What a great day at Spring Lake today. Started around 7:30 and didn’t get bit till around 9::00. I felt my rod load up just like a bunch of weeds and then the weeds started pulling. A nice 5 lb even bass. Three casts later another 5 pounder on the LV500 with the exact same mush bite. A couple of hours go by and I catch a 4. Another couple of hours and I catch a 3 something. They are making me work for it but their all quality fish. Then I catch about a 2. Go over to a weed edge and do some drop shotting. Catch my first dink of the day. Ten minutes later I land another 5 lb even on the drop shot. At about 3:00 I started heading for the dock feeling pretty good about my day . About 50 yards from the dock I get hammered but it comes off after about 30 seconds. It felt like a real nice one. I decide to stay out for a while longer . About 10 minutes later I get hammered again. I fight her for close to a minute and by now the people on shore are all watching me. I finally lip her and show her to the crowd. She weighed 8 lbs 12 ozs.. Very cool to have 10 to 15 people witness my catch. I had the whole lake to myself. Not one tuber out there. I never expected to do this well in late December.

Dave,

Do you know why those fish are biting like that? I think I do, just curious what your thoughts are. The answer was in a post a few months ago.

I`m guessing the lack of trout?

Well, Rob are you going to keep us in suspense?

the godfather

yeah - it's the trout (lack of). Big bass do not normally eat rattle trap type lures. They really truly don't. But these fish are more desperate because there are no trout, and so they are acting stupider than they normally would. As soon as I saw those pics from the last SCBBBC tourney at Spring Lake, I knew those fish were going to be hungry this winter, they were already looking thin. If it wasn't 2 hours and 15 from home, I'd be there :)

Have fun with those fish and treat them well since the big ones will be stressed from lack of their normal winter food supply.

Congrats Dave, you slayed. Today was a good day for me also so i will put up the report. I fished the windsor ponds, 1 in particular. I have been fishing it a lot lately and it's just been on fire, a 15 lb limit out of there is the average without a kicker but today went a little better. I got in the water at about 2 and planned just to do as much flipping as i could, i started off flippin a black/blue flk tube, and after about 30 minutes i got my first fish, 5 lbs 3 oz. No more fish on that bank, kick over to a long peninsula/island. Right when i get over to it i started flippin a sweat beaver, first flip 4 lbs 8 oz. 5 more feet down catch one about 2, didnt bother weighing it. Get to the tip of the point where the trees open up into this green vegetation, something like hyacinth, and hook a fish but it gets caught up in the plant and shakes off, throw back in to the same area, 3 lbs 15 oz. Still on the same point flipped into the combo of the hyacinth and timber, and get popped on the fall, tried to get it up and in quick, but it was a bigger fish and was able to get its tail back in the water right infront of me and dove pulling about 10 ft. of drag below me and under me, which was good because it was now in open water away from the wood and was able to net it, 7 lbs 9 oz. my new pb at that pond. Right on the back side of the point in the sticks and hyacinths again flipped 2 fish and lost 3 because of the hook getting caught in the hyacinth while pulling the fish up. One of the fish i caught there was about 2 lbs, and the other went 5 exactly. Had to kick back and while kicking back along the biggest field of standing timber, i was making little flips and got popped, another chunky fish about 2 lbs. then 30 ft. away from where im getting out, i flipped to the timber, went to hop it but felt a fish there, and set the hook hard, felt like i was setting into one of the trees, but instead it took off right when i hooked it and started peeling drag before i could think of what was happening. It was making runs, then i would pull it in and over the tree trunks, then make another run and this went on for about 30 seconds, and i got a quick net on my new pb for that lake 9 lbs 14 oz. This just topped off the day and was relieved to finaaally get a bigger fish out of this pond, i have witnessed bigger fish caught but had lost every good one i had hooked in the thick cover. I am almost positive though, that before the water level starts rising at this pond i will pull a bigger limit and a bigger fish out of here. and by the way the weather couldn't have been better, hardly any wind and 65 degrees. total weight went 32 lbs 2 oz. and has been the 2nd limit over 20 lbs in the last month here.

Carson, you sure that 9 wasn't one of those big carp we always see. Just kidding dude. Sounds like you had a blast, call us up for a fish sometime.

Go big or go home.

My best limit at the Windsor ponds this year was over 30 including a 10.5. That place friggin rulez!

Chris

Sounds like it would be a good time for a swimbait only turkey shoot.

Gee Rob. I was feeling pretty good about my day until you told me i was catching stupid fish on the wrong lure.:-) Hey Carson, Nice job. I have to get out to those ponds one of these days.

har, don't take it the wrong way. I am always looking for stupid fish :) Those are the best kind.

I should elaborate ...

I am not bragging, I am just saying - when I saw that post about no stocks at Spring lake this winter, I knew those fish would bite. I emailed Lake in early November to tell him, not that it mattered since neither of us were likely to go. Sure enough after that there have been some good catches there, including that 17.5 (man I woulda liked to see a pic of that hog). Bass that run low on food get hungry. Bass that ae hungry get dumb and easier to catch. I've run into a few situations like this in the past few years and really caught the crap out of big fish. It's to the point where I look specifically for scenarios where big bass are known to live and they wind up through whatever circumstances, running low on food. Yeah... I need to get to Spring lake lol

dave, im always at those ponds whenever i have the chance, if your thinking of fishing them sometime soon let me know, i have the next 2 weeks off.

Hey Criley

I fish the ponds ALOT and had some really nice fish outa there. I would be very interested in meeting up with you. I live in sebastopol and could be there in like 15 min. If you want drop me a response back and/or give me a call 824-1270.

Chris if you read this give me a call too. I got something for ya for Xmas......

Deacon

Congrats, dude. That's an awesome day, especially at Spring Lake.

Nice job guys, Dave i almost came up to spring on saturday. I wish i did now! anyway how do i get to the ponds? take 101 north to windsor then what? also i hear you have to walk aways to get in the water! how far a walk from were i park my truck? anyway a map quest would be helpful. thanks

mike

Dave,

What color cranks did u get them on??
Have u slowed down the retrieve at all, or still pretty fast?

also, How is the visibility and the water level?

Jdub

I was using the mad craw LV500 and I slowed the retrieve way down. Just fast enough to tick the tops of the weeds. I guess I will be out there Friday morning. The water is still brown but visibility has improved quite a bit. The water temp was 52 in the morn and warmed up to 55 to 56 in a few spots by the end of the day.

I`ll probably cya there Dave,I`ve been jonesing to get out.I`ve got this week and next off so hopefully I`ll get a few days in.Have you gotten anything on the chubby?

ill maybe see u guys out there friday.

Jdub

Yeah Ive caught a few on the chubby but I really havent been using them much. Sounds good I'll see you guys out there.

You guys are hard-core, man. Fishing on Christmas Eve day... That reminds me of a recent news story, although I can't quite remember the details... If I went fishing on Friday, my wife would probably book me on a Scott Peterson-guided sturgeon trip on San Francisco Bay.

Or worse...she could make you go on Dr. Phil :P

you just gotta do wat u gotta do.

I gotta fish

Jdub

Congrats to you and Carson on a couple of great sacks!

the godfather

Its crazy how the productive sonoma county lakes are.

Ya know, I fished the San Diego lakes in their hey day of the early 80's and a lot of waters along the west coast all the way to Seattle. But nothing can compare with the quality of bass fishing and the diversity of fishing in general that we have in Sonoma.

They call Louisiana the "Sportsman's Paradise".
"They" have never lived here.

Chris