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

Alright i'm moving to San Pablo! harhar. What you say does sound quite possible. I'll be rooting for you, Rob and the other trophy bass hunters from this site and yours. Before you go back out on the quest, can I have your autograph? No seriously, how cool would that be if I had a 12" castaic trout sighned Fish Chris on it's side and that was the lure you ended up catching it on hmmmm.-Phil

Hmmmmm....Fish Chris, you don't seem like the type of angler to rule anything out( or leave anything to chance). I definetly see you as one of the true big bass philosophers. They bite, therefore I fish. Even a 23 pound bass has to eat enough to pay the rent, I hope you foreclose on one like that real soon. Mike Long may be the king, but anyone can grab the crown. Good Luck.

Isn't it awesome how one day can be such a motivator? You finding that 19 at Pablo is major motivation for me as well. San Pablo is a special lake and with luck one of the serious guys is going to put the hooks into a fish there that is going to really shock some people. The evidence points to there being a size class of fish in there from 15 to 19 ??? that could number in the dozens. Getting them to bite is the challenge. I've hooked two of them but only boated the one. Bridging the gap between getting lucky bites and catching them by skill is a tough thing that I have a lot to work on. Even though I've done ok at Pablo, the real potential of that lake hasn't been touched by anybody (at least anybody who's talking about it). Like you said, time to get serious! There is so much to learn about the lake and those fish that live there.

That 20-12 that Long caught last year at Dixon was one trout away! It could happen at a few different California lakes in the next couple of years.

Chris,

You referred to an article in your post? Where is this article published?

I was reading an article in a recent BassWest on Coyote. The gentleman's name escapes me right now---African American, used to be the Team Popeyes boat, ohhhh---now he's got maybe a Toyota Dealership as his title sponsor----geezo! AARON COLEMAN! That's who I'm thinking of!

He mentioned he was fishing with Chris @#$%^&*() I don't know you're last name, but mentioned this Chris fellow was the MAN on Coyote...

Anyway, just wondering if you're a published writer, and where I can read your stuff!

Matt

Gotta be Chris Costello, he gets a lot of big ones at the Coyote. If I heard right he has the record there, don't know if it's official, but the fish was over 16.

I just signed up for a Bass West subscription. Seems to be a pretty good mag.

Yea, that was Chris Costello in Bass West. The 16 lber was caught out of Chris' boat, but I can't remember his name.

I did really well on Coyote in the Spring of this year, but I sure don't claim to know that lake like Chris Costello and a few of those guys who live closer to it, and have fished it a lot more years than I have.

Anyway, when I was talking about my articles, I meant on my own web-site, although I have had some stuff published in In-Fisherman too. Here is a link to my articles pg opener which will take you to all of my stuff, and a few articles by good fishing buddies as well: http://www.trophybassonly.com/id45.htm

Great fishing to ya',
Fish Chris

Fish Chris,

Thanks for the scoop...Chris Costello. I just looked at the BassMaster site and yes, he does fish the BASS stuff. That's how I know that guy. I believe he's from Gilroy or Morgan Hill or something. I didn't realize that guy was the Coyote king. I small talked with him at the BASS tournies I was at...totally aloha and down dude!


I'll be reading your website and articles here. I just read the Flourescent Play Do theory article...interesting to say the least. What do you think about this...since bass eat trout that have undoubtably ingested PowerBait (either broken off or it flew off the hook and a free swimmer ate it, or the fish succesfully ate the bait and didn't get hooked), bass have associated PowerBait scents with their favorite forage. So if a bass happens to be suspended off a point, and Mr. Doughball Dunker places a PowerBait ball in her face, she just might eat it, recognizing the scent and it's association with trout.

Or maybe I'm talking a bunch of nonsense...just came to mind reading your article.

Matt

Matt- Were you eating the Powerbait for lunch again? Just kidding, good to meet you the other day, we'll hook up and fish one of these days!

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.

I have even heard of a bass caught on clams !

But I think it's quite obvious that the "trout-fed" monsters from some of our Nor and So Cal Resovoirs which are caught on powerebait, are obviously not hurting for a meal...... nor have they ever had an extended period of hunger in there whole lives !

I still stand by the fact that if a bass, for whatever reason, made it a habit to eat "fluorescent playdough", they would never make it to more than a few lbs....... let alone giants, in the mid to high teens !!!

Peace,
Fish

It may make sense seeing as how this was at Anderson and for whatever reason I haven't seen a single Shad there this year, whereas 2 years ago you couldn't watch the water for 15 min. in some areas and not see a shower of shad chased by something.

Tight lines,
Wade

Tight lines,
Wade