait, it's that whole association thing. If a bass eats a trout that has a big ball of PowerBait stuck inside it's mouth (or externally from a breakoff or even ingested in it's belly), that bass will associate the PowerBait with the trout. I know PowerBait is made to clone the food the hatchery fish are raised on...once again, those trout seem to ooze that PowerBait-ish scent. If you're raised on Purina dog chow, and that's all you eat all your life, if someone eats you, you are gonna have a hint of Purina in your flavor! That being said, I think most hatchery trout have a hint of hatchery food/PowerBait to their flavor. Hence, the association of the PowerBait scent to trout in the bass's mind.

A ball of PowerBait could be trolled, shaped, or otherwise fished to immitate a mini trout or bait fish. Bass hit clown jerkbaits, why not Captain America gui-balls? The scent of the PowerBait makes the bass think, OK this is a small little trout or something like it or associated with it, and then, what the hell, I'll suck it in and be done with it.

Anyway, probably beating this one to death!

Matt

I don't think this is getting beat to death. I think it's kind of interesting really. I've only witnessed a bass caught on powerbait once, it was a 4lber at Casitas. That fish definitely just at the powerbait straight up. The guy got a bite, set the hook and caught the bass. A guy who posts on the saltwater board BillH got one about 8lbs at Casitas the same way shore fishing for trout. I think a lot of times the bass do just eat the powerbait straight up. The stuff just catches fish. Trout, catfish, bluegill, bass, they all eat powerbait. Trout just like it a lot more than any of the other species.

Probably sometimes the bass eat a trout that just ate some powerbait. The only reason I don't think this happens very often is that I just never heard stories of "oh I caught this bass and inside it's mouth was a trout and inside the trout's mouth was my treble hook" In my trout fishing days I would say about 70% of the powerbait fish I caught had inhaled it down in their throat. There's no way you could then hook a bass on that same hook. The ones that were lip hooked might somehow get hooked inside the bass' mouth, but keep in mind most trebles for powerbait are like size #14.

I am still waiting for the time when some trout fisherman says, "dude there's this giant bass chasing the trout on the end of my line!" It happened at Shadow Cliffs the other day but the 10lber that was under the dock woudln't come out for anything except a live trout. Fongster saw stuff like this at Irvine a couple times last year and got some bites on the Castaic from bass that were trying to steal trout off stringers. That stuff is just way too cool. I don't know why, but this stuff just never happens to me. In fact, I have never once seen a bass chase or eat a trout. Sigh...

Ah, come on now- how bout shadow cliffs? You seen that one.

I did .. it made me pretty happy. But that was just a 3lber eyeing a hooked trout. He never hit the thing. That's actually the only fish I've ever seen chasing a hooked trout. I want to see one just get massacred by a 10+ }>

Sometimes I fish Oso for cats, it's fun, they are all big, but I always catch a couple of bass on the slabs of mac- I think a lot of times if it smells like food a bass will eat it- mac can't smell too much different then a shad or sunfish, can it? By the way, you guys are missing out, fish the Crave for trophy bass!! ;)
Matt, let's fish the Crave next week after work for some lunkers! - did you guys fish Coto tonight?

The Crave? That one's new to me. No, I didn't hit Coto last night. I can't keep up with Dane, Nate and Cammy!

Bass on mackeral. I've heard that alot too. I wonder if bass do eat dead things! Dead bluegill, perch, shad, trout, etc? It's possible for sure.

Talk to you later--catnet!

Matt

This year I've caught more bass at night on frozen anchovies than I have Catfish! The first time it happened I thought "Weird", last time I went out for cats I got 3 bass, no cats.

Tight lines,
Wade

Tight lines,
Wade

It's kind of sad, but I think bass revert into being scavengers when their primary food source is depleted.

I used to fish at East Lake Village in YL all the time. During the summer nights we would set up mackerel, chicken liver, and even hot dog rods out for the monster cats (caught some up to 25lbs. there).One year, we caught bass on every cat bait we threw. We had seen the bass fishery decrease over the last couple of years, but I knew they were still in there. When I couldn't get touched on plastics, jigs, or reaction, here were these 5-8lb. bass eating chicken liver. I couldn't understand it.

This lake is shallow and extremely sensitive to any change in it's ecosystem. The managers decided to recycle the lakes' existing water from an underground well, rather than replenish the lake with fresh oxygenated water, or set up aerators in the lake. That reclaimed water system, along with the fact that every home had a lawn drain into the lake created a death camp starting with the smallest organism. Summer heat, a lack of oxygen, fertilizer fosfates, and moronic management lead to an inevitible halt to a blooming bass population. When phytoplankton can't exist, bait can't exist, sunfish can't exist, bass can't exist. The only thing left is the carp that run rampant all over the place. To this day, the bass fishery there is a mere shadow of what it could have been with a healthy food chain.

Bass who eat dead bait may not all be starving, they are always opportunistic and take what they can. But I've never seen a healthy bass pay one bit of attention to a rotting piece of carrion, when there is something out there to chase. If large bass are making a habit of eating your dead bait, make a note. Find out the condition of their natural prey items, and whether those bass are eating dead bait occassionally, or if they have no other choice.